MMA

7:43 AM ET UFC 262 headliner Charles Oliveira has come a long way from being told by a doctor he would never walk again, and that he would require the use of a wheelchair because of illnesses he contracted at the age of 7. On Saturday night in a packed Toyota Center in Houston, Oliveira

Frank Shamrock won the UFC championship in his first bout in the promotion, defeating Olympic gold medalist Kevin Jackson for a vacant title. Anderson Silva won the title in his second UFC bout, knocking out Rich Franklin to start a nearly 2,500-day reign. Those two legends of the sport made it look simple, but simple

8:05 AM ET Anderson Silva, one of the greatest to ever compete in the cage, says he thinks he has fought in mixed martial arts for the final time. The former longtime UFC middleweight champion told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani in an interview published Wednesday that he likely is done with MMA following his release from

In a year where most sports went on temporary hiatus, Conor McGregor found a way to profit. McGregor made $180 million over the last 12 months, making him the highest paid athlete in the world, according to Forbes. McGregor claimed that title mostly thanks to his whiskey business. McGregor sold his Proper No. Twelve whiskey

Bellator MMA Despite hinting at retirement ahead of his most recent fights, Paul Daley’s fighting career will continue for the foreseeable future. Daley signed a new contract with Bellator MMA and is set to face Jason Jackson in one of Bellator 260’s featured fights on June 11. Daley (43-17-2) is riding a three-fight winning streak,

7:31 AM ET The UFC’s lightweight division is about to embark on a new era following the retirement of undefeated former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. The division endured the Conor McGregor era of 2016 to 2018, during which he essentially held the belt hostage without a single title defense for 511 days before being stripped of

In the 38 fights that Charles Oliveira has competed in as a professional mixed martial artist, 34 of them have ended under the distance. Oliveira is 30-8 and has 27 finishes to his credit and has been finished seven times. On Saturday in the main event of UFC 262 at the Toyota Center in Houston,

Hours after victory in his Bellator debut on Friday, Anthony Johnson was arrested on outstanding identity theft charges.  The longtime UFC fighter who came out of retirement to join Bellator in 2020 made the most of his debut with a second-round knockout of Jose Augusto at Bellator 258 at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.  Johnson

Charles Oliveira’s early days in jiu-jitsu weren’t so positive. He was a promising soccer prospect who, at 12 years old, had to change sports because of health issues. He took up jiu-jitsu, though it’s not like he was an overnight success. “It took me a while, and a lot of determination and a lot of

Bellator MMA One day after winning his first fight in more than five years, Bellator light heavyweight Anthony “Rumble” Johnson was arrested in Uncasville, Connecticut on May 8 for alleged use of a stolen credit card. According to a Daily Voice report, police in New Canaan, Connecticut, received a complaint that Johnson had allegedly used

Photograph: Étienne Laurent/EPA In the last year, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) – effectively one-of-a-kind digital collectibles – have boomed in areas as varied as adult entertainment and the arts. Even sports leagues have started to take advantage of the NFT explosion. So it makes sense that the UFC, a body that has never been slow to

7:26 AM ET UFC 262 will usher in a new era in the lightweight division. It’s been more than three years since anyone other than Khabib Nurmagomedov wore the UFC lightweight belt around their waist. With the 29-0 Nurmagomedov officially retired, the impressively deep lightweight division is ready to crown a new king. Barring a

Getty Images A new lightweight champion will be crowned this week in Houston. UFC is set to welcome a new era to the 155-pound division on Saturday night when Charles Oliveira meets Michael Chandler in the main event of UFC 262. The two headline UFC’s latest PPV venture that will also be the second straight

Giga Chikadze is ready to step in if any of the fights fall through at UFC 262. Chikadze (13-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) is flying to Houston to support teammate Beneil Dariush, who fights Tony Ferguson in the co-main event Saturday. But if the UFC winds up needing a replacement opponent for any of the matchups

12:03 AM ET Marina Rodriguez‘s performance on short notice after travel nightmares and Donald Cerrone‘s continued decline were two of the key storylines coming out of Saturday night’s UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas, and the sustained success of Neil Magny can’t be overlooked. ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi and Jeff Wagenheim offer

11:44 PM ET Marina Rodriguez did not arrive in Las Vegas until Thursday, two days later than every other fighter on the card. The Brazil native had struggles getting a visa into the United States due to COVID-19 and spent 20 hours in travel over Wednesday and Thursday morning. None of that ended up mattering

No. 6 ranked strawweight Marina Rodriguez picked up a unanimous decision victory over no. 9 ranked Michelle Waterson in the main event of UFC Vegas 26. Throughout the fight Rodriguez successfully utilized a rapid pace, and she landed frequently. Rodriguez landed a total of 178 strikes and threw a total of 340, with 149 of

Getty Images Bellator MMA is back in a big way. The promotion returned with its debut card for 2021 on April 2 and saw two-division champion Patricio Pitbull defend his featherweight crown with a first-round submission of Emmanuel Sanchez. The win sets up a massive fight later this year against top contender AJ McKee in