MMA

In perhaps the most dangerous bout of his reign as UFC lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev lived up to his title as the promotion’s top pound-for-pound fighter. The Russian defeated UFC veteran Dustin Poirier with a fifth-round submission to defend his belt in a fight that seemed to be trending against him in the later rounds.

Andreas Hale, ESPNMay 30, 2024, 07:56 AM ET Open Extended Reactions IN ‘FIGHTVILLE,’ THE documentary about the Louisiana MMA scene filmed in 2009, a then-20-year-old Dustin Poirier stares into the camera and states in no uncertain terms that he will be the best 155-pound fighter in the world. For a high school dropout from Lafayette,

A photo of Islam Makhachev from his UFC 302 pre-fight photoshoot was enough to send Conor McGregor into a fit about hygiene. McGregor, who is not a doctor, believes he identified a staph infection on Makhachev’s left shin, and attacked the UFC lightweight champion and his team for their cleanliness. A dark, circular blemish is

Nick Diaz hasn’t won a fight since Oct. 29, 2011. He’ll face Vicente Luque on Aug. 3 in Abu Dhabi. (Photo by Amy Kaplan/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Nick Diaz (26-10) will be back in the Octagon for the first time in nearly three years when he fights Vicente Luque (22-10-1) in a five-round co-main

Jeff Wagenheim, ESPNMay 28, 2024, 07:47 AM ET Open Extended Reactions A little over a month ago, fans witnessed one of the most dynamic fight cards in the history of mixed martial arts. That festive night was a hard act to follow, so it’s fair to say the sport has been experiencing a bit of

[embedded content] Ronda Rousey was, at times, a polarizing figure in the MMA world. And though she’s been gone from the sport for longer than she was in it, she remains a significant personality in the space – and remains polarizing. With the release of her second book, “Our Fight,” in February, Rousey has been back

Andreas Hale, ESPNMay 22, 2024, 02:43 PM ET Open Extended Reactions A fourth fight between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor is potentially one of the biggest fights that can be made in the UFC. And with McGregor returning to action for the first time since breaking his leg against Poirier three years ago against Michael

Getty Images UFC 302 might be the last time we see Dustin Poirier in the Octagon. Poirier is set to challenge UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in Newark, New Jersey, on June 1 as he takes his third — and seemingly final — crack at an undisputed title that has eluded him throughout his career. 

Kayla Harrison is all smiles after her bantamweight fight at UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena on April 13, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) Seems like maybe PFL CEO Donn Davis felt a little more stung by the recent departure of Kayla Harrison than we realized at first. Talking

Kamaru Usman knows it’s a wild take, but he thinks Oleksandr Usyk should fight Francis Ngannou next. Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) became undisputed heavyweight champion when he defeated Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) by split decision this past Saturday at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ngannou put up a valiant effort in his boxing

When Dustin Poirier looks at film of UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, the task of defeating him at UFC 302 on June 1 does not exactly seem to get easier. “I don’t see a whole lot of holes, honestly,” Poirier told Yahoo Sports. “If I’m sitting here watching footage with my coaches, we’re watching and

Getty Images UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley appears to be the latest in a long string of streamers victimized by swatting. O’Malley published a video showing police storming his house while he was playing video games and broadcasting them to his online audience. O’Malley posted a home surveillance video of a police force approaching his

May 20, 2024, 09:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions The first two times a UFC champion put a title up for grabs this year, the challenger took home the belt. That has become a common result in a sport where dominant longtime champs seem to be a thing of the past. Then again, perhaps these

Adrian Yanez reentered the win column with a bang – or a series of them – at UFC Fight Night 241 on Saturday. In a bantamweight bout on the main card, Yanez (17-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) finished opponent Vinicius Salvador (14-7 MMA, 0-3 UFC with punches for a stoppage at 2:47 of Round 1. A

Getty Images One of mixed martial arts’ most prolific strikers looks to fend off another hungry up-and-comer at UFC Fight Night on Saturday. Edson Barboza vs. Lerone Murphy headlines the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. Barboza (24-11) is in his 15th year as a professional MMA fighter. The veteran striker — whose spinning

ESPN May 14, 2024, 01:12 PM ET Email Print Open Extended Reactions Edson Barboza meets undefeated Lerone Murphy in the featherweight main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. The fights at UFC Apex are on ESPN+, with the 7 p.m. ET main card preceded by prelims at 4 p.m. Barboza (24-11)

On this week’s episode of “Spinning Back Clique,” the panel reacted to the results of UFC on ESPN 56. This past Saturday, both Derrick Lewis and Joaquin Buckley picked up big wins in the main and co-main event of the St. Louis event. Lewis stopped Brazil’s Rodrigo Nascimento, while Buckley dominated Nursulton Ruziboev to continue

Andreas Hale, ESPNMay 11, 2024, 10:42 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Derrick Lewis extended his lead as the all-time knockout leader of the UFC’s heavyweight division with a third-round TKO of Rodrigo Nascimento in the main event of UFC Fight Night at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis And in true Derrick Lewis fashion, after