MMA

2:45 PM ET The UFC is close to finalizing a barn burner of a main event between Calvin Kattar and Giga Chikadze in January, multiple sources told ESPN. Contracts have not been signed, but the UFC is working on booking the featherweight bout as its headliner for a UFC Fight Night on Jan. 15. Kattar

7:32 AM ET When Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Mackenzie Dern made her full transition into mixed martial arts in 2016, the sheer potential of it was intoxicating. Granted, so many things need to go right for any prospect to fully realize his or her potential, but in the case of Dern, her submission grappling is

11:52 PM ET Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos will be back in action soon. But not in the Octagon. Dos Santos, who was released by the UFC in March, will make his professional wrestling debut next weekend with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), it was announced Wednesday on the AEW Dynamite program. The bout

11:24 PM ET Former UFC bantamweight champion Holly Holm has been forced to withdraw from a featherweight main event against Norma Dumont on Oct. 16, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. The UFC is working on finalizing 26-year-old Aspen Ladd as a replacement to fight Dumont in the UFC Fight Night main event, sources said. Once

2:13 PM ET One top Bellator star will be defending her belt next month. Another will be giving up his title. Bellator president Scott Coker said Wednesday on The MMA Hour that Cris Cyborg will defend her women’s featherweight title against Sinead Kavanagh on Nov. 12 in Hollywood, Florida. Coker also announced that Patricio “Pitbull”

8:01 AM ET Mackenzie Dern faces Marina Rodriguez in a meeting of ranked strawweights in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. The fights at UFC Apex can be seen on ESPN+, with the main card starting at 4 p.m. ET and the prelims at 1 p.m. Dern (11-1) has

4:11 PM ET UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou‘s first title defense will come against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January, Ngannou’s manager, Marquel Martin, confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday. Contracts are not yet signed by both parties, however both sides have agreed. The fight is expected to be finalized shortly and headline a pay-per-view

8:00 AM ET The UFC’s year-end slate is taking shape, and the promotion is already starting to fill in some big fights for 2022. Conspicuous by their absences are some prominent, pay-per-view-headlining-caliber names, including Nate Diaz, UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and the Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson-crowned BMF himself, Jorge Masvidal. Other stars, such as

4:02 PM ET In the wake of a fighter’s death, the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (ABC) medical advisory committee has issued a statement urging athletic commissions to exercise caution when it comes to bare-knuckle fighting. In the statement written Tuesday by co-chairman and ringside physician Dr. Michael Schwartz and obtained by ESPN,

12:26 PM ET The UFC has quickly rebooked a middleweight contest between Kyle Daukaus and Kevin Holland, after their first meeting ended in a no-contest at a UFC Fight Night last weekend. Contracts have not been signed, but both sides have verbally agreed to run it back on Nov. 13 in Las Vegas, multiple sources

8:04 AM ET October got off to a less explosive than expected start in the world of MMA, as powerful strikers Thiago Santos and Johnny Walker fought cautiously and went the distance in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event. But a busy month of October has just begun. Holly Holm returns to featherweight and main

12:26 AM ET Dustin Poirier will indeed get his chance to hold UFC gold by the end of the year. Poirier (28-6) has agreed to challenge Charles Oliveira (31-8) for the lightweight championship at UFC 269 on Dec. 11. The matchup had been in talks for weeks, and Poirier told ESPN late last month there

9:58 PM ET A bout that was promoted as being a sure bet to produce fireworks ended up being a dud. Thiago Santos edged Johnny Walker via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. The fight featured two of the most explosive knockout artists

4:39 PM ET Two of the most explosive knockout artists in the UFC light heavyweight division will go to battle this weekend. Thiago Santos and Johnny Walker meet Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas — and it would be shocking if the bout between the two natives of Brazil

7:36 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim Michael Page made up for his only career stumble by securing the biggest victory of his career on Friday in his hometown, edging three-time Bellator MMA welterweight champion Douglas Lima by split decision in the main event of Bellator 267 at Wembley Arena in London. In a highly competitive fight,

2:44 PM ET A women’s bantamweight fight between Aspen Ladd and Macy Chiasson is off this weekend’s UFC card after Ladd appeared shaky at the weigh-in. Ladd was unsteady on the scale Friday morning as Nevada State Athletic Commission chief assistant Jeff Mullen was attempting to register her weight. Every time Ladd attempted to put

7:23 PM ET The UFC is finalizing a bantamweight fight between two exciting bantamweight prospects in Sean O’Malley and Raulian Paiva, multiple sources told ESPN. Once finalized, the 135-pound bout will take place at UFC 269 on Dec. 11. The UFC has not yet announced a location for that pay-per-view event, but it is expected

7:30 AM ET In the UFC’s light heavyweight division, 40 is the new 30. The current champion, Jan Blachowicz, turns 39 years old in February. No. 1 contender Glover Teixeira, who will challenge Blachowicz for the title at UFC 267 on Oct. 30, is 41. Blachowicz and Teixeira both have exhibited longevity and perseverance. Blachowicz