MMA

6:47 PM ET Paige VanZant just signed a professional wrestling contract to go along with her deal with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). But she has not closed any kind of doors on mixed martial arts, where she first made her name. VanZant told ESPN on Friday that she still plans to continue her MMA

7:56 AM ET LAS VEGAS — Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event is a light heavyweight bout between onetime title challenger Thiago Santos and rising contender Magomed Ankalaev. There is a lot of intrigue around this 205-pound matchup, as the division is wide open at the moment. Santos (22-9) is rebuilding from a rough stretch

8:35 PM ET The UFC is targeting a middleweight matchup between former champion Robert Whittaker and Marvin Vettori in June, officials told ESPN on Thursday. Contracts have not been signed, but the bout is close to being finalized for a UFC 275 pay-per-view on June 11. A location for the card has yet to be

11:02 PM ET One of the most popular women in mixed martial arts is crossing over into professional wrestling. Paige VanZant, a UFC veteran, has signed a contract with All Elite Wrestling, AEW president Tony Khan announced Wednesday night on Twitter. VanZant signed her AEW contract in a segment on Wednesday night’s “Dynamite” television show.

3:53 PM ET Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos has signed with Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s Eagle FC and will make his promotional debut against Yorgan De Castro on May 20. Nurmagomedov announced the heavyweight main event to ESPN on Wednesday. Additionally, Hector Lombard will face Thiago Silva on the card’s co-main event. The Eagle FC

8:10 PM ET The UFC is finalizing a bantamweight bout between Rob Font and Marlon Vera to headline a UFC Fight Night event next month, multiple sources told ESPN on Wednesday. Contracts are expected to be signed shortly. The 135-pound contest will serve as the main event of UFC Fight Night on April 30. The

9:30 AM ET The hottest free agent in MMA has chosen her home for 2022. And it’s the same as her previous home. Kayla Harrison, a two-time Olympic judo champion, has re-signed with PFL, ESPN has confirmed. Bellator made her a lucrative offer earlier this year, but PFL had the right to match any offer

9:00 AM ET Thiago Santos and Magomed Ankalaev meet in the light heavyweight main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. It is a crossroads fight in some respects, as the 38-year-old Santos is nearly three years removed from an unsuccessful challenge for the UFC’s 205-pound title and Ankalaev, 29, is one

10:48 AM ET Bellator is bringing one of its deepest cards in some time to Hawai’i. Cris Cyborg, one of the top female fighters of all time, will defend her Bellator women’s featherweight title against Arlene Blencowe in a rematch April 23 in Honolulu, Hawai’i, the promotion announced Wednesday morning. ESPN has Cyborg ranked as

6:52 PM ET The UFC has announced a welterweight matchup between Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns for UFC 273. The 170-pound contest had been in the works for some time but was finalized only recently. The UFC announced Saturday the bout is now official for its next pay-per-view event on April 9 in Jacksonville, Florida.

8:53 PM ET UFC lightweight contender Islam Makhachev claims he never turned down an offer to fight Rafael dos Anjos on short notice last weekend. Quite the opposite, in fact. Makhachev (22-1), who defeated Bobby Green in a UFC Fight Night main event on Feb. 26, publicly offered to face dos Anjos in a 170-pound

2:09 PM ET Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez was denied bail Monday in his attempted murder case, per a Santa Clara County (California) court spokesperson. Judge Shelyna Brown of Santa Clara County Superior Court said the “risk is too great” to let Velasquez out on bail because of the “extreme recklessness” of the retired

7:53 AM ET LAS VEGAS — Kamaru Usman stood on stage Friday afternoon at T-Mobile Arena, his daughter Samirah next to him. The UFC welterweight champion and ESPN’s pound-for-pound MMA king was participating in a question-and-answer session with UFC interviewer Megan Olivi ahead of the UFC 272 ceremonial weigh-ins. Usman was asked if the winner

1:08 AM ET Colby Covington dominated Jorge Masvidal to claim a one-sided unanimous decision Saturday night at UFC 272 at T-Mobile Arena in a grudge match between former teammates turned bitter rivals. The judges scored the bout 49-46, 50-44 and 50-45 for Covington. Covington wasted little time going to his bread and butter in the

10:49 PM ET LAS VEGAS — Khabib Nurmagomedov is headed to the UFC’s Hall of Fame. The UFC announced on Saturday that Nurmagomedov (29-0), the undefeated former champion from Dagestan, will be inducted as part of the UFC Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022 during the promotion’s International Fight Week in July. Nurmagomedov was in

3:23 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal did not touch gloves at the start of their UFC 272 main event on Saturday night, the customary show of sportsmanship and respect between athletes as their prizefights are getting underway. But for these two fighters, former teammates and roommates whose relationship soured in the

1:36 AM ET Colby Covington utilized a clear strategy to wear down Jorge Masvidal over five rounds and earned a unanimous decision victory at UFC 272. Covington’s wrestling was simply too much for Masvidal, resulting in most of the fight being contested on the mat. Masvidal did have his moments, but they were few and

6:15 PM ET LAS VEGAS — UFC president Dana White has promoted thousands of fights since stepping into his role in 2001, but there’s something different about this one, the heated grudge match between Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal. The two former roommates and former best friends will fight in the main event of UFC