MMA

9:06 AM ET UFC fans might not have seen the last of Israel Adesanya in the Octagon in 2020. The undefeated UFC middleweight champion told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani in an interview posted Wednesday that he’s hoping to compete one more time this year. Adesanya is coming off a second-round TKO of Paulo Costa at UFC

2:52 PM ET Israel Adesanya put on a spectacular performance at UFC 253. The middleweight champion’s second-round TKO of previously unbeaten Paulo Costa on Sept. 26 was as dominant a title fight victory as we’ve seen in a while. It was the kind of performance that can send a fighter skyrocketing in the rankings. Problem

10:11 PM ET Conor McGregor has attempted to book himself in yet another fight, despite past remarks that he’s retired. On Monday, the UFC superstar proposed a charity MMA fight to former opponent Dustin Poirier on Twitter. The exhibition, McGregor wrote, would be on pay-per-view and proceeds would go to Poirier’s The Good Fight Foundation

9:10 PM ET UFC middleweight Paulo Costa referred to his recent opponent and UFC champion Israel Adesanya as “human trash” on Monday, for Adesanya’s postfight actions at UFC 253 on Saturday. Costa (13-1) lost to Adesanya (20-0) via second-round TKO on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Adesanya finished the fight with punches

7:59 AM ET Did anyone really think Jon Jones wouldn’t at least flirt with the idea of challenging the winner of Saturday’s light heavyweight championship bout? It didn’t take long after Jan Blachowicz defeated Dominick Reyes in the UFC 253 co-main event on Fight Island for Jones to tweet about the possibility of challenging Blachowicz.

1:32 AM ET Israel Adesanya and Jan Blachowicz entered UFC 253 on Saturday with their share of doubters, which made what happened in the Octagon even sweeter for both men. Adesanya had a “boring” tag hung on him by critics after a lackluster win over Yoel Romero in March. But that label didn’t fit on

12:47 AM ET The return to Fight Island saw the continued domination of the middleweight champion, the crowning of a new light heavyweight champion and the emergence of a new flyweight contender. Israel Adesanya found a way to keep his title and undefeated record with a victory over the previously undefeated Paulo Costa. While Costa’s

12:44 AM ET Israel Adesanya stopped Paulo Costa in the second round to retain his UFC middleweight title in the main event Saturday night at UFC 253 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The TKO came at 3 minutes, 59 seconds. Adesanya went to work on Costa’s lead leg early on, whipping

12:11 AM ET The UFC’s light heavyweight division might not have Jon Jones — but perhaps it might still have a dominant champ. Jan Blachowicz (27-8), an overlooked slugger from Poland, defeated Dominick Reyes (12-2) via TKO at 4 minutes, 36 seconds of the second round of their light heavyweight title fight on Saturday at

6:22 PM ET A five-week stay for the UFC on Fight Island kicks off in earnest on Saturday with UFC 253 from Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The main event will feature undefeated middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (19-0) looking to defend his title for the second time against an undefeated challenger in Paulo Costa (13-0). It

8:44 PM ET You have to give it to the UFC. The promotion has pulled off this 2020 concept of “Fight Island” remarkably well, and I’m not just referring to stringent COVID-19 measures. The UFC’s pay-per-views this year on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, have offered a lot. From the “BMF” champion

3:12 PM ET Conor McGregor said Friday afternoon on Twitter that he is “boxing Manny Pacquiao next in the Middle East.” According to McGregor’s manager, Audie Attar, who also represents Pacquaio, McGregor is in serious talks to fight the boxing legend, although the fight isn’t a done deal. The McGregor-Pacquiao match would take place in

1:58 PM ET The UFC women’s featherweight and bantamweight champion can add another title to her collection: mother. Amanda Nunes and her fiancée, UFC fighter Nina Ansaroff, had their first child Friday. Ansaroff gave birth to a daughter, Raegan Ann Nunes. Nunes and Ansaroff each made the announcement on social media. “Speechless,” Nunes tweeted. Nunes,

7:28 AM ET In February 2012, a 20-year-old realtor from Contagem, Brazil, made a quiet professional debut in mixed martial arts inside a modest gymnasium in nearby Santa Luzia. His name: Paulo Henrique Costa. Costa’s skills were raw, but he took his opponent down and won via first-round TKO. A ring girl appeared and placed

2:34 PM ET The UFC is close to finalizing a light heavyweight matchup between Thiago Santos and Glover Teixeira in November, according to multiple sources. The 205-pound bout is expected to headline a UFC Fight Night on Nov. 7, most likely in Las Vegas. Once official, it will mark the third date this fight has

8:28 AM ET UFC president Dana White said his promotion will not “muzzle anybody,” when he was asked early Thursday morning about the backlash to recent Colby Covington comments, which several UFC fighters labeled as racist. During a news conference in Abu Dhabi to promote Saturday’s UFC 253 card on “Fight Island,” White was asked

8:42 AM ET Rob Wilkinson was thirsty. He was hungry. Throat as dry as the Australian Outback, the UFC fighter could barely speak. The plan coming in for Wilkinson was to be heavier — about four or five pounds more than usual — so he could outmuscle debuting striker Israel Adesanya. What Wilkinson didn’t count

4:57 PM ET UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and other black athletes scheduled to compete at UFC 253 on Saturday spoke out about recent comments made by welterweight Colby Covington during a virtual media call on Wednesday. Covington, who is an avid supporter of President Donald Trump and visited him in the White House in