MMA

Getty Images A pair of high-profile fallouts had UFC 294 on shaky legs, but Saturday’s card stuck the landing big time. UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and former welterweight champ Kamaru Usman stepped up and saved an Abu Dhabi card loaded with talent.  UFC 294 is headlined by Volkanovski taking on UFC lightweight champion Islam

Jeff Wagenheim, ESPNOct 16, 2023, 09:28 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Maybe every major UFC card should be left blank until a couple of weeks before fight night. Last-minute matchmaking sure has worked wonders for UFC 294. For months, the promotion had been building a potent lineup for Saturday’s return to Abu Dhabi, United Arab

Anyone who’s been critical of Paulo Costa having to withdraw from UFC 294 might want to reconsider their stance. Costa was forced out of his fight with Khamzat Chimaev, which was scheduled for Saturday’s pay-per-view event in Abu Dhabi, last week after he wasn’t medically cleared to compete due to a staph infection. The beginning

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterOct 14, 2023, 10:11 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Sodiq Yusuff absolutely pummeled Edson Barboza throughout the first round of their featherweight main event on Saturday in Las Vegas. Unfortunately for Yusuff, it wasn’t a one-round

Getty Images Edson Barboza has been in the fight game for a long time and he has a lot of fight left in him. Barboza survived an early onslaught in Las Vegas on Saturday to overcome a hungry contender in Sodiq Yusuff in the UFC Fight Night main event. Saturday’s headliner got off to a

Edson Barboza reacts after the conclusion of a featherweight fight against Sodiq Yusuff during UFC Vegas 81 on October 14, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) (Chris Unger via Getty Images) Sodiq Yusuff stormed out of his corner in the first round Saturday at Apex in Las Vegas

Israel Adesanya, the former UFC middleweight champion, said on ‘The Rock’ podcast he won’t fight again for a long while. (Mike Roach/Getty Images) (Mike Roach via Getty Images) Israel Adesanya is an inherently private man in the most public of businesses. His job essentially requires him to strip down to his underwear and fight another

Yahoo Sports How Anthony Richardson changed Indy’s plans, Frank Reich on David Tepper | Inside Coverage Jason Fitz is joined by senior NFL reporters Charles Robinson and Jori Epstein to go behind the scenes on the latest news around the NFL. The hosts start with Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos, and whether or not

Getty Images UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is swooping in to save the day and avenge his only UFC loss. Volkanovski agreed to challenge UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev on short notice after Charles Oliveira was forced off UFC 294’s main event due to injury. Makhachev and Volkanovski will meet for a second time on

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterOct 11, 2023, 12:28 AM ET When one rematch falls, another one rises. Alexander Volkanovski will step in for Charles Oliveira to face current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev for the 155-pound title at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi. Oliveira, who first fought Makhachev and lost at UFC 280 last year, was

Bellator MMA Bellator 300 is set to go down on Saturday, a remarkable accomplishment when you consider that other “major promotions” such as Pride FC and Strikeforce did not even make it to 70 events before folding. In an attempt to add weight to such a milestone, Bellator has scheduled a trio of championship bouts

Oct 2, 2023, 10:24 AM ET Grant Dawson meets Bobby Green in the lightweight main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. The fights at UFC Apex are on ESPN+, with the 7 p.m. ET main card preceded by prelims at 4 p.m. Dawson (20-1-1) is unbeaten in his most recent 12

Grant Dawson is 11-0-1 in his last 12 fights and is now ranked 10th at lightweight in the UFC. (Chris Unger/Getty Images) (Chris Unger via Getty Images) LAS VEGAS — MMA fans are known for their extraordinary passion. And if it weren’t for one of them, Grant Dawson may not be a contender for the

Yahoo Sports Fixing broken NFL offenses with Nate Tice | The Exempt List Charles McDonald is joined by the great Nate Tice as they become Dr. Football and Dr. Football (no relation), experts in fixing broken NFL offenses. But first, the duo give their takeaways from Week 4. Charles and Nate give their thoughts on

Combate Global Combate Global is dedicating Saturday to its future stars. Henry Beltran vs. Anthony Jagel headlines a five-fight card designed to highlight young prospects looking to make their marks in mixed martial arts. Beltran is a two-time amateur MMA champion coming off a head-kick knockout in his professional debut. His takedown defense must hold

Sep 29, 2023, 07:57 AM ET Back in October 2019, Stipe Miocic was the UFC heavyweight champion. Jon Jones ruled at light heavyweight. Israel Adesanya was the newly crowned king of middleweights. And, well, let’s just cut to the chase and say that all 12 of the fight promotion’s weight classes had champions who do

Sep 27, 2023, 09:00 AM ET There have been eight UFC title changes this year, if you include championships being vacated due to retirement or injury. Undoubtedly, 2023 has been marked by fluidity and perhaps a passing of the torch to the next generation. With all the fluctuations, it’s an excellent time to look at

Bellator MMA Bellator 300 is just around the corner and it’s a jam-packed card. The promotion has an incredibly rare four title fights lined up in celebration of the milestone event in San Diego on Saturday, Oct. 7. Long-standing pillars of Bellator and newfound stables are set to defend their titles at the Pechanga Arena.