MMA

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

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterSep 17, 2023, 01:16 AM ET LAS VEGAS — The rivalry between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko might need a trilogy. Grasso and Shevchenko fought to a split draw (48-47, 47-48, 47-47) on Saturday night in the main event of Noche UFC at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Because of the

Alexa Grasso retained the UFC women’s flyweight title after a controversial draw Saturday at Noche UFC in Las Vegas. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) LAS VEGAS — Noche UFC was a great idea executed perfectly Saturday. In their wildest dreams, UFC officials couldn’t have hoped to script a better show: The promotion’s

Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko fought to a split draw Saturday in the main event of Noche UFC inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) LAS VEGAS – Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko put on an epic battle Saturday for the UFC women’s flyweight title in the main

Combate Global Estefania Rodriguez represents Mexico in an atomweight main event against Stephanie Hernandez on Mexican Independence Day. Saturday’s Combate Global card features Mexican-born fighters from top to bottom competing in Miami. Rodriguez makes her Combate debut on Saturday after collecting a perfect 4-0 record elsewhere on the regional circuit. Hernandez (3-1) is a reliable

Carlos Contreras Legaspi Sep 15, 2023, 08:15 AM ET The rear-naked choke is the most commonly applied jiu-jitsu submission in MMA. Winning and losing by that method have marked the career of UFC women’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso. The Mexican standout, who dethroned Valentina Shevchenko in March at UFC 285 with that choke as a

LAS VEGAS — Six UFC champions — regular, full champions, not interim belt-holders — have been beaten by their challengers in 2023. It began in January when interim flyweight champion Brandon Moreno defeated regular champion Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 283. It continued at UFC 285, when Alexa Grasso upset long-standing women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko

LAS VEGAS — Six UFC champions — regular, full champions, not interim belt-holders — have been beaten by their challengers in 2023. It began in January when interim flyweight champion Brandon Moreno defeated regular champion Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 283. It continued at UFC 285, when Alexa Grasso upset long-standing women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko

Getty Images Islam Makhachev dominated Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 to capture the UFC lightweight championship. Oliveira is steadfast that he does not recognize the Oliveira who entered the cage that night in Abu Dhabi. The former champion can validate those claims by avenging his loss to Makhachev inside the Etihad Arena, the site of

There was talk prior to Israel Adesanya’s title defense on Sept. 9 against Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia, that Adesanya had caught up with Anderson Silva as the greatest middleweight in MMA history. Adesanya closed as nearly a 7-1 favorite, but then was drubbed by Strickland in one of the most shocking

Brett Okamoto Close Brett Okamoto ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Marc Raimondi Sep 11, 2023, 09:00 AM ET Sean Strickland is a UFC champion. Do not adjust your screen. That is not a typo. On Saturday, Strickland dethroned heavy favorite Israel Adesanya to

Getty Images The UFC returns to pay-per-view on Saturday night with a UFC 293 card headlined by one of the sport’s best defending his world title. The main event features Israel Adesanya making the first defense of his second reign as middleweight champion when he faces Sean Strickland. Strickland got the call to challenge for

Israel Adesanya defends his middleweight title against Sean Strickland on Saturday at UFC 293 inside Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) It’s almost time for UFC’s middleweight championship fight: Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland. Saturday night, middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will face a challenge from Sean Strickland

When Robert Whittaker, the former middleweight champion, made the walk to the Octagon on July 8 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to face Dricus Du Plessis in the co-main event of UFC 290, a legitimate argument could have been made that Whittaker belonged in the MMA pound-for-pound Top 10. He was that good. He’d

When Robert Whittaker, the former middleweight champion, made the walk to the Octagon on July 8 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to face Dricus Du Plessis in the co-main event of UFC 290, a legitimate argument could have been made that Whittaker belonged in the MMA pound-for-pound Top 10. He was that good. He’d

Jake Michaels, ESPN Senior WriterSep 7, 2023, 07:37 AM ET Close Jake Michaels is a Melbourne-based sports writer who covers everything from Aussie Rules to Formula One, basketball to boxing. He has been with ESPN for 10 years and works as a Senior Writer, covering sport in Australia and around the world. SYDNEY — Israel

There has been surprisingly little talk about Israel Adesanya challenging the perception of Anderson Silva as the greatest middleweight in MMA history, even as Adesanya goes about cleaning out the UFC’s 185-pound class for a second time. Adesanya — who on Saturday in Sydney, Australia, will defend his belt against Sean Strickland in the main

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterSep 2, 2023, 06:26 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun It’s amazing how much better Ciryl Gane looks in the Octagon when he’s not fighting Jon Jones. Gane (12-2) breezed to a second-round TKO over Serghei Spivac (16-4) in the