Sam BruceFeb 5, 2025, 05:49 PM ET Close Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. Open Extended Reactions Alexander Volkanovski
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Leonard Solms Close Jack of all sporting trades. Author of my 11-year-old self’s fantasy story about his road to FIFA World Cup glory. Perfecting the art of writing about people who do what I said I was going to do. Feb 6, 2025, 05:55 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Ahead of his UFC 312 rematch
Brett OkamotoFeb 6, 2025, 07:51 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Dominick Cruz, one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time, announced his retirement from the sport on Thursday via social media. Cruz, 39, was scheduled for one final
Brett OkamotoFeb 5, 2025, 07:54 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions When Tatiana Suarez challenges Zhang Weili for the UFC strawweight championship Saturday, one thing she won’t lack is self-belief. Because if Suarez did not truly believe she was the best
Sam BruceFeb 4, 2025, 05:06 PM ET Close Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. Open Extended Reactions The last
Brett OkamotoFeb 3, 2025, 09:00 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions In MMA, like other sports, a champion is continually facing pressure to succeed. External pressure from the organization, the media and especially fans. And self-imposed pressure to disprove doubters and
UFC featherweight Bryce Mitchell apologized Saturday for his comments defending Adolf Hitler on his podcast earlier this week. “I’m sorry I sounded offensive,” Mitchell posted on his Instagram account. “I definitely was not trying to offend anybody, but I know I did.” In the podcast, Mitchell said Hitler was “a good guy” who “fought for
Brett OkamotoFeb 1, 2025, 01:13 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Former WWE employee Janel Grant has officially identified Brock Lesnar in the federal lawsuit she filed against the company and former executive Vince McMahon in January 2024. In an amended complaint filed in
Brett OkamotoFeb 1, 2025, 03:39 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Israel Adesanya‘s remarkable career in combat sports has come to a major crossroads, following his fourth defeat in five appearances on Saturday. Adesanya (24-5) suffered a TKO loss to Nassourdine
Jan 30, 2025, 04:45 PM ET UFC CEO Dana White has condemned comments made by featherweight fighter Bryce Mitchell on his podcast where he defended Adolf Hitler, denied the holocaust happened and took aim at both the LGBTQ+ and Jewish communities in a shocking rant. “I’ve heard a lot of dumb and ignorant s— said
Brett OkamotoJan 27, 2025, 09:15 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Every sport loves itself a little bit of drama — a little bit of chaos. Mixed martial arts is certainly no exception. In fact, 2025 started with UFC lightweight Renato
Brett OkamotoJan 25, 2025, 04:50 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Usman Nurmagomedov squeaked out a razor-thin decision over Paul Hughes on Saturday in Dubai — and there’s a good chance he’ll see the Irishman again in 2025. Nurmagomedov (19-0) defended
Brett OkamotoJan 24, 2025, 09:51 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Conor McGregor wanted to face Logan Paul in an exhibition boxing match in India this year but said the UFC would not grant him permission. In an interview this week
Sam BruceJan 22, 2025, 08:04 PM ET Close Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. Open Extended Reactions Israel Adesanya
Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJan 20, 2025, 09:05 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Two champions put the MMA world on notice at UFC 311, as ESPN’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter Islam Makhachev quickly disposed of Renato Moicano to retain the
Open Extended Reactions Islam Makhachev reminded the MMA world that he’s the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter for a reason. Makhachev dominated late replacement Renato Moicano in a first-round submission victory in the main event of UFC 311 on Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, to defend his lightweight title. Can anyone beat Makhachev?
Andreas Hale, ESPNJan 19, 2025, 01:10 AM ET Open Extended Reactions INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Islam Makhachev retained his lightweight title with a first-round submission against Renato Moicano on Saturday night in the main event of UFC 311 at the Intuit Dome. After being dropped briefly by a right hand, Makhachev (27-1) put Moicano on his
Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJan 19, 2025, 12:41 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Merab Dvalishvili had already beaten four consecutive champions going into his first UFC title defense this year — and yet, Saturday still might have