MMA

UFC 304 heads to Manchester, England, on Saturday (10 p.m. ET, ESPN+ PPV). It then continues in Manchester, England, well into Sunday morning, thanks to an unconventional start time that may have fighters rubbing the sleep from their eyes before stepping into the cage. Local fans may not love the idea of showing up for

Right around 3 a.m. local time Sunday, the brand new Co-op Live in Manchester, England, will be rocking for the start of the UFC 304 main card. Lights will be flashing. The arena sound system will scream out “Baba O’Riley” as the big screens show an almost poetically violent UFC highlight reel that gives goosebumps

Jul 24, 2024, 07:51 AM ET Open Extended Reactions With two title fights, a raucous crowd and big stakes up and down a 14-fight card, UFC 304 looks to be full of drama in Manchester, England. (10 p.m. ET on ESPN PPV) Fellow Englishmen Leon Edwards and Tom Aspinall look to defend their titles —

Yahoo Sports MMA contributor Ben Fowlkes chatted with welterweight Belal Muhammad on his dislike for his next opponent, Leon Edwards, and why he’ll beat him at UFC 304. Video Transcript Ben Volks here for Yahoo Sports. I’m with Bilal Muhammad who fights UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards at UFC 304 in Manchester. Now, first of

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJul 20, 2024, 11:06 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Virna Jandiroba might have earned herself a UFC title shot Saturday night, and she looked extremely dangerous in doing so. The Brazilian strawweight submitted Amanda Lemos via

Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) has suspended “Russian Ronda” Irina Alekseeva for 12 months for elevated levels of testosterone consistent with exogenous administration. According to the UFC, however, former anti-doping partner USADA handled the matter in an “unacceptable” manner that resulted in layers of confusion. The positive drug test sample was collected over one year ago

Andreas Hale, ESPNJul 18, 2024, 02:19 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Conor McGregor, who announced earlier this year that he was a co-owner of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships, also is expressing interest in competing as a “player/manager” once his UFC contract expires. McGregor addressed his current contract situation at a news conference Thursday in Spain

Following UFC on ESPN 59, the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings required updating. In the main event at Ball Arena in Denver, former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas handed Tracy Cortez her first loss in the UFC. The result marked the second win for Namajunas in the flyweight division after making the switch last September. Entering

Andreas Hale, ESPNJul 14, 2024, 01:48 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Rose Namajunas used superior striking and grappling to shut down a spirited effort from Tracy Cortez and earn a unanimous decision Saturday night in the main event of UFC Fight Night at the sold-out Ball Arena in Denver. It was a home game for

Muhammed Lawal took his gloves off and announced his combat sports retirement nearly five years ago. His time away from competition is over, but the gloves will stay off. The promotion announced Friday that Former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion and multi-time Bellator title challenger “King Mo” Lawal has signed a one-fight deal with BKFC and

Brock Lesnar (R) battles Frank Mir (L) during their UFC 100 heavyweight title bout at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino on July 11, 2009, in Las Vegas. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) The big man turned his head slowly to look at me as I gave him the news. Naively, I’d assumed he already

Getty Images Ronda Rousey isn’t taking the traditional route to retirement. The former UFC and WWE champion is working on her debut graphic novel “Expecting the Unexpected,” plus additional Hollywood ventures. But compared to the physical tolls that a lifetime of martial arts took on Rousey, her new projects are labors of love. Rousey made

Brett Okamoto Close Brett Okamoto ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Andreas Hale Jul 8, 2024, 10:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions There have been 36 fight cards put on thus far in 2024 by the three biggest MMA promotions — UFC, PFL and

Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz delivered 10 rounds of thrilling action and captivated a sold-out Honda Center on Saturday in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) On one coast was Shakur Stevenson, the unbeaten WBC lightweight champion and former Olympic medalist, fighting in his hometown of Newark, New Jersey, live on ESPN with Joe

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJul 3, 2024, 03:00 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Dan Ige was about as mentally removed from a fight as one could get on a Saturday afternoon. He’d just spent the last hour on a massage

Getty Images It’s been over a year since UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic was first announced at International Fight Week 2023. The legendary champions target a November date in New York City, one full year after their previous Madison Square Garden headliner was canceled. The dream match is still a priority for

Michael Page does not appear to be deterred by his UFC 303 loss against Ian Machado Garry. Former Bellator contender Page (22-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) suffered his first octagon defeat this past weekend in the form of a unanimous decision to Garry (15-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It was a

Andreas Hale, ESPNJun 30, 2024, 01:01 AM ET Open Extended Reactions LAS VEGAS — The legend of Poatan continues to grow. Alex Pereira (11-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) scored a vicious second-round knockout of Jirí Prochazka (30-5-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) with a devastating head kick and brutal follow-up strikes to retain his light heavyweight championship in