MMA

2:21 AM ET IT HAS BEEN almost a year since South Africa’s Dricus Du Plessis (16-2), entered the Octagon — a successful UFC 264 outing last July that only lasted two rounds, knocking out Trevin Giles. But his quest to return has been a prolonged battle, complete with injury, opponent changes, fight cancellations and incredible

1:48 PM ET A scheduled women’s flyweight contender bout between Miesha Tate and Lauren Murphy has been moved to UFC Long Island on July 16, the UFC announced Monday. The bout was moved from UFC 276 on Saturday, the UFC said, due to COVID-19 protocols. Murphy wrote Sunday on Twitter that she tested positive for

9:06 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim A pay-per-view event headlined by two championship bouts used to be a special occasion. Now it’s practically a business model. UFC 276, which takes place Saturday in Las Vegas (10 p.m. on ESPN+ PPV), will be the company’s fourth straight PPV with a pair of fights with belts on the

12:30 AM ET LAS VEGAS — Max Holloway should be under a lot of pressure. It’s Saturday, June 25, seven days before he is set to face Alexander Volkanovski for the third time at UFC 276 and Holloway (23-6) is sitting inside T-Mobile Arena for the first time since December 2019, when he surrendered the

1:45 AM ET If Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mateusz Gamrot was a look into the future of the UFC lightweight division, then that future looks awfully bright. Gamrot beat Tsarukyan by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. But the result could have gone either

12:18 AM ET UFC women’s flyweight contender Lauren Murphy had to withdraw from a scheduled bout with Miesha Tate at UFC 276 on July 2 in Las Vegas for undisclosed reasons, sources told ESPN. The UFC is seeking a new, short-notice opponent for Tate, sources said, but it’s unclear if she’ll compete on the card.

11:46 PM ET ATLANTA — Stevie Ray needed to finish former UFC champion Anthony Pettis on Friday in order to make the 2022 PFL playoffs. Well, mission accomplished for the 32-year-old veteran. Ray (24-10) punched his ticket to the PFL playoffs with a rare finishing move against Pettis. The Scottish fighter tapped Pettis via modified

12:29 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim Johnny Eblen was undefeated coming in but really outdid himself Friday night, dominating Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi over five rounds to take away the belt in the main event of Bellator 282 in Uncasville, Connecticut. Eblen (12-0) used his strong wrestling to control long stretches on the canvas, but

8:26 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim Gegard Mousasi put on a dazzling show four months ago in Dublin. That it was not an epic-length performance made it all the more magnificent. The Bellator MMA middleweight champion needed less than a minute and a half to lay waste to an undefeated challenger in the Bellator 275 main

8:47 PM ET A scheduled battle between a former Bellator champion and a defending PFL champ will have to wait. Former Bellator women’s featherweight champion Julia Budd is out of a planned July 1 bout against Kayla Harrison in PFL due to an undisclosed injury, sources told ESPN. In Budd’s place will step women’s MMA

2:06 PM ET Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone has agreed to face Jim Miller at UFC 276 on July 2 in Las Vegas, according to UFC officials. The short-notice bout is the latest turn of events in a wild month for Cerrone (36-16), who is replacing Miller’s original opponent Bobby Green. The fight will take place at

8:00 AM ET Ian ParkerESPN The PFL’s lightweights and light heavyweights finalized their playoff positioning a week ago, and now it’s the turn of the heavyweights and featherweights on Friday at PFL 5 (ESPN and ESPN+, main card at 8 p.m. ET and prelims at 6 p.m.). The main event at Overtime Elite Arena in

9:24 AM ET ATLANTA — Right now, there is an unmistakable buzz going on behind the scenes at the PFL. It’s a buzz that has nothing to do with the promotion’s most established, recognizable talent. It’s independent of anything to do with Kayla Harrison, Anthony Pettis, Rory MacDonald or fan favorite Clay Collard. And it

6:26 PM ET Ongoing contract discussions between the UFC and Nate Diaz, one of the promotion’s biggest stars, spilled into the public Tuesday when both Diaz and president Dana White commented on the situation. On Monday, Diaz (20-13) asked the UFC to either release him from his contract or book him a fight by August.

10:22 AM ET Coming off a sellout UFC Fight Night in Texas this past weekend, the UFC’s summer schedule is heating up. As the promotion returns to the APEX this week, the main event features Arman Tsarukyan and Mateusz Gamrot. This was not the original No. 1 fight on the card, but I love that

11:07 PM ET Fight fans in Austin were treated to an absolute show on Saturday night. The 12-match fight card delivered eight knockouts, tying six other events for the most KO’s during a single event in the modern era. Rising stars like Joaquin Buckley, Gregory Rodrigues and Adrian Yanez made statements with finishes and put

10:33 PM ET Josh Emmett‘s case for a UFC featherweight title shot got a lot stronger on Saturday, as he picked up a split decision over Calvin Kattar in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Austin, Texas. Emmett (18-2) attacked Kattar (23-6) with winging right hands and body shots over the course of

1:53 PM ET The fight between a pair of UFC lightweight luminaries seems to be cursed. For the second time, Donald Cerrone vs. Joe Lauzon has been canceled the day of the planned bout, UFC officials confirmed Saturday with ESPN. Lauzon had to withdraw because of a non-weight-cut-related medical issue, the promotion said. The contest