MMA

3:11 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim Editor’s note: Khamzat Chimaev faces the biggest test of his career on April 9 at UFC 273, taking on top-five welterweight Gilbert Burns. This story has been updated since being published in October following Chimaev’s most recent fight. After an absence of over a year, Khamzat Chimaev returned to the

Getty Images If Curtis Blaydes was looking to prove he is still a player at the top end of the heavyweight division, he got the job done this past Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night. In the night’s main event, Blaydes scored a big TKO win over Chris Daukaus in the second

Curtis Blaydes knocked out Chris Daukaus in the second round Saturday, then immediately called for an interim title shot as soon as June. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC) There were no takedown attempts. No thoughts of slow-playing it to try to wear down his opponent. It was toe-to-toe, power-to-power, man-to-man, for Curtis Blaydes on Saturday

Nate Diaz wants out of the UFC. The longtime MMA star publicly asked the UFC and president Dana White to release him from his contract on Twitter on Saturday. I Would like to request to be released from the @ufc @danawhite @hunterI apologize for asking online but u don’t give me a fight asap I

Getty Images Fans of Nick and Nate Diaz know the brothers are prone to making wild statements in tweets and interviews. And both men have certainly had their fair share of issues with the UFC brass. So, when Nate tweeted on Saturday afternoon requesting his release from the promotion, it raised eyebrows but may not

Curtis Blaydes believes whole-heartedly in the adage, “Good things come to those who wait.” Blaydes has competed in the UFC since 2016 and is 10-3 in the promotion. On Saturday (7 p.m. ET on ESPN) in Columbus, Ohio, when he fights Chris Daukaus, it will be the fourth time in his last five bouts he’s

12:00 PM ET Curtis Blaydes was riding high in the UFC’s heavyweight division a little over a year ago. He had won four fights in a row, and the only defeats of his career had come against the champion, Francis Ngannou. But then, in February 2021, Blaydes ran into a Derrick Lewis uppercut, and his

UFC star Jorge Masvidal was arrested on Wednesday night after he allegedly confronted and punched Colby Covington multiple times outside of a Miami steakhouse earlier this week, according to ESPN’s Marc Raimondi. Masvidal was charged with aggravated battery with bodily harm and criminal mischief, and was being held on a $15,000 bond. Jorge Masvidal is

The UFC showed Chris Daukaus an enormous amount of respect in the aftermath of his first-round knockout loss in December to Derrick Lewis. Daukaus will return to the Octagon on Saturday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) in Columbus for the first time since that loss and will meet fourth-ranked Curtis Blaydes in the main event. Not

Getty Images Jorge Masvidal allegedly assaulted Colby Covington outside of a Miami Beach steakhouse. The reported physical altercation comes just weeks after Covington vs. Masvidal headlined UFC 272 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Police documents state that Masvidal attacked Covington outside of Papi Steak restaurant on Monday night. An initial report of

8:39 PM ET Brett Okamoto Close ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Marc Raimondi LONDON — After his submission victory in the main event of the UFC Fight Night card Saturday, Tom Aspinall told me he was pacing himself against Alexander Volkov, because of

In the early 1960s, four friends from England got together and captivated the world with their fabulous music. The Beatles in that decade went on to become arguably the most iconic band of all time. On Saturday at O2 Arena, four young Brits appeared on a fight card together. While it was not as history-changing

Getty Images Alexander Volkov and Tom Aspinall are revving to make a big splash in the UFC heavyweight division. Volkov vs. Aspinall headlines UFC’s return to London at the O2 Arena on Saturday, March 19. Volkov (34-9) has looked impressive across 11 UFC fights, but he has always come up just short of title contention.

Tom Aspinall is the prototypical modern MMA heavyweight. He’s big, at 6-foot-5 and over 250 pounds but very athletic, and is as good on the ground as he is on his feet. He’s got a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Aspinall, though, has something going for him that could prove to be the difference in

9:00 AM ET Tom Aspinall is a young star in the making in the UFC’s heavyweight division. At age 28, he is 4-0 in the Octagon, 11-2 overall in his MMA career. On Saturday, the fighter from Manchester, England, who now fights out of Liverpool, will be competing on home turf when he headlines UFC

UFC fighter Kevin Holland, doing business as a citizen crimefighter again, helped hold down a man with a gun at a Houston restaurant on Monday night in a fast-thinking move that police said likely saved lives. Houston police said the incident happened around 11:30 p.m. when a panic alarm went off at Ra Sushi in

UFC president Dana White and several other MMA stars are speaking out officially to support Cain Velasquez, who has been charged with attempted murder in California. White and 33 others in the MMA world wrote letters to the Santa Clara County Superior Court in support of Velasquez last week, according to ESPN. Velasquez was denied

11:07 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim Magomed Ankalaev‘s game plan, a bit perplexing as the fight unfolded, finally made sense as he was being interviewed inside the Octagon after his unanimous-decision victory over Thiago Santos in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card in Las Vegas. “I wanted to fight five rounds and see