MMA

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

Getty Images Bellator featherweight champion AJ McKee has lofty goals that need to be met. McKee cemented his place as Bellator’s biggest homegrown success story when he capped off an incredible run of 18-0 with a first-round stoppage victory over Patricio “Pitbull” Freire to claim the 145-pound title. That was in July and McKee has

4:09 PM ET A welterweight grudge match between Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington will headline UFC 272 on March 5, UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell told ESPN on Tuesday. Contracts have not been signed for the 170-pound scrap, but the bout is nearly finalized, per Campbell. The UFC 272 pay-per-view will take place at

The UFC’s plans for UFC 272 lasted about two days. Former featherweight champion Max Holloway pulled out of his title rematch against current champ Alexander Volkanovski after aggravating an injury Thursday, according to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. Dana White announced the Volkanovski-Holloway fight on Tuesday, setting up a trilogy. In the two previous bouts, Volkanovski won

Just days after signing for a third fight with featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 272, former champion Max Holloway has been forced to withdraw from the bout. According to a report by ESPN, Holloway re-aggravated a prior injury. Volkanovski (23-1) defeated Holloway at UFC 245 in December 2019 to win the championship. The pair

7:49 AM ET Do you feel that? That, my friends, is the feeling of a brand new calendar year of MMA. A year in which anything seems possible. It’s time to dream big for 2022. We’ve got a fresh slate. The table is set for some incredible fights, breakthrough performances and stories that will go

A pair of anticipated championship bouts have been scheduled for UFC 272 with rivals Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski slated to cap their trilogy for the featherweight championship. Aljamain Sterling, meanwhile, will defend his bantamweight belt against interim champion Petr Yan in a rematch of their controversial UFC 259 fight that saw Yan disqualified for

Bellator MMA Ranked welterweights Neiman Gracie and Logan Storley take their next steps towards title contention at Bellator 274. The main card, announced by the promotion on Tuesday, is chock-full of other ranked fighters on the hunt for gold. Bellator 274 takes place at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on Saturday, Feb. 19,

The UFC had one of the strongest groups of champions it has had in its history as 2021 ended. Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, for instance, is not only the pound-for-pound best active fighter in the world, but a strong argument can be made that he’s surpassed Georges St-Pierre as the greatest welterweight of all time.

Dana White wasn’t shy about discussing the UFC’s success in 2021. The company generated the most money in its history, with mega-sponsorship deals with the likes of Crypto.com and DraftKings, among others. It sold the most pay-per-views it ever sold. On the business front, it was a grand slam home run in 2021 for the

Roman Reigns was going to try and defend his Universal Championship title against Brock Lesnar. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty Images) WWE star Roman Reigns won’t get a chance to defend his title against Brock Lesnar just yet. Reigns was a late scratch from WWE’s “Day 1” pay-per-view event in Atlanta on Saturday after he tested

Jake Paul is starting off his new year with a bang. The YouTuber turned boxer again called out UFC president Dana White on Twitter on Saturday morning with a wild post from his notes app. If White complies with his three demands, Paul said he will “immediately retire from boxing” and agree to a one-fight

8:28 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim The shiny brass-and-leather belts worn by UFC champions do not merely signify achievement and ascendance. For the select few fighters who earn them, these esteemed titles can bestow an aura of invincibility. Yet nothing is forever. Among the 12 weight classes in the UFC, seven fighters now wear championship belts

Getty Images If there was anyone most deserving of an MVP award following such a difficult 2020 for just about everyone across the landscape of professional sports, Dana White would’ve been an easy choice.   Despite his often controversial methods, the brash UFC president found a way to safely circumvent the many obstacles brought on