MMA

May 31, 2022 Less than 2½ years ago, Jairzinho Rozenstruik was an undefeated UFC heavyweight on the rise. At that same time, Alexander Volkov was on a hot run during which he won seven of eight fights. Since then, both have lost several bouts against the division’s top contenders. They each are coming off a

9:51 AM ET Two-time defending PFL women’s lightweight champion Kayla Harrison will face the toughest challenge of her career when she takes on former Bellator women’s featherweight champion Julia Budd in the main event of PFL 6 on July 1 in Atlanta, officials told ESPN on Wednesday. In the co-main event, former Bellator welterweight champion

1:03 PM ET UFC’s first trip to France has added a major middleweight bout, as former champion Robert Whittaker will take on Marvin Vettori at UFC Paris on Sept. 3, the promotion announced Tuesday. This bout was originally scheduled for UFC 275 on June 11 in Singapore but was postponed due to a Whittaker injury.

9:00 AM ET One of the most anticipated fights — and the one most often asked about — continues to be Conor McGregor’s next match. McGregor has been adamant that he will return from his broken left leg in 2022. But as the months go by, that seems up in the air. And then there’s

8:00 AM ET Jeff WagenheimESPN “If I was in my 20s, man, I would be all over this.” That’s Randy Couture speaking about the PFL and its season format, in which fighters must compete four times over six months to earn a $1 million prize. Couture is not in his 20s though. He’s a 58-year-old

9:39 AM ET Bruno Cappelozza is arguably PFL’s most fearsome fighter. And he’ll get his second straight headlining nod next month. Cappelozza, PFL’s defending heavyweight champion, will meet Matheus Scheffel in the main event of PFL 5 on June 24 in Atlanta, officials told ESPN. Cappelozza is currently in third place (six points) in the

5:47 PM ET Two of the most exciting featherweight fighters in the world will meet this summer. Multiple-time former title challenger Brian Ortega takes on Yair Rodriguez in the main event of UFC Fight Night on July 16 on Long Island in New York, the UFC announced Thursday. It will be the UFC’s first visit

8:00 AM ET Reed Kuhn Close Special to ESPN.com Reed Kuhn is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, and strategy and analytics consultant. He is the author of “Fightnomics: The Hidden Numbers and Science in Mixed Martial Arts,” the first book to quantify drivers and performance metrics in combat sports. Ian Parker The summer is filling up

8:00 AM ET As we gear up for this UFC main event on Saturday between … between … hold up. Am I seeing this right? No UFC this weekend? For the first time since April 2, the UFC does not have an event this week. That won’t be the case again for a while, as

8:00 AM ET The UFC has fighters ranging from 115 pounds to more than twice that weight. Yet size does not matter very much when it comes to assessing where the greatest fights are. Some weight classes are top-heavy, featuring dominant champions no one can match. Other divisions draw their intrigue from a level playing

10:27 PM ET LAS VEGAS — The UFC’s women’s bantamweight division has a new title contender on its hands. Ketlen Vieira (13-2), of Manaus, Brazil, improved to 3-1 in her past four fought contests on Saturday, as she outpointed former champion Holly Holm (14-6) in a five-round main event. The 135-pound fight was very close.

9:33 PM ET The UFC will run back one of the most shocking fights in its entire history. A bantamweight title rematch between Julianna Peña and Amanda Nunes will headline UFC 277 on July 30 in Dallas, officials announced on Saturday. The pay-per-view event will take place inside American Airlines Arena and air on ESPN+.

9:00 AM ET For the first time in nearly 10 years, Holly Holm is thinking about professional boxing. To be clear, Holm’s primary focus is still very much on MMA and recapturing the UFC bantamweight championship that she won in 2015 and surrendered in 2016. Holm (14-5) faces Ketlen Vieira in the main event of

8:17 AM ET ESPN News Services LOS ANGELES — Baseball great Alex Rodriguez is taking a swing at mixed martial arts as an investor and board member for the Professional Fighters League. The PFL announced the addition of the former New York Yankees superstar to its board of directors Thursday. Rodriguez’s investment is part of

9:33 AM ET The UFC has announced it will stage its first event in France on Sept. 3 at the Accor Arena in Paris after a decade-long battle with French authorities. President Dana White said on Tuesday: “I’m so excited to hold our first event in Paris this September. It will be an unbelievable night

4:04 PM ET Glover Teixeira’s days competing in the Octagon seem numbered. The UFC light heavyweight champion told Globo’s Mundo de Luta podcast Wednesday that he would like to wrap up his illustrious career in the next few months and this would “probably” be his final year fighting. Teixeira, 42, will defend his light heavyweight

4:43 PM ET Khabib Nurmagomedov says he recently texted Dana White to argue in favor of a lightweight title shot for his longtime friend and teammate Islam Makhachev — and apparently White left the retired legend on read. “Honestly, this is first time since we started talking to each other that he don’t respond to

8:38 AM ET Clay Collard will try to continue his march toward a PFL title on June 17, when he takes on Alexander Martinez in Atlanta. PFL officials announced the lightweight matchup Wednesday. The event, which takes place at OTE Arena, marks the second round of regular-season action. Collard (21-9) is on a mission in