MMA

7:00 AM ET Ryan Hockensmith THE GOLF CART is already moving when the driver, Ben Askren, waves his hand for me to get in. The tour of the Funky Farms ranch has begun. It’s a wild, rocky ride over 11 acres of property 20 miles east of Milwaukee. Funky Farms is tucked into a suburban

7:33 AM ET The 29th season of The Ultimate Fighter will officially come to its conclusion on Saturday, at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas. Bantamweight finalists Ricky Turcios (10-2) and Brady Hiestand (5-1) and middleweight finalists Bryan Battle (5-1) and Gilbert Urbina (6-1) will square up with a guaranteed UFC contract on the line.

10:45 PM ET CLEVELAND — Jake Paul is taking aim at a former ally. The YouTuber-turned-prizefighter blasted UFC star Jorge Masvidal in a media scrum Wednesday following Paul’s workout here at Public Square and said he wants to fight him in the future. Paul takes on former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in a boxing

2:03 PM ET CLEVELAND — Stipe Miocic just wanted a call, a nod that he was at least in the conversation. The most successful UFC heavyweight champion of all time told ESPN on Wednesday that the UFC never contacted him to offer an opportunity at the interim heavyweight title earlier this month. Instead, Ciryl Gane

8:02 AM ET It’s been 26 months since Brendan Loughnane fought in the UFC’s Contender Series in Las Vegas. But even two years later, that night continues to define his career. Loughnane (21-3) faces Movlid Khaybulaev (17-0-1) in a PFL featherweight semifinal on Friday in Hollywood, Florida. The 31-year-old is riding a seven-fight win streak

7:30 AM ET The future of the UFC’s middleweight division seemed a bit hazy beyond the presumed next title fight — a rematch between champion Israel Adesanya and the man he beat for that title, Robert Whittaker. But on Saturday, Jared Cannonier put himself at the top of the list to be the next man

1:47 AM ET Jared Cannonier has been in the UFC for six years, competing in three different weight divisions. He’s closer to 40 years old than 30. Yet, on Saturday night, the former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employee put forth perhaps his most impressive performance in the Octagon. Cannonier bested Kelvin Gastelum via unanimous decision

6:30 PM ET Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images The UFC Fight Night main event between Jared Cannonier and Kelvin Gastelum on Saturday night in Las Vegas is a pivotal one in the 185-pound division. The winner will remain a top contender, while the loser will slide down the rankings. ESPN has Cannonier ranked No.

10:32 PM ET CM Punk is back in professional wrestling. But not with WWE. After seven years away from the ring, Punk returned Friday night with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), appearing on its television show “Rampage” in his hometown of Chicago. The promotion announced Punk, one of the most popular stars in pro wrestling through

7:32 PM ET Saul Soliz, a mixed martial arts pioneer who trained some of the biggest names in the history of MMA and helped get the sport off the ground in Texas, died Tuesday morning due to complications from COVID-19, according to his wife, Toi. He was 55. Soliz, whom many have dubbed “The Godfather

7:30 AM ET It’s time for Jared Cannonier to show us who he is. Just 10 months ago, everything was laid out for Cannonier (13-5). He was 3-0 as a UFC middleweight, and the defending champion of his division, Israel Adesanya, was saying his name — instead of the other way around. Adesanya wanted to

6:22 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim As the PFL playoffs continue with semifinals in two weight classes on Thursday in Hollywood, Florida (live on ESPN+; 9 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+), the emerging narrative could be that a dominant champion remains in the driver’s seat. Or it could be that someone new is about to take the

11:58 PM ET Jeff WagenheimESPN Kayla Harrison made it look easy once again on Thursday night, moving one final step away from her second straight $1 million championship in the PFL playoffs. The two-time Olympic gold medalist judoka remained undefeated in MMA with a first-round TKO of Genah Fabian in the women’s lightweight semifinal in

8:02 AM ET Genah Fabian‘s phone rang the night of May 23. It was a video call from Carlos Ulberg, her teammate at City Kickboxing in New Zealand. For nearly a week, Fabian had been distraught. Fau Vake, another teammate, was clinging to life in a Wellington hospital after being brutally assaulted six days earlier

11:03 PM ET The return of The Ultimate Fighter has hit an unforeseen snag. Tresean Gore is injured and out of the TUF middleweight final at UFC Fight Night on Aug. 28, UFC officials confirmed Wednesday with ESPN. Gilbert Urbina, whom Gore beat in the semifinals, will now fight Bryan Battle in the championship bout.

11:40 AM ET Editor’s note: This story was originally published in Sept. 2019. Cannonier fights Kelvin Gastelum in the main event of UFC Fight Night on August 21, 2021. Jared Cannonier was living in Anchorage, Alaska, and doing maintenance on air traffic control equipment for the Federal Aviation Administration. It was 2009, he was almost

7:26 AM ET After a rare off weekend in the world of UFC, action returns to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday as middleweights Jared Cannonier and Kelvin Gastelum each try to come back from losses to Robert Whittaker in their most recent bouts. While it would seem to be more pressing for

Aug 12, 2021 After recording her first victory as a professional mixed martial artist in June, Claressa Shields will return to the PFL cage on Oct. 27, the boxing champion announced Thursday. PFL officials confirmed to ESPN that she will face Abigail Montes, 21, of Mexico. “I’m always in training. I’m always working,” Shields said