MMA

Andreas Hale, ESPNOct 2, 2024, 09:15 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Boxing superstar Terence Crawford said he rejected a deal to fight UFC great Conor McGregor because he didn’t want to participate in a mixed martial arts fight. In separate interviews, both Crawford and McGregor revealed that Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterOct 2, 2024, 07:49 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions SIX YEARS AGO, analysts Joe Rogan and Dominick Cruz were seated at the commentary table for the opening fight of the UFC 226 main card in Las

Jeff Wagenheim Sep 30, 2024, 01:00 PM ET Open Extended Reactions When Alex Pereira defends his UFC light heavyweight championship for the third time on Saturday, it will have been just 99 days since he made his second title defense in late June. Pereira, who faces Khalil Rountree Jr. in the UFC 307 main event

Andreas Hale, ESPNSep 28, 2024, 07:03 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Behind a savage first-round beating, Renato Moicano defeated Benoît Saint Denis by doctor’s stoppage after two rounds Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Paris. Moicano denied the rabid fans at the Accor Arena a reason to celebrate, ravaging Saint Denis

Andreas Hale, ESPNSep 27, 2024, 09:46 PM ET Open Extended Reactions When Alex Pereira steps into the Octagon to defend the light heavyweight championship against Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 on Oct. 5, it will be his third title fight in under six months. That pace might be stunning to most — in fact, it

Andreas Hale, ESPNSep 26, 2024, 10:47 AM ET Open Extended Reactions The UFC reached a new settlement in one of its antitrust lawsuits Thursday and hopes a judge will green-light it. TKO Group — the UFC’s parent company — reached an agreement with the plaintiffs of Le v. Zuffa that will pay $375 million in

Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.auSep 25, 2024, 10:18 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

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterSep 25, 2024, 11:30 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions The UFC has booked a bantamweight headliner between former champions Petr Yan and Deiveson Figueiredo for an event in China on Nov. 23. Yan (17-5) will face

Andreas Hale, ESPNSep 25, 2024, 10:36 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Kayla Harrison knows how to turn a negative into a positive. The UFC’s No. 3-ranked women’s bantamweight will face Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307 on Oct. 5 with the winner getting the opportunity to challenge for the 135-pound championship, which will be contested later

Andreas Hale, ESPNSep 25, 2024, 09:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Former ONE Championship two-division titleholder Reinier de Ridder has signed with the UFC and will make his promotional debut against Gerald Meerschaert on Nov. 9, the promotion announced on Wednesday. De Ridder (17-2) held both the light heavyweight and middleweight titles for ONE Championship

Sep 25, 2024, 07:18 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Fall is officially here, and the UFC’s calendar is jam-packed with big events and intriguing matchups set for the next few months. On Saturday, lightweights Renato Moicano and Benoît Saint Denis will headline UFC Fight Night as the promotion returns to Paris after last hosting a

Sep 24, 2024, 02:15 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic are finally back into the UFC fold. Jones (27-1, 1 NC) will return from a torn labrum injury to defend his heavyweight title on Nov. 16 against arguably the best heavyweight ever in Miocic (20-4) in the main event of UFC

Sep 19, 2024, 08:23 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Blockbuster trades in MMA don’t happen like in other sports, and free agency only usually occurs when a fighter is either on the decline or a prospect is ready to rise up. Yet, many fighters are at a crossroads. Some find themselves perennially just outside of

Andreas Hale, ESPNSep 18, 2024, 03:24 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Aljamain Sterling has pulled out of his UFC 307 featherweight fight with Movsar Evloev due to an injury. The former bantamweight champion was slated to compete for a second time as a featherweight after dropping his 135-pound title to Sean O’Malley in August 2023.

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterSep 17, 2024, 12:36 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Sean O’Malley is looking at an extended layoff from competition, as the former champ is scheduled to undergo hip surgery early next month. The 29-year-old suffered a

Andreas Hale, ESPNSep 17, 2024, 12:57 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Johnny Eblen‘s Bellator middleweight title defense against Fabian Edwards has been added to PFL’s pay-per-view card on Oct. 19, headlined by Francis Ngannou‘s promotional debut against Renan Ferreira, the promotion announced Tuesday. The fight is a rematch of their Sept. 23, 2023, fight that

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterSep 16, 2024, 10:16 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions LAS VEGAS — EAGLES CIRCLED THE Octagon, from nearly 400 feet above. One fight occurred under the backdrop of an ancient temple, another in a colorful Mexican

Sep 15, 2024, 12:50 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Coming into Noche UFC, UFC president and CEO Dana White was inspired to use his fight card — on the weekend of Mexican Independence Day — to tell a story of the fighting spirit of Mexico. The platform for his storytelling would be Las Vegas’ Sphere,