MMA

Since it was announced, there was no fight on the UFC schedule that I have looked forward to more than the one that will headline UFC San Antonio on Saturday between No. 3 bantamweight Marlon “Chito” Vera and No. 5 Cory Sandhagen. It should be a wild battle filled with punches, kicks, elbows and plenty

8:48 AM ET 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 Bantamweight is arguably the deepest division in the UFC. The list of potential fighters who could one day be champions is long — perhaps longer than in any

Getty Images For as dramatic and inspirational as Leon Edwards’ head-kick knockout of Kamaru Usman was in their rematch last summer, there was a working theory adopted by many entering their UFC 286 trilogy that he would have to do it a second time for it to truly count.  If we learned anything from their

USATSI Establishing oneself as an exciting fighter in a bantamweight division brimming with top-quality talent takes something special. Cory Sandhagen and Marlon Vera fit the bill. They collide in the main event of UFC Fight Night in San Antonio on Saturday night. Sandhagen vs. Vera was originally scheduled to headline a Fight Night at the

Leon Edwards retained the UFC welterweight title with a second-straight win over former pound-for-pound king Kamaru Usman on Saturday at UFC 286. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) Leon Edwards’ majority decision win over Kamaru Usman in their welterweight title bout on Saturday at UFC 286 in London, England, shook up the Yahoo

9:07 AM ET An old adage in combat sports says that someone is not truly the champion until they defend the title. Well, if that is indeed the case, Leon Edwards cemented himself as the top man at welterweight on Saturday at UFC 286 in London, beating Kamaru Usman for a second straight time with

Anderson Silva (right) will join Jens Pulver and Jose Aldo in the UFC Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023. (Photo by James Law via Getty Images) The only thing that could be said Saturday about the news that Anderson Silva was elected to the UFC Hall of Fame in its pioneer wing is this: What

Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman are 1-1 against each other. On Saturday, they’re going to do it again, settling the score in the rubber match in the main event of UFC 286. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) Much of the speculation about the main event of UFC 286 between champion Leon Edwards

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

USATSI A rare trilogy highlights the UFC 286 card on Saturday as welterweight champion Leon Edwards meets former champion Kamaru Usman in the main event. The third meeting between these longtime rivals will anchor the main UFC 286 fight card (5 p.m. ET) from the O2 Arena in London. Edwards had to win nine consecutive

Mar 13, 2023 Jeff Wagenheim The UFC first visited London in 2002 for an event dubbed “The Brawl at the Hall.” The hall was hallowed old Royal Albert Hall, which prior to Matt Hughes defending his welterweight title against Carlos Newton that night had been best known for appearances by tenacious fighter Sir Winston Churchill

Getty Images Kamaru Usman enters enemy territory to try to reclaim his crown from UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards. Their trilogy fight headlines UFC 286 on Saturday, March 18, London’s first UFC pay-per-view event in six years. England hosts a major UFC event for the first time since UFC 204, a card headlined by hometown

7:39 PM ET Every weight class in the UFC has its intrigue, but nowhere are the twists and turns as dramatic and volatile at the top as they are in men’s bantamweight. Merab Dvalishvili put on a historic performance in winning a lopsided unanimous decision over former champion Petr Yan in the main event of

There are a lot of so-called feuds in mixed martial arts, but rare is the one in which the two fighters intensely dislike each other. Usually, what’s at stake in a bout is enough to spur the athletes to peak performance. And there is plenty at stake for both former bantamweight champion Petr Yan and

7:55 AM ET It could have been decision time, if only the timing were different. When Jon Jones won the UFC championship on Saturday night, did that make him the best heavyweight in the world? Not according to fans of Francis Ngannou, who relinquished the title in January after fighting out his UFC contract to

Getty Images Michael Page is deeply troubled by the financial disparity between mixed martial arts fighters and the organizations that contract them. The fallout between Francis Ngannou and the UFC is the most high-profile example of a problem that Page sees permeating all throughout the sport. Ngannou and UFC’s split dominated the news cycle in

Getty Images Jon Jones is your new UFC heavyweight champion and the path is clear for a dream fight with Stipe Miocic. Jones and Miocic are arguably the greatest light heavyweight and heavyweight fighters in mixed martial arts history, respectively. Jones ran through Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 on Saturday and immediately set his sights

LAS VEGAS — In the last 15 months, Amanda Nunes, who was widely acclaimed as the greatest women’s mixed martial artist ever, lost her championship. On Saturday in the co-main event of UFC 285 at T-Mobile Arena, Valentina Shevchenko, who is clearly the greatest flyweight of all time, was submitted and lost her championship to