MMA

Andreas Hale, ESPNAug 16, 2024, 04:44 PM ET Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez entered a plea of no contest to felony attempted murder, assault and multiple weapons charges in a California court on Friday in exchange for a lighter sentence. Velasquez, 42, was facing an attempted murder trial for a Feb. 2022 incident when

Andreas Hale, ESPNAug 17, 2024, 12:23 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Impa Kasanganay will attempt to be a repeat PFL tournament champion after dispatching Joshua Silveira with a unanimous decision in the light heavyweight semifinals at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Kasanganay earned scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28. He

Andreas Hale, ESPNAug 16, 2024, 08:30 AM ET Open Extended Reactions FROM HIS UFC debut on Feb. 11, 2018, to his title loss to Sean Strickland on Sept. 10, 2023, Israel Adesanya was one of the most active fighters on the UFC roster. He had 16 fights in that time frame (an average of three

Aug 2, 2024, 08:38 AM ET Open Extended Reactions The PFL will determine its 2024 playoff finalists in six weight classes over the course of three fight cards in August, with the main cards on ESPN and all of the fights, including prelims, available for streaming on ESPN+. The playoffs begin with two heavyweight and

Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.auAug 16, 2024, 06:20 AM ET Close Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. Open Extended

Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.auAug 14, 2024, 11:18 PM ET Close Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. Open Extended

Andreas Hale, ESPNAug 15, 2024, 10:32 AM ET Open Extended Reactions The UFC heads back to the “Great White North” on Nov. 2 for a UFC Fight Night event at the Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta. The main event will feature former two-time strawweight champion Rose Namajunas facing Erin Blanchfield in a women’s flyweight battle

Aug 15, 2024, 06:15 AM ET Open Extended Reactions The Ultimate Fighting Championship will return to Macau for the first time in 10 years with a Fight Night event on Nov. 23, the mixed martial arts promotion said Thursday. The UFC last held an event in Macau in August 2014. The event in November will

Aug 14, 2024, 04:18 AM ET Open Extended Reactions South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis takes on Nigerian-New Zealander Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 on August 17/18 [depending on where you are in the world]. ‘Stillknocks’, the current middleweight champion, spoke to ESPN about his gym in Pretoria, his love for his country, and why he

Andreas Hale, ESPNAug 13, 2024, 10:18 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Conor McGregor‘s long-awaited return to the UFC won’t happen this year. UFC president Dana White addressed the future of the former two-division champion after the season debut of “Dana White’s Contender Series” on Tuesday. While he was optimistic that McGregor would compete again for

Aug 13, 2024, 09:25 PM ET Open Extended Reactions “Dana White’s Contender Series” returns for Season 8 on Aug. 13. The show, which has been a pipeline to the UFC for top talent from around the world, has helped the UFC discover some of the best fighters in the sport today including bantamweight champion Sean

Jeff Wagenheim Aug 12, 2024, 10:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions There’s something special about a mixed martial arts event Down Under. Maybe it’s the time warp a North American fan experiences while watching fights on TV on a Saturday night and realizing that they’re taking place the following morning, local time. That’s about as

ESPN Aug 10, 2024, 10:20 PM ET Email Print Open Extended Reactions Serghei Spivac knew he had the advantage on the mat against Marcin Tybura, so that’s exactly where he took the fight to lock in the first-round submission for the win. Spivac (17-4) wasted little time securing the takedown, where he secured an armbar

Andreas Hale, ESPNAug 10, 2024, 10:24 PM ET Open Extended Reactions LAS VEGAS — Serghei Spivac made short work of Marcin Tybura and secured a first-round submission Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night at the UFC Apex. The fight was a rematch of their 2020 meeting when Tybura won a unanimous decision.

Aug 9, 2024, 09:45 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Nothing thrills MMA fans more than watching two fighters clinching against the cage, sweaty arms wrapped around each other’s sweaty backs for minutes at a time, right? If we can’t watch a fight unfold in that manner, how about the joy found in round after round

Aug 7, 2024, 10:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Finally, Francis Ngannou and Cris Cyborg will make their PFL debuts. On Oct. 19, two of the best fighters in MMA history will have their first matches in the promotion. Ngannou, a former UFC heavyweight champion, will face 2023 PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira in the

Associated Press Aug 7, 2024, 09:39 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is set to return to MMA when he makes his Professional Fighters League debut in October, stepping back inside the cage after a pair of high-profile paydays in boxing. Ngannou fights 2023 PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira on

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 4, 2024, 01:30 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions UFC Abu Dhabi was a display for rising stars and a former champion, all ready for bigger and better things in their respective divisions. In the main