MMA

Getty Images Jon Jones has been working towards a UFC heavyweight debut since 2020. In some ways, the prospects of Jones competing for the UFC heavyweight title have never looked better. On the other hand, serious complications remain. Jones vs. champion Francis Ngannou appears to be on the tip of everyone’s tongues in the aftermath

LAS VEGAS — It’s easy to forget that in the 1970s, if you wanted to watch an NBA playoff game on television on a weeknight, you had to stay up after the late local news and watch it on tape delay. Then, along came Larry, Magic and Michael and the league changed forever. Larry Bird,

9:59 PM ET UFC president Dana White says him not putting the heavyweight title belt on Francis Ngannou after UFC 270 last weekend had nothing to do with “disrespect.” White addressed the postfight situation in a fan Q&A on Wednesday night with interviewer Laura Sanko on ESPN+. White did not put the belt on Ngannou

ANAHEIM, California — There was a sense of foreboding among the heavily pro-Brandon Moreno sellout crowd of 17,387 inside the Honda Center each time Deiveson Figueiredo landed a punch. Figueiredo lost his flyweight title to Moreno in June at UFC 263 and said later he blamed himself for not devoting 100 percent of his energies

Getty Images As fewer and fewer states have made fighter pay publicly available, the subject of fight purses has remained a hot topic in the combat sports world. UFC 270 was different, however, with the event taking place in California, which still releases official purse figures. And, as the UFC — and company president Dana

3:13 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim Francis Ngannou has built a championship fighting career by unleashing blows with earth-shattering impact. Prior to Saturday night, the UFC heavyweight champion had finished his five most recent fights by knockout, three in less than a minute. Ngannou’s UFC 270 main event in Anaheim, California, ended with challenger Ciryl Gane

ANAHEIM, Calif. — What Francis Ngannou did Saturday in defeating Ciryl Gane with his grappling would be like Usain Bolt setting a world record in the 100 meters running on his hands, or Tom Brady rushing for 250 yards to lead the Buccaneers to another Super Bowl title. Exactly no one saw that coming, though

ANAHEIM, California — Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo put on another classic show on Saturday in the flyweight title fight in the co-main event of UFC 270. Figueiredo fought a more controlled, smarter fight and pulled out the victory in the third fight between them, winning by scores of 48-47 on all three judges’ cards.

Vanessa Demopoulos celebrates after her submission victory over Silvana Gomez Juarez during UFC 270 at Honda Center on Jan. 22, 2022 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) ANAHEIM, Calif. — Things didn’t look too good for Vanessa Demopoulos about a minute into the first round of her bout with Silvana Gomez Juarez on

Getty Images The first UFC PPV event of 2022 is upon us. The promotion is back in California with a pair of title fights tipping the bill, including the heavyweight and flyweight divisions. The main event sees undisputed heavyweight king Francis Ngannou take on interim titleholder Ciryl Gane while the co-main event features flyweight champion

On résumé alone, it’s Francis Ngannou by a landslide over Ciryl Gane. In their battle for the heavyweight title on Saturday (10 p.m. ET, ESPN+ PPV) at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, it’s Ngannou who has the big names on his résumé. Though Gane deconstructed Derrick Lewis perfectly in capturing the interim heavyweight title,

7:50 AM ET SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., and TIJUANA, Mexico — Brandon Moreno was prone on his knees and elbows, his head resting on the Octagon canvas. It’s Aug. 31, 2016, in Las Vegas, and Moreno’s potential run in the UFC was not off to the best start. He had just lost his opening bout on The

When Dana White and his partners took over the UFC in 2001, they knew they had a lot of work ahead of them. But the one thing they believed was almost a guarantee eluded them until only recently. White and the Fertitta brothers, Frank and Lorenzo, believed they would easily be able to make Mexico

LAS VEGAS — Calvin Kattar may want to rethink this strategy of fighting in the middle of January. On Jan. 16, 2021, Kattar went to Abu Dhabi to face Max Holloway in what was a massive opportunity for him against a former featherweight champion. Holloway, though, set a record for most significant strikes landed and

Getty Images Calvin Kattar entered Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event against Giga Chikadze looking to prove he was still a relevant player in the featherweight division despite having absorbed a record number of strikes in his most recent fight, a drubbing at the hands of former division champion Max Holloway. It didn’t take long

7:59 PM ET Former UFC champion Miesha Tate will continue her comeback inside the Octagon in May — in a new weight class. The UFC has booked a 125-pound flyweight matchup between Tate and Lauren Murphy at UFC Fight Night on May 14, officials confirmed to ESPN on Saturday. The promotion has not yet announced

LAS VEGAS — If there has been a criticism of Giga Chikadze during his time in the UFC, it’s been that he’s been moved very slowly. Chikadze has a nine-fight winning streak going on, seven of which are in the UFC, but Edson Barboza was the first ranked opponent he faced. Few fighters have the

When you look at the UFC’s tale of the tape and statistics for the Calvin Kattar-Giga Chikadze fight, it’s startling how remarkably even they are. Chikadze is an inch taller and has a two-inch edge in reach. Both are 33, with Kattar the elder by five months. Kattar averages 0.37 takedowns per 15 minutes; Chikadze