MMA

Getty Images There is nothing in professional sports quite like a vicious knockout. It’s invigorating for some and gruesome for others, but it always elicits a genuine emotional response. The UFC has fielded no shortage of reactions over the first four months of 2023. UFC 287 welcomed three new additions to the list. An exciting

Edmen Shahbazyan was surrounded by hype when he made a big early splash after joining the UFC. Some of it was attributable to his famous then-manager, ex-UFC champion Ronda Rousey, but a lot of it was that he was doing very impressive things at an exceptionally young age. He earned his spot on the UFC

Brett Okamoto Close Brett Okamoto ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Jeff Wagenheim May 16, 2023, 07:02 PM ET The PFL has made it a mission to persuade the MMA public that it is the No. 2 fight promotion in the sport, behind only

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 bouts. We’ll also include any odds that are posted at BetMGM. Check back often as this list will be updated as new fights are scheduled. Here are the major scheduled

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterMay 13, 2023, 05:59 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — Jailton Almeida still has a long way to reach the top of the heavyweight division, but it certainly appears he’ll be a force to reckon with

Getty Images Look out heavyweights, Jailton Almeida is coming. The Brazilian grappling specialist excelled in his first UFC Fight Night main event, submitting Jairzinho Rozenstruik in Round 1 of their Charlotte headliner on Saturday. “When I come down with the pressure, no one can get me,” Almeida said through an interpreter post-fight. Almeida described the

Johnny Walker (right) kicks Anthony Smith in their light heavyweight fight during UFC on ABC 4 on May 13, 2023 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) UFC light heavyweight Johnny Walker has always had enormous amounts of talent. But he displayed in taking apart Anthony Smith on Saturday in the co-main

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 bouts. We’ll also include any odds that are posted at BetMGM. Check back often as this list will be updated as new fights are scheduled. Here are the major scheduled

UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith has gone through a trying year, including the loss of his mother and life-threatening injuries. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) Throughout his mixed martial arts career and, indeed, his full life, Anthony Smith has been the living, breathing definition of a tough guy. When he was 19, he was

Getty Images UFC International Fight Week is locked in with a card that lives up to its name, if not its reputation for star power. UFC returns to Las Vegas on Saturday, July 8 with a card filled with fighters from around the world at UFC 290. The T-Mobile Arena will host a main event

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterMay 9, 2023, 08:00 PM ET DALLAS – Jake Paul has shaken up his coaching staff following his first career loss. The YouTube-star-turned-prizefighter told ESPN on Tuesday that he is now working with trainers Theo Chambers and legendary retired boxer “Sugar” Shane Mosley, along with his longtime coach J’Leon Love, a

Aljamain Sterling hasn’t been on the Yahoo Sports pound-for-pound list despite holding the bantamweight title for more than two years. But after Sterling defeated Henry Cejudo on Saturday at UFC 288 via split decision, it’s high time to change that. Sterling is on an amazing run, having won his last nine and 11 of his

Aljamain Sterling fights against Henry Cejudo during their bantamweight title bout at UFC 288 at Prudential Center on May 06, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) The old saying goes, “He who laughs last, laughs best,” and there is little doubt that Aljamain Sterling is having a good laugh now. A

Getty Images Former two-division champion Henry Cejudo returns from a three-year retirement on Saturday when he faces bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling in the main event of UFC 288. The fight is a chance for Cejudo to win back the title he gave up when he hung up his gloves, and also an opportunity for Sterling

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterMay 5, 2023, 07:48 AM ET Henry Cejudo walked on stage wearing a janky crown and a cheap-looking robe. In his hands were a top hat and plastic scepter. Cejudo, like a two-bit magician, produced from the hat in sequence: a plush mouse, a rubber snake and a white rabbit —

Henry Cejudo was at the peak of his powers. He was 33 years old, had just stopped a legendary opponent and was clearly one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world. He’d come up with a shtick as the UFC’s “King of Cringe,” and he was among the promotion’s biggest stars. And then, as

Getty Images Henry Cejudo is picking up exactly where he left off. Nearly three years to the day of his retirement as UFC bantamweight champion, Cejudo returns to challenge reigning titleholder Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288 on Saturday. The Olympic gold medalist left the game as one of combat sport’s biggest success stories and has

9:00 AM ET A UFC 288 pay-per-view event is set to go down this weekend in Newark — and if we’re being honest, this one is vulnerable to being overlooked. The UFC promoted two PPV events in March, and both felt like signature events. UFC 285 featured the long-anticipated heavyweight debut of Jon Jones, while