11:20 AM ET Sean O’Malley, who has talked a good game for his entire UFC run, proved his worthiness of being considered among the elite at bantamweight with his UFC 280 victory over former champion Petr Yan last weekend. As a result, “Suga Sean” enters the men’s top-10 in the latest ESPN divisional rankings and
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LAS VEGAS – Max Griffin is still hurt by his loss to Neil Magny, even if he was paid as though it was a win. Griffin (32-13-1 MMA, 14-10 UFC), who returns to action against Tim Means (17-9 MMA, 6-7 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 213 co-headliner, suffered a controversial split decision loss to Magny
Find out why professionals are using BoxBandz Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has criticized the media for how it portrays his team’s opponents before and after each fight. This past weekend, Islam Makhachev headlined UFC 280 opposite former titleholder Charles Oliveira. The pair collided for the vacant belt, which the Brazilian was stripped of following
Two of the Featherweight division’s nastiest strikers collide at the APEX this Saturday when Calvin Kattar attempts to hand Arnold Allen his first Octagon defeat. 25 pounds north, Tim Means attempts to turn back the clock against the always-dangerous Max Griffin, while TUF veteran Tresean Gore looks for his first UFC victory at Josh Fremd’s
Oct 24, 2022 Undisputed middleweight champion Claressa Shields has her plan for the immediate future set, and it still includes both boxing and mixed martial arts. Shields, who became the undisputed middleweight champion for the second time on Oct. 15 in a unanimous decision win over Savannah Marshall, told ESPN on Monday that she plans
The UFC traveled to Abu Dhabi for a major pay-per-view event that caused significant changes in the Oct. 25 edition of the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings. The main event of UFC 280 saw the crowning of a new lightweight champion as Islam Makhachev defeated Charles Oliveira by submission in the second round. In the co-main
UFC middleweight Caio Borralho doesn’t want to waste any time getting back into the Octagon following his win at UFC 280. Borralho earned a unanimous decision win over Makhmud Muradov at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi. He’s won three straight in the UFC following a two-fight stint on Dana White‘s Contender Series last year. Borralho
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President, Dana White, recently revealed that Jon Jones would not be making his much-anticipated return to action at UFC 282 this December, pushing his Heavyweight debut back once again. While the talk around the water cooler was a potential scrap between Jones and Stipe Miocic, the match that fight fans really
9:00 AM ET The rise of Islam Makhachev in the UFC’s lightweight division culminated on Saturday, when he captured the championship at UFC 280 in a virtuoso performance against Charles Oliveira. But that rise took a while. Makhachev has been in the UFC since 2015, and this past weekend’s bout in Abu Dhabi was his
ABU DHABI – Jared Gordon is taking a refreshing approach heading into his fight with Paddy Pimblett. Gordon (19-5 MMA, 7-4 UFC) takes on Pimblett (19-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at UFC 282 on Dec. 10 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Pimblett has emerged as one of the biggest stars on the roster, and Gordon hopes he
UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling doesn’t think a fight with Henry Cejudo would attract significant box office attention. Sterling defended the bantamweight title once again in a win over TJ Dillashaw at UFC 280 on Saturday. After Dillashaw re-aggravated a shoulder injury, Sterling pounced on the opportunity and overwhelmed him with ground-and-pound on the canvas.
Welcome to Midnight Mania! MMA fighters and betting is a hot topic at the moment. Until quite recently, fighters could — and often did — openly bet on themselves or their team mates, occasionally with disastrous results. Retired UFC fighter and current Glory MMA head coach James Krause even started selling his betting selections due
9:35 PM ET Two of the best young featherweight fighters in the world will clash before the end of the year. Undefeated rising stars Bryce Mitchell and Ilia Topuria have verbally agreed to fight at UFC 282 on Dec. 10 in Las Vegas, sources confirmed to ESPN on Monday. The website Fight Bananas was the
Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here. On Episode 3,305, the fellas bring take a look back at UFC 280 and discuss the fallout from the event in Abu Dhabi. In addition, they debate Aljamain Sterling’s potential as a long-reigning UFC bantamweight champion, Conor McGregor’s latest social media chirps,
[DISCLAIMER: ANY VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS PIECE ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR AND DO NOT REFLECT THE OPINIONS AND BELIEFS OF THE WEBSITE AND ITS AFFILIATES. WELCOME TO THE WILD WORLD OF FIGHTING] What a week in the wild world of fighting! We had UFC 280, ONE on Prime 3 with an insane stoppage, and
Khabib Nurmagomedov was clearly ecstatic that his best friend (and top student) Islam Makhachev won the UFC lightweight title by submitting Charles Oliveira in the UFC 280 pay-per-view (PPV) main event last weekend on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi. Or maybe he was just happy his $1 million investment didn’t go to waste. Either way,
9:17 AM ET After the wild ride that was UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi last weekend, there are still plenty of unanswered questions. What fight should the UFC look to make for new lightweight champ Islam Makhachev, and if the matchup is Alexander Volkanovski, how would that affect the pound-for-pound rankings? Will Sean O’Malley challenge
ABU DHABI – Muhammad Mokaev beat Malcolm Gordon with a third-round submission Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi. Take a look inside the fight with Mokaev, who was the biggest favorite on the card at nearly 12-1. Mokaev on the fight’s key moment Oct 22, 2022; Abu Dhabi, UAE; Muhammad