MMA

9:13 PM ET SALT LAKE CITY — Kamaru Usman is already being asked about Khamzat Chimaev as a future contender. He has bandied about the idea of moving up two divisions to light heavyweight and challenging for that title. UFC president Dana White wants to put Usman in the greatest of all time conversation. But

11:45 AM ET SALT LAKE CITY — The best pound-for-pound fighter in the world will be back in the Octagon this weekend. Kamaru Usman and challenger Leon Edwards successfully made weight Friday morning — both at exactly 170 pounds — for their welterweight title fight in the main event of UFC 278 on Saturday at

8:00 AM ET WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. — UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman hasn’t fought in nearly 10 months. Usually, those who follow this sport refer to that amount of time between fights as a “layoff” — but nothing about how Usman chose to spend those 10 months sounds like much of a break. “Everyone says,

9:26 PM ET For the second straight year, Zhang Weili will get a title opportunity at Madison Square Garden. A UFC women’s strawweight title fight between champion Carla Esparza and Zhang, the former champ, has been verbally agreed to for UFC 281 on Nov. 12 in New York, multiple sources confirmed with ESPN. The fight

9:22 AM ET Ian ParkerESPN The final event of the first round of the PFL playoffs will take place this Saturday, as the featherweight and women’s lightweight divisions have their semifinal matchups at Copper Box Arena in London (ESPN and ESPN+ at 2 p.m. ET, prelims on ESPN+ at 1 p.m.). The main event will

12:51 PM ET Editor’s note: This story was originally published in 2019. Leon Edwards fights Kamaru Usman on August 20 at UFC 278. Why? What if? Those are the questions I ask myself every day. What if my dad didn’t bring me to the United Kingdom? What if my gym never opened in the Erdington

1:56 PM ET Shane Burgos is leaving the UFC and signing with PFL, the popular featherweight fighter announced Monday on “The MMA Hour.” Burgos fought out his UFC contract with his win over Charles Jourdain on July 16, becoming a free agent. He said he will likely compete in PFL before the end of the

5:02 PM ET The California State Athletic Commission wants Tyson Nam to move up in weight after the UFC fighter violated the board’s fight-night weight regulations Saturday at UFC San Diego. Nam weighed 126 pounds Friday at the weigh-ins, successfully making the nontitle flyweight limit. But on fight night, the CSAC weighed Nam again and

9:04 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim For sports fans, there’s nothing more exhilarating than watching the best of the best perform. Whether it’s LeBron James or Lionel Messi, Serena Williams or Tom Brady, the greats of every sport elevate the viewing experience. So, MMA fans, welcome to UFC 278, a showcase for the pound-for-pound No. 1

3:01 PM ET Rory MacDonald, one of the top welterweight mixed martial artists of the past decade, has announced his retirement at age 33. MacDonald, of British Columbia, made the announcement less than 24 hours after suffering a TKO loss to Dilano Taylor in a 2022 PFL semifinals matchup. After the loss, MacDonald removed his

10:46 PM ET Marlon Vera‘s nickname is “Chito,” a Spanish-language colloquialism that essentially means “shush.” Vera quieted the crowd briefly Saturday, knocking out former two-time champion Dominick Cruz in Cruz’s adopted hometown in the main event of UFC San Diego. Vera landed a left kick to Cruz’s head, putting him out cold in the fourth

4:46 PM ET One week ago, Dilano Taylor‘s 2022 PFL season was officially over. Now, the 25-year-old is headed to the welterweight finals. Taylor (10-2) advanced to the 170-pound championship with a stunning TKO over Rory MacDonald (23-9-1) at 3:59 of the first round of their semifinal matchup Saturday. Taylor initially missed the 2022 playoffs

Aug 11, 2022 The PFL has made several last-minute changes to its 2022 semifinals matchups on Friday in Cardiff, Wales. Top-seeded welterweight Rory MacDonald (23-9-1) was supposed to face Magomed Umalatov (12-0), but will now meet Dilano Taylor (9-2) instead. Additionally, heavyweight Matheus Scheffel (16-8) will look to advance to the finals against late replacement

2:16 PM ET UFC president Dana White says fighter pay in the organization won’t change dramatically while he is in his current position, telling GQ in a video published Thursday that he believes fighters “get paid what they’re supposed to get paid.” The topic of fighter pay has been a hot-button issue in MMA for

9:02 AM ET The UFC men’s bantamweight division will assume center stage over the coming months, as eight of the top 10 contenders have fights booked, including champion Aljamain Sterling. The marquee 135-pound action begins this weekend with a five-round main event between former champion Dominick Cruz (24-3) and Marlon “Chito” Vera (21-7-1) in San

12:19 PM ET UFC flyweight Molly McCann will look to continue her breakout year in 2022, when she takes on Erin Blanchfield in November. The UFC has added a 125-pound contest between McCann (13-4) and Blanchfield (9-1) to its UFC 281 lineup on Nov. 12 in Madison Square Garden. Both flyweights announced the bout on

12:30 PM ET Uriah Hall, a former The Ultimate Fighter runner-up and UFC middleweight contender, has retired from mixed martial arts, he announced Wednesday on Instagram. “Although I did not achieve the rank of world champion I’ve acquired some of my greatest achievements from mixed martial arts and that was facing my fears and being

Aug 9, 2022 Henry Cejudo. Cody Garbrandt. Urijah Faber. Those are some top-shelf bantamweights, and Marlon Vera has a chance to join their exclusive club this weekend. The 135-pounders named above are the only three fighters who own victories over Dominick Cruz. All three of those losses came in title bouts for Cruz, who ruled