MMA

Mar 7, 2024, 11:15 AM ET Open Extended Reactions PRETORIA, South Africa — UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis told ESPN he is expecting to be ready to fight by mid-2024, and reiterated his desire to face Nigeria-born New Zealander Israel Adesanya in South Africa. ‘Stillknocks’ Du Plessis injured both legs in his January UFC

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterMar 7, 2024, 01:56 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Thirteen key witnesses, including several well-known fighters, will not be allowed to testify for the UFC during its upcoming antitrust trial, a court decided earlier this week. Judge Richard Boulware declared Monday that those witnesses, named by the UFC in a trial

Jeff Wagenheim, ESPNMar 7, 2024, 09:22 AM ET Open Extended Reactions “17-0.” That was the tweet. Nothing more, just that one line. That one lie. Sean O’Malley was not 17-0 when he posted on X last March about supposedly having an unblemished professional fighting record. At the time, he was actually 16-1 with a no

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterMar 6, 2024, 10:42 AM ET Open Extended Reactions A LARGE MOTOR COACH bus pulled out from the side of TD Garden in Boston, and with it came a swarm of people. The oversized vehicle turned onto Causeway Street as security attempted to disperse the mob. It was Aug. 18, 2023,

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterMar 6, 2024, 04:42 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Bellator has a big slate set for France later this year. Undefeated Usman Nurmagomedov will defend his Bellator lightweight title against Alexander Shabliy and Patchy Mix will put his bantamweight title on the line against Magomed Magomedov at Bellator Champions Series on

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterMar 5, 2024, 09:45 PM ET Open Extended Reactions MIAMI — UFC bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili will weigh in as a backup for Saturday’s UFC 299 main event, his manager, Oren Hodak, confirmed to ESPN, just three weeks after the biggest win of his career. UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley is

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterMar 5, 2024, 08:02 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley and Marlon “Chito” Vera will meet for the second time on Saturday in the main event of UFC 299 in Miami. The

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterMar 4, 2024, 08:21 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Francis Ngannou uncorked a short left hook that collided with Tyson Fury‘s jaw. The impact of the blow sent Fury to the mat — and might have changed the trajectory of the combat sports economy for the foreseeable future. Ngannou lost the

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterMar 2, 2024, 07:40 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Jairzinho Rozenstruik spent most of 2023 in the gym rather than the Octagon, in an attempt to shore up some of his weaknesses. In his first appearance

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterMar 1, 2024, 08:38 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Former UFC title challenger Taila Santos has signed an exclusive deal with the PFL. Officials have not formally announced the deal, but sources confirmed the news to

Mar 1, 2024, 08:14 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Few sports worldwide have a wider age range of professionals participating in it, such as MMA. Just look at one particular Saturday in February as an example. At the PFL Champions vs. Bellator Champions event, Yoel Romero, 46, added another victory — a unanimous decision win

Jeff Wagenheim, ESPNFeb 29, 2024, 12:17 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Patricio “Pitbull” Freire has built a reputation in Bellator for being relentless. That apparently applies to not just his aggressiveness inside the cage but also his persistent desire to get in there and fight. Freire will defend his featherweight championship against Jeremy Kennedy on

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterFeb 28, 2024, 12:43 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Jorge Masvidal is all but out of retirement, telling ESPN that he is training for a boxing match later this year and plans to fight again in MMA. “All I could tell you is I’m getting ready for some type of combat

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterFeb 27, 2024, 03:16 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Seven fighters on the UFC 298 card earlier this month gained 15% or more of their weight back from weigh-in day to fight day, meeting the threshold for being flagged as an issue by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC), according to

Feb 26, 2024, 09:19 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Cross-promotion in MMA is like fantasy sports or a video game coming to life. This past weekend, we experienced a bit of it when the best of the PFL met the best of Bellator. Before Saturday’s throwdown of champions in Saudi Arabia, any comparison of Renan

Feb 24, 2024, 04:34 PM ET Open Extended Reactions What were the biggest moments from PFL vs. Bellator? Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi and Jeff Wagenheim offer their final thoughts after a historic 10-fight card in Saudi Arabia. PFL finally gets its prizefight Wagenheim: It took about half a second. No, I’m not talking about how

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterFeb 25, 2024, 01:37 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Brandon Royval was not the favorite Saturday night. Not in the betting odds, nor in the eyes of the fans in the building. Across the cage from him was Brandon Moreno, the first Mexican-born UFC champion who had yet to win a

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterFeb 24, 2024, 11:22 PM ET Open Extended Reactions UFC top prospect Raul Rosas Jr. fell ill and was forced to withdraw from his scheduled bantamweight fight Saturday night at UFC Mexico City just minutes before the fighters were supposed to enter the cage, it was announced on the broadcast. Rosas