MMA

Getty Images If Brandon Moreno learned anything about himself from last December’s thrilling draw against Deiveson Figueiredo, it’s that he belongs in the conversation among the top flyweight fighters in the world.  Seven months later, Moreno cemented himself as the very best on Saturday in a dismantling of Figueiredo in their rematch, which served as

GLENDALE, ARIZONA – JUNE 12: (R-L) Brandon Moreno of Mexico grapples with Deiveson Figueiredo of Brazil in their UFC flyweight championship fight during the UFC 263 event at Gila River Arena on June 12, 2021 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) Brandon Moreno was seeded 16th on “The Ultimate Fighter.” He was cut

A brief recap Nate Diaz’s UFC 263 experience: Smokes weed (his own personal brand) at the prefight press conference. Enters the Octagon as a +365 underdog at BetMGM, an aging working man’s hero against a far more skilled welterweight from England named Leon Edwards. Gets beaten and bloodied for 24-plus minutes — with literally three

ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports NFL suspends Chase Harrell for the entire 2021 regular season The NFL has suspended free agent tight end Chase Harrell for the entire 2021 regular season, Field Yates of ESPN reports. The 49ers waived Harrell in April, and he has remained a free agent since. The league initially suspended Harrell

8:30 AM ET For the past three years, Marvin Vettori has lived with the belief that he beat Israel Adesanya in a non-title fight back in 2018. This weekend, Adesanya intends to shatter that belief. Adesanya (20-1) will seek his third middleweight title defense at UFC 263 on Saturday, when he meets Vettori (17-3-1) for

Leon Edwards is, in a way, the polar opposite of the man he’ll stand across from in the cage on Saturday at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona. Nate Diaz, Edwards’ opponent at UFC 263, has become a larger than life figure despite an up-and-down record and lengthy periods away from the game. Edwards has

Getty Images Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya faces perhaps the toughest defense of his title reign on Saturday when takes on surging contender Marvin Vettori in the main event of UFC 263. Their rematch tops the MMA showcase from Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz. The main UFC 263 fight card is scheduled to start at

7:23 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim The main event will transform one of the most decorated champions in sports into a fresh-faced neophyte. Claressa Shields, the undefeated two-division boxing champion, will make her mixed martial arts debut in the PFL main event on Thursday in Atlantic City, New Jersey. But Shields’ lightweight bout against Brittney Elkin

In the last nine years, Nate Diaz has won just four of nine bouts and was stopped twice. Yet, it’s been during that time that he has become one of the UFC’s biggest attractions, which shows that winning isn’t the only ingredient necessary for stardom. But because of his prominent position, when Diaz fights, it’s

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Lauren Murphy knows she has to put a stamp on Joanne Calderwood at UFC 263 if she wants to secure the next women’s flyweight title shot. Murphy (14-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) is currently riding a four-fight winning streak and will look to make it five on Saturday when she meets Calderwood (15-5

Getty Images A pair of title bouts sit atop the marquee along with the return of a fan favorite as UFC 263 invades Gila Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on Saturday in a star-studded pay-per-view card.  Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya returns from his first pro defeat suffered in a 205-pound title challenge when he welcomes rising

11:22 AM ET Alistair Overeem is returning to his kickboxing roots. The former UFC heavyweight title contender, as well as former Strikeforce and DREAM champion, has signed a multifight deal with the Glory Kickboxing promotion, his management team told ESPN on Tuesday. Overeem is considered one of the greatest heavyweight MMA fighters of all time

Deiveson Figueiredo scoffed at the mere mention of Brandon Moreno. When it was suggested that Moreno provided him the toughest bout of his career when they fought to a draw on Dec. 12 at UFC 256 in Las Vegas, Figueiredo was having none of it. The Moreno fight was the fourth of the year for

It was only three years ago, but it might as well be a lifetime for Marvin Vettori. On April 14, 2018, the Italian middleweight walked to the cage at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona, for a bout against Israel Adesanya. Adesanya was a well-known kickboxer, but he had only one UFC fight to his

7:35 PM ET CLARESSA SHIELDS RETURNED to JacksonWink MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in late March, fresh off making boxing history by becoming the first two-division undisputed champion in the four-belt era. Time was running low, though, with Shields scheduled to make her MMA debut in the Professional Fighters League on June 10. The only

Getty Images UFC is ready for its next PPV — and in front of a live audience. UFC 263 heads to Glendale, Arizona on Saturday night with a loaded fight card for the occasion. A middleweight title fight sits at the top with champion Israel Adesanya taking on challenger Marvin Vettori. The pair met once

3:50 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 Jairzinho Rozenstruik was 10-0 in December 2019 following a Hail Mary knockout victory over Alistair Overeem. It seemed at the time that the accomplished kickboxer was on the precipice of

Jairzinho Rozenstruik only committed to being a full-time mixed martial arts fighter in 2018. He was a high-level kickboxer who put together a 76-8-1 record with 64 knockouts before turning to MMA. In three years, he’s already just about at the top of his profession, but only is now coming into his own. The Surinamese