MMA

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

Getty Images Ciryl Gane is the first to admit he failed against Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou, but he did well to repair his image against Serghei Spivac on Saturday. Gane used Spivac as a canvas to paint a masterpiece for his hometown Paris crowd. Gane’s reputation as arguably the most skillful striker in heavyweight

Ciryl Gane (L) lands a left to the body of Serghei Spivac en route to a win by second-round TKO Saturday in the main event of UFC Paris at Accor Arena. (Josh Hedges/Getty Images) Ciryl Gane was on a mission Saturday against Serghei Spivac to wash the stench from his last performance, when he basically

Yahoo Sports Yahoo Fantasy experts reveal final piece of draft advice To conclude “Cram Week” and our draft season coverage we have everyone on the Yahoo Fantasy staff here to provide their one last piece of advice you need to know before heading into your drafts. Yahoo’s Andy Behrens, Dalton Del Don, Scott Pianowski, Dan

Ciryl Gane was only 3-0 as a professional fighter when he signed with the UFC in 2019, and no one, not even the UFC braintrust of Dana White, Hunter Campbell, Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard who sought him out could be certain of what they had. Gane was clearly a brilliant athlete who was extraordinarily

Getty Images If there’s one thing Rose Namajunas, the two-time former UFC women’s strawweight champion, is never without, it’s her refreshing ability to share the honest truth at every turn.  So, in a sport as unforgiving and violent as MMA, it would typically be a red flag to hear a fighter, still presumably in the

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 30, 2023, 08:46 AM ET Share Open Extended Reactions Kurt Angle got on a plane in 2006 bound for Las Vegas. The former Olympic wrestling gold medalist was potentially about to embark on a new career path. He was finishing up after an excellent run with WWE that made him

Yahoo Sports Guys we’ve changed our mind on this preseason It’s ‘Cram Week’ on the pod as we get you ready for all your drafts this week and over the Labor Day holiday weekend. Scott Pianowski joins Matt Harmon to put a bow on the preseason and determine which guys they’ve changed their mind on

Marc Raimondi Brett Okamoto Close Brett Okamoto ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Aug 26, 2023, 10:52 AM ET What were the biggest moments from UFC Fight Night in Singapore? Marc Raimondi and Brett Okamoto react to Saturday morning’s fights at Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Getty Images Max Holloway and “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung entered their UFC Fight Night main event in Singapore on Saturday with expectations they’d deliver a classic battle. That’s exactly what happened, with the two featherweights trading big shots until Holloway scored a right hand that put Jung to sleep early in the third

Max Holloway defeated Chan Sung Jung by knockout at UFC Singapore. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) It didn’t take long for Max Holloway to take down “The Korean Zombie.” Holloway knocked out Chan Sung Jung seconds into the third round at UFC Singapore on Saturday morning. The win pushed Holloway’s record to