MMA

Aug 12, 2023, 09:38 PM ET Former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt has pulled out of his UFC 292 bout against Mario Bautista because of an undisclosed injury, it was announced during Saturday’s UFC Fight Night broadcast on ESPN. According to the broadcast, Garbrandt was injured while training for the fight, which was scheduled for Aug.

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 11, 2023, 12:55 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Former UFC title challenger and fan favorite Derrick Lewis isn’t leaving the Octagon any time soon, as the 38-year-old has signed a new eight-fight deal, according to UFC officials. UFC

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 11, 2023, 06:00 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun This weekend’s UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas features a pair of well-known welterweights — Rafael dos Anjos and Vicente Luque — in the main event. It’s a 170-pound showcase

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 10, 2023, 01:15 PM ET Ian Garry called out Neil Magny after his last fight. Now, he’ll get his wish. The Irish welterweight prospect will face Magny at UFC 292 on Aug. 19 in Boston, the UFC announced Thursday. Garry was initially supposed to face Geoff Neal, but Neal withdrew

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 9, 2023, 06:38 PM ET The plaintiffs seemingly earned a strategic victory in an antitrust lawsuit against the UFC in 2020. Nearly three years later, that win has been made official. Federal judge Richard F. Boulware granted the plaintiffs class certification on Wednesday, according to a document from the U.S.

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 9, 2023, 03:37 PM ET Bellator is stacking the deck for a landmark show coming this fall. Ryan Bader will defend his Bellator heavyweight title against Linton Vassell in the main event of Bellator 300 on Oct. 7 in San Diego, one of four title fights on the historic card,

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 9, 2023, 10:39 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Claressa Shields, widely considered the No. 1 pound-for-pound female boxer on the planet, is going back to MMA in 2024. Shields, 28, has signed a new multiyear deal to compete

Andres Waters Aug 8, 2023, 11:00 PM ET Ahead of this week’s “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 31 lightweight matchup, coaches Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler competed in the traditional coaches challenge. This season, the coaches went head-to-head in a UFC trivia game, but with an added twist: taking an ice bath in 39-degree water the

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 8, 2023, 07:07 PM ET Israel Adesanya has his next challenger and the UFC has its Australia headliner. Adesanya will defend his UFC middleweight title against Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC 293 on Sept. 9 in Sydney, UFC president Dana White announced Tuesday. ESPN has Adesanya No.

Aug 8, 2023, 09:05 AM ET “Dana White’s Contender Series” returns this week for Season 7. The show has been the path for many of the talented fighters on the UFC’s roster today, including former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill, “Suga” Sean O’Malley, who will challenge Aljamain Sterling for the men’s bantamweight belt at

Aug 7, 2023, 08:33 AM ET The UFC always looks for fresh faces, and “Dana White’s Contender Series” is the promotion’s most reliable vehicle for identifying them. Whereas “The Ultimate Fighter” has produced several UFC stars, including some champions, the show’s format removes prospects from their regular training routine and asks them to make weight

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 6, 2023, 01:31 AM ET DALLAS — In Jake Paul’s war against MMA fighters, he remains undefeated. The YouTuber-turned-prizefighter defeated Nate Diaz via unanimous decision (97-92, 98-91, 98-91) Saturday night at a sold-out American Airlines Center. Paul hurt Diaz in the first round, and it seemed he would cruise or

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 6, 2023, 12:20 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun It wasn’t a fan-friendly performance, but UFC bantamweight Cory Sandhagen made Rob Font‘s life absolutely miserable for 25 minutes in their main-event matchup Saturday. Sandhagen (17-4) picked up his third

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 5, 2023, 12:03 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun A pair of light heavyweights emphatically punched their way into the 2023 PFL finals Friday — but the big story was 27-year-old featherweight Jesus Pinedo. Pinedo (22-6-1), who is from

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 3, 2023, 09:51 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Former UFC champion Francis Ngannou will have Mike Tyson, one of the greatest and most feared heavyweight boxers of all time, in his corner when he faces Tyson Fury in

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 3, 2023, 10:13 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson surprised UFC fighter Themba Gorimbo with the gift of a new home, after he was inspired by Gorimbo’s story of his bank account dropping to $7

Jeff Wagenheim Aug 3, 2023, 07:53 PM ET One of the semifinalists on Friday’s opening fight card of the PFL playoffs in San Antonio, Texas, missed weight Thursday, setting up what could turn out to be a bizarre circumstance for the final. Featherweight Jesus Pinedo stepped on the scale at 146.4 pounds, which is 0.4

Aug 2, 2023, 05:56 PM ET Cory Sandhagen meets Rob Font in a 140-pound catchweight main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Nashville, Tennessee. The fights at Bridgestone Arena are on ESPN and ESPN+, with the 9 p.m. ET main card preceded by prelims at 6 p.m. The matchup of top-10 bantamweights is