MMA

Ryan Spann isn’t one of those athletes who loves to fight so much he’d do it as long as anyone would give him the opportunity. It’s more of a means to an end for him, a way to seek out financial security and set up his family for its future. “I don’t do this to

Jon Jones’ goal is more than just becoming the UFC’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter. Jones, the former longtime UFC light heavyweight champion, will return after a three-year layoff to face former interim champ Ciryl Gane (11-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) for the vacant heavyweight title in the UFC 285 headliner on March 4 at T-Mobile Arena

8:07 AM ET Mixed martial arts will never experience anything like this year’s NBA trade deadline — when second-round draft picks seemingly turned into Monopoly money — but it’s fun to dream. So, in the spirit of all the drama that unfolded on the hardwood, here are a few trades we’d like to see take

Getty Images Erin Blanchfield is putting UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko and her fellow contenders on notice. Blanchfield left no doubt that she is a viable title challenger in a mature and much-improved performance against former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade. Expectations heading into UFC Fight Night on Saturday were that Andrade had the striking

Professional athletes competing at the highest level of their sports can do things the rest of us can’t imagine doing. In 2021, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Max Kranick made his Major League Baseball debut in a short-notice start against the St. Louis Cardinals. All he did was throw five perfect innings before a rainstorm forced him

3:04 PM ET Jeff WagenheimESPN Liz Carmouche will defend her Bellator MMA women’s flyweight championship against DeAnna Bennett in the main event of Bellator 294 on April 21, part of the fight promotion’s two-night visit to Honolulu, Bellator announced Wednesday. Carmouche (18-7) won the title last April with a TKO of Juliana Velasquez, then submitted

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA is heading back to Hawaii for a second consecutive year of back-to-back events. The promotion will host Bellator 294 and Bellator 295 at the Neil S. Blasdell Center in Honolulu on Friday, April 21 and Friday, April 22, respectively. The promotion told Hawaiian news outlet KHON2 that Liz Carmouche will defend

Islam Makhachev’s team is denying Dan Hooker’s claim that the UFC lightweight champion used an IV to rehydrate after weighing in for his UFC 284 main event with Alexander Volkanovski. In the aftermath of Makhachev’s (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) unanimous decision win over Volkanovski (25-2 MMA, 12-1 UFC) in Saturday’s champion-vs.-champion showdown at RAC Arena

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

Getty Images UFC 284 delivered the goods on Saturday night in Australia. Islam Makhachev retained his lightweight title despite a valiant effort from featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. Makhachev took home a unanimous decision in the main event from the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Despite all three judges giving Makhachev the nod, Volkanovski impressed many

About a minute remained in the lightweight title fight Saturday at UFC 284 between hometown hero Alex Volkanovski and reigning champion Islam Makhachev which, by that stage, had already lived up to every one of the outsized expectations for it. As tough as Volkanovski, who entered as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski gave lightweight champion Islam Makhachev everything he had in his attempt at becoming a double champion on Saturday at UFC 284 in Perth, Australia. It wasn’t enough, and Makhachev won a unanimous decision with two judges scoring the fight 48-47 and the other 49-46. In losing his shot at champ-champ,

Alexander Volkanovski stands on the precipice of history, with a lot of things in his favor. He’s the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world according to the UFC ratings, holds the featherweight championship, has won 22 fights in a row and 25 of 26 overall and is 12-0 in the UFC. On Saturday in

Josh Emmett made his professional MMA debut on Oct. 8, 2011. Barack Obama was in his first term as president. Tom Brady had just three Super Bowl rings, with four more championships and six total appearances yet to come. It had been less than a year since Jose Aldo made his first UFC featherweight title

For years, Javier Mendez raved about the talents of UFC lightweight Islam Makhachev. The veteran MMA coach would tell anyone who would listen that he thought Makhachev was the most talented fighter in his gym at the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California, and would soon become the UFC’s pound-for-pound best. The problem is

Feb 8, 2023 Jeff WagenheimESPN When an athlete wins a championship, those watching from the stands tend to view the achievement as an arrival at the ultimate destination. Some champions themselves even see it that way. They’ve elevated themselves above the masses, and their reign on higher ground is what will define their legacy. But

Getty Images The evolution of mixed martial arts has taken the sport to every corner of the globe and Mexico is primed for a breakout year. Yair Rodriguez could cement himself as the country’s second UFC champion in as many pay-per-views by defeating Josh Emmett at UFC 284. The two battle in the co-main event

8:35 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim Rankings are opinions. Opinions are debatable. Except for this one: Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski is the No. 1 fight to watch at this weekend’s UFC 284. There’s simply no other way to stack up the event in Perth, Australia. Makhachev, 23-1 and a winner of his past 21 fights,