MMA

7:24 AM ET Angela Hill is still quite certain she did enough to beat Claudia Gadelha in a controversial split-decision loss to the former strawweight title challenger in May. But afterward, Hill trained as though she had lost — and therein lies the silver lining. Hill (12-8, 7-8 in the UFC) will face Michelle Waterson

5:18 PM ET Next month’s highly anticipated fight between Dustin Poirier and Tony Ferguson isn’t happening anymore, according to Poirier. “UFC and I didn’t come to terms,” Poirier told ESPN. “I will not be fighting on Oct. 24.” Poirier recently traveled from his home in Lafayette, Louisiana, to South Florida to begin his training camp

12:56 PM ET Bellator is back with a doubleheader this weekend — two cards on two straight nights at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Bellator 245 is Friday night, headlined by a rematch between former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida and former Bellator light heavyweight champion Phil Davis. In the co-main event, former

7:26 PM ET In 2014, UFC strawweight Angela Hill became the first Black American woman to sign with the promotion, and on Saturday, she’ll become the first to headline a card when she faces Michelle Waterson in a Fight Night main event. Hill’s fight was originally scheduled to be the co-main event until Glover Teixeira

9:07 AM ET The recipe for making it to the top of the sport is no secret: Win your fights. But that doesn’t always get a fighter where he or she wants to be, because there can be a traffic jam ahead in the rankings. Sometimes you just have to wait for others to fall

10:28 AM ET Francis Ngannou has taken over the No. 2 spot in ESPN’s heavyweight rankings, thanks to the recent retirement of former UFC champion Daniel Cormier. At light heavyweight, Dominick Reyes has grabbed the second spot after the August defeat of ex-Bellator champ Ryan Bader. Those represent the highest level of flux in the

10:45 PM ET The UFC signed another four prospects on Dana White’s Contender Series on Tuesday, including a man who’s been flirting with a UFC appearance for more than four years. UFC president Dana White awarded contracts to middleweights Phil Hawes (8-2) and Aliaskhab Khizriev (13-0), bantamweight Drako Rodriguez (7-1) and light heavyweight Tafon Nchukwi

9:27 AM ET The wheels kept turning last week as Dana White’s Contender Series continued to be one of the most important parts of the pandemic-mired year for the UFC. Last Tuesday, three DWCS winners were awarded UFC contracts and two others — plus one of the losing fighters — received an invitation back to

5:44 PM ET One of the best featherweight fighters in MMA over the past decade is calling it a career. Ricardo Lamas, 38, announced Monday on MMA Junkie Radio that he is retiring from mixed martial arts after 12 years as a pro. The former UFC title challenger said after his unanimous-decision win over Bill

5:31 PM ET UFC welterweight Leon Edwards has had an even more frustrating 2020 than some of his peers, but says he is still “100%” committed to taking a fight this year. Edwards (18-3), of England, was supposed to headline UFC Fight Night opposite former champion Tyron Woodley in March, inside London’s 02 Arena. The

11:01 AM ET Is Nick Diaz ready to return to the Octagon for his first UFC fight in over five years? His manager told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani that Diaz is “100 percent” committed to fighting again, and the plan is for an early 2021 return. The manager, Kevin Mubenga, even provided a video of a

6:46 PM ET Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier battled earlier this month at UFC 252 in a fight that many felt would determine the greatest MMA heavyweight of all time. Miocic won by unanimous decision to retain the UFC heavyweight title. Alistair Overeem is also in that heavyweight GOAT conversation. The former Strikeforce and Dream

11:46 PM ET Alistair Overeem showed that he’s still a championship-level fighter on Saturday night. Overeem stopped up-and-comer Augusto Sakai early in the fifth round in the UFC Fight Night main event in Las Vegas. The win was the fourth in Overeem’s past five fights, keeping him in the hunt for the UFC heavyweight title

11:15 PM ET Alistair Overeem showed a wrinkle in his game that most UFC fans haven’t seen, using his wrestling and vicious ground-and-pound to finish Augusto Sakai by TKO in the fifth round Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas. The finish came at 26 seconds of the final round.

5:56 PM ET The UFC’s card this weekend has been gutted by COVID-19. Two fights were canceled and one fighter was taken off the event Saturday just hours before the start of the show for coronavirus-related reasons, UFC officials announced. The changes have left UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Sakai with just seven fights, the

11:26 PM ET The UFC is planning a return trip to Fight Island in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi at the end of the month. Sources confirmed to ESPN multiple reports on Friday that the UFC will promote five live events in Abu Dhabi, beginning with its UFC 253 pay-per-view event on Sept. 26. The events

1:50 PM ET Marc Raimondi This weekend’s super-sized UFC main event is now official. Alistair Overeem and Augusto Sakai both weighed in successfully Friday morning for their heavyweight headliner. Overeem weighed 252.5 pounds and Sakai came in at 261.5. The non-title heavyweight limit is 266 pounds. Overeem and Sakai will meet Saturday night to cap

7:58 PM ET Marc Raimondi Brett Okamoto Close ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun A women’s bantamweight bout between Sijara Eubanks and Karol Rosa for UFC Fight Night on Saturday has been canceled because of weight cutting issues for Rosa, UFC officials confirmed to