MMA

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.

Former UFC star Nate Diaz got into a street fight with a YouTube personality in April, but officials in New Orleans have said Diaz choked out Rodney Petersen in self-defense. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) (Chris Unger via Getty Images) Former UFC star Nate Diaz got into a fight with a YouTuber

Israel Adesanya was stopped for drunk driving on Aug. 19 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images) Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya pleaded guilty to drunk driving in New Zealand on Monday, according to ESPN’s Marc Raimondi. Adesanya was driving home after a dinner with friends on Aug. 19 in Auckland, New Zealand,

Mateusz Gamrot was given the TKO victory after Rafael Fiziev injured his knee during their main event matchup at UFC Vegas 79. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) LAS VEGAS — Rafael Fiziev has earned a deserved reputation as perhaps Justin Gaethje Lite, one of the most exciting fighters in mixed martial arts.

Getty Images In a deep lightweight division, every outing is a chance to impress and put yourself in the conversation as a potential future title challenger. Unfortunately for Mateusz Gamrot, an injury win over Rafael Fiziev in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event may not due much to advance him toward the elite of the

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterSep 22, 2023, 09:25 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun The UFC has added a pair of marquee fights to its final pay-per-view event of 2023. English lightweight Paddy Pimblett (20-3) will make his first appearance of the year opposite

Jiří Procházka is finally back in the Octagon for UFC. (Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images) UFC seems to have figured out the rest of its championship bouts for the year, starting with another crack at finding a light heavyweight champion. UFC president Dana White announced a light heavyweight title fight between former belt-holders Jiří Procházka and

Rafael Fiziev won six straight fights before losing to Justin Gaethje at UFC 286 on March 18. (Kieran Cleeves/PA Images via Getty Images) While the controversy rages on over Alexa Grasso’s title defense against Valentina Shevchenko ending in a draw, the UFC moves on by returning to the Apex this Saturday night. The main event

Yahoo Sports Over or underrated with Mike Golic Jr, Bears talk with Michael Lombardi | Zero Blitz Jason Fitz is joined by the legendary Mike Golic Jr. to discuss a few teams that make them want to toss their cookies, call on some people that need to step up their game in Week 3 of

Kim O’Reilly, CBS Sports Somewhat lost in the debate of the controversial scoring — including a 10-8 fifth round — that led to a split draw in last weekend’s UFC women’s flyweight title rematch is just how perfect Alexa Grasso and former champion Valentina Shevchenko appear to be for each other.  The main event of