MMA

Getty Images UFC superstar Conor McGregor took a bit during halftime of Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat a little too seriously. The former UFC Featherweight and Lightweight champion blasted Heat mascot Burnie with a pair of punches during a skit in which McGregor was promoting his line

Jun 11, 2023, 02:19 AM ET What were the biggest moments from the first UFC pay-per-view in Canada in nearly four years? Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi, Jeff Wagenheim and Andres Waters offer up their final thoughts after an 11-fight card in Vancouver, British Columbia. Wagenheim: Nunes is the gold standard Amanda Nunes went out like

Amanda Nunes retired Saturday after another dominant performance. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) Amanda Nunes stepped off a plane in New Jersey as a young 20-something, a dream of one day winning championships and becoming recognized as the greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time. It was a long, and often arduous, journey to

The lightweight bout between Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush is easily the most fascinating and potentially most exciting pairing on the UFC 289 card Saturday. Oliveira lost his championship to Islam Makhachev in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in October and is fighting for the first time since. He’s a world-class grappler with elite striking.

In the movie Air, about Nike’s courtship of Michael Jordan, Sonny Vaccaro tells the Jordan family in one memorable scene how, after a superstar reaches the top, there is this desire to then tear them down. And that’s kind of where it seems that UFC double champion Amanda Nunes finds herself. On Saturday at Rogers

Getty Images Beneil Dariush seems to be on the verge of achieving the ultimate goal in combat sports. Dariush is set to face former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira in the co-main event of UFC 289 on Saturday in what’s expected to produce the No. 1 contender in the division. It’s a far cry from where

Andres Waters Jun 6, 2023, 11:15 PM ET “The Ultimate Fighter” returned last Tuesday with two of the biggest strikers in the sport, Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler, splitting up this year’s roster of fighters and beginning training. Last week’s fight went by quickly, with a Chandler-coached Roosevelt Roberts getting one step closer to returning

Lightweight contender Beneil Dariush faces his greatest challenge on Saturday when he takes on ex-champion Charles Oliveira in the co-main event of UFC 289. (Chris Unger/Getty Images) It’s a title that says a lot about a fighter’s skill and potential, but it’s also a title that no one in his or her right mind wants.

Getty Images Amir Albazi passed his first test against the flyweight elite but not with flying colors. Albazi snuck out a split decision win against former interim title challenger Kai Kara-France at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas on Saturday. “There is no name. There is only one thing I want. I want to get

The ageless Jim Miller is looking as dangerous as ever. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) Jim Miller stands alone in UFC history, and he got there violently. The lightweight veteran dispatched Jesse Butler with a brutal KO in the first round of Saturday’s UFC Vegas 74 to become the first mixed martial

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJun 1, 2023, 06:37 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun A marquee heavyweight matchup between Curtis Blaydes and Jailton Almeida will headline a UFC Fight Night in November, multiple sources confirmed to ESPN on Thursday. Contracts have not been issued,

Seconds after he finished Julian Erosa a week before Christmas with a brilliant head-kick knockout, Alex Caceres appeared on the verge of breaking down in tears. He was clearly emotional after a massive win. When he was interviewed by Paul Felder in the cage, he spoke of fear, honor and courage in a widely praised

UFC’s No. 3-ranked flyweight Kai Kara-France will face No. 7 Amir Albazi (not pictured) in the main event of UFC Vegas 74 on June 3. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC) Plan your fight nights ahead with our UFC fight schedule. Included below are all of the UFC’s upcoming Fight Night cards and pay-per-events with announced

Getty Images UFC president Dana White had a busy month trading barbs with UFC fighters past and present. Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou’s signing with PFL reignited his feud with White. Meanwhile, reigning bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has his own issues with matchmakers. If contract and matchmaking disputes were not bad enough, new financial

May 29, 2023, 09:00 AM ET For the entirety of its era-bridging run as a reality TV show — 30 seasons over 18 years — “The Ultimate Fighter” has served dual purposes. Ostensibly, it is a talent search, sorting out mostly up-and-coming fighters in order to freshen the UFC roster and perhaps unearth a gem.

Sports collectibles like trading cards, autographs and other memorabilia have been big business for decades. With MMA, it’s no different. From signed Bellator gloves and UFC posters to fight-worn gear and an abundance of pricey trading cards, just about any MMA collectible fans are looking for has popped up for sale at some point. Here’s

Combate Global A world championship tilt headlines Combate Global’s return to Miami on Sunday. Reigning bantamweight champion David Martinez defends his crown against the vastly more experienced Jose Zarauz. Matinez (9-1) makes the second defense of his bantamweight title against Zarauz (23-9-1), a fighter with more than three times as many professional bouts under his

Reed Kuhn Close Reed Kuhn Special to ESPN.com Reed Kuhn is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, and strategy and analytics consultant. He is the author of “Fightnomics: The Hidden Numbers and Science in Mixed Martial Arts,” the first book to quantify drivers and performance metrics in combat sports. Ian Parker May 25, 2023, 09:26 AM ET