MMA

3:34 PM ET The UFC is finalizing a middleweight bout between Jack Hermansson and Sean Strickland to headline an event in February, sources told ESPN on Friday. Contracts have not yet been signed for the 185-pound contest that will serve as the main event at UFC Fight Night on Feb. 5, but they should be

8:34 AM ET Jose Aldo‘s first fight in Las Vegas was more than 12 years ago: a WEC featherweight title bout against Mike Brown on Nov. 18, 2009. The WEC held a series of open workouts that week inside Palms Casino Resort, and the 23-year-old Aldo shed tears as he addressed the media. For an

10:43 PM ET UFC welterweight Geoff Neal was arrested Thanksgiving Day on charges of driving while intoxicated and unlawfully carrying a weapon, per a Collin County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office document obtained Thursday by ESPN. Neal was taken into custody early Nov. 25 and was released after making $2,000 bond at 8:08 that night, the document

6:26 PM ET Felicia Spencer, a former UFC title challenger who has competed against some of the top female fighters of all time, is retiring from mixed martial arts, she confirmed Thursday with ESPN. “I’ve made the decision to be done with my fighting career, if you want to call it a career,” Spencer told

8:00 AM ET Some fighters burst onto the scene, establishing themselves with out-of-nowhere achievements and confidence beyond their years. Others build slowly and steadily from a young age. ESPN’s third annual ranking of the top 25 MMA fighters under the age of 25 features prospects who could define the sport’s future as well as some

11:36 PM ET UFC president Dana White tested positive for COVID-19 this week and is currently in isolation in his Las Vegas home, he said on “The Jim Rome Podcast” on Wednesday. White, 52, said he and his immediate family tested positive after spending the Thanksgiving holiday together in Maine. White resides in Las Vegas,

4:23 PM ET Prepare for fireworks. That’s the message from UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski when he assesses the showdown between his two former Tiger Muai Thai mentors, Brad Riddell and Rafael Fiziev, in Las Vegas this weekend. There is perhaps no one better to run the rule over the lightweight showdown than Volkanovski, given

5:37 PM ET The UFC has released former interim lightweight title challenger Kevin Lee from its active roster, Lee’s management confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday. According to Lee’s manager, Marquel Martin, the 29-year-old had multiple fights left on his contract, but the UFC elected to terminate the agreement. Lee (18-7) is currently serving a six-month

8:45 AM ET COCONUT CREEK, Fla. — Kyoji Horiguchi laughs when he recounts the story. It was 2019, and after his coaches and teammates at American Top Team (ATT) urged him to put down roots in the area, he finally bought a house in South Florida. Horiguchi, the current Rizin bantamweight champion and former Bellator

7:44 AM ET By the time fighters in Bellator and UFC return to their respective cages, on Friday and Saturday, the calendar will have flipped over to December. Although there are only a month’s worth of fights remaining in 2021, there’s still a lot left to be sorted out for both promotions. A lot of

6:02 PM ET Conor McGregor for the first time has given fans some insight into the timetable for his return to the Octagon. The former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion tweeted Saturday that he will be cleared to return to MMA sparring by April. And after that, McGregor wrote, “a return will be imminent.” The

10:53 AM ET UFC lightweights Beneil Dariush and Islam Makhachev have agreed to meet on Feb 26, manager Ali Abdelaziz told ESPN. The 155-pound, five-round contest will headline a UFC Fight Night, said Abdelaziz, who managers both fighters. The promotion has not yet announced a location for that event. “I don’t like it when two

7:59 AM ET Valentina Shevchenko was inside of a boxing gym in Newark, New Jersey, preparing to go on a run. It was the fall of 2019, and the next day Shevchenko would start filming an MMA movie alongside A-list star Halle Berry. To prepare for the shoot, Shevchenko was cutting weight, and the run

8:00 AM ET Four months removed from a devastating leg injury against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, Conor McGregor has begun his public campaign to line up his next opponent inside the Octagon. Unlike previous efforts, however, this latest push has been broader in scope. As he sat injured in the cage back in July,

9:30 PM ET Ketlen Vieira defeated Miesha Tate via unanimous decision in a five-round main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. It was Tate’s second appearance since returning from a nearly five-year layoff, as she was retired from 2016 to 2021. Two takeaways from this one for me. First off, Tate

9:22 PM ET Miesha Tate‘s highly anticipated comeback run has been upended. Ketlen Vieira defeated Tate, one of the most popular women’s fighters in MMA history, via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. Vieira used her counter-punching and length to win the standup

3:00 PM ET LAS VEGAS — Former UFC bantamweight champion Miesha Tate proved she can still fight earlier this year when she returned from a five-year retirement to defeat Marion Reneau in July. But we’ll find out tonight if she can still fight with the best. Tate (19-7) looked terrific in that third-round finish over

7:56 AM ET UFC president Dana White is fond of saying there are no tune-up fights in the UFC — and for the most part, he’s right. There really aren’t many. But Miesha Tate did get one this year. Tate (19-7) returned from a nearly five-year layoff in July and picked up a dominant TKO