MMA

8:08 AM ET FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — It began with a text message with an invitation to dinner. It was the start of a friendship set up by Shane Victorino. At the time, the two-time Philadelphia Phillies All-Star outfielder didn’t know Atlanta Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota and UFC featherweight Max Holloway had never met. Victorino

8:00 AM ET Alexander Volkanovski was already hovering near the top of the ESPN pound-for-pound MMA rankings on the strength of last month’s dominant UFC men’s featherweight title defense against former champion Max Holloway. But there was a roadblock standing between Volkanovski and the No. 1 spot. Kamaru Usman had long held that top position,

5:26 PM ET The UFC has announced a middleweight matchup between Jared Cannonier and Sean Strickland for UFC Fight Night on Oct. 15. The 185-pound contest, which the UFC announced on Monday, will headline the UFC Fight Night event. The promotion has not revealed a location, but it will most likely take place in Las

Aug 21, 2022 Tony Ferguson‘s return to the cage is imminent. UFC president Dana White said Saturday night that Ferguson will face Li Jingliang at UFC 279 on Sept. 10 in Las Vegas. Sources told ESPN that bout agreements have not yet been signed, but there is a verbal agreement in place. Ferguson will move

Aug 20, 2022 To the surprise of exactly no one, Kayla Harrison has once again clinched a spot in the PFL lightweight finals. Harrison (15-0) submitted Martina Jindrovã (6-2) via arm triangle choke at 1:17 of the first round of their 155-pound semifinals matchup on Saturday in London. Harrison put Jindrovå on her back early

8:36 AM ET We take a look at some of the biggest questions in MMA, starting with Leon Edwards‘ wild upset of Kamaru Usman, and try to separate what’s real and what’s not. SALT LAKE CITY — The fight was all but over. Aside from a takedown and a rear-naked choke attempt in the first

1:03 AM ET SALT LAKE CITY — Leon Edwards has shocked the MMA world. With a head kick in the final round of a fight he was losing handily, Edwards knocked out Kamaru Usman to win the UFC welterweight title in the main event of UFC 278 on Saturday night here at Vivint Arena. The

1:27 AM ET As the fifth round progressed in Salt Lake City, the headlines were already being written. With one minute left in the main event, Kamaru Usman had coasted in his title defense against Leon Edwards. Then came the head kick that shocked the world. Edwards became the new UFC welterweight champion with the

Aug 20, 2022 UFC president Dana White said he helped broker a deal for quarterback Tom Brady to play for the Las Vegas Raiders when Brady was a free agent quarterback in 2020, but then-Raiders coach Jon Gruden nullified the deal at the last minute. White was convinced to tell the story by Rob Gronkowski

2:17 AM ET What were the biggest moments at UFC 278? Megan Anderson, Jeff Wagenheim, Marc Raimondi and Brett Okamoto offer their takeaways from UFC’s return to Salt Lake City. There was less than a minute remaining in Round 5 of the main event at UFC 278 and Leon Edwards was looking like a lifeless

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

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

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