2:46 PM ET Former UFC title challenger Thiago Santos has signed an exclusive deal with the PFL, promotion president Ray Sefo told ESPN on Thursday. Santos, 38, will make his PFL debut in 2023 when he competes in the promotion’s season format with a tournament championship purse of $1 million. Santos will fight in the
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UFC is out, PFL is in. Former light heavyweight title challenger Thiago Santos has fought his last fight inside the Octagon, at least for the foreseeable future, and will resume his MMA career inside the “Smart Cage” as part of the PFL 2023 light heavyweight tournament. “We are very excited to bring in Thiago Santos
LAS VEGAS – Ion Cutelaba promises his fight with Johnny Walker will deliver. Light heavyweights Cutelaba (16-7-1 MMA, 5-6-1 UFC) and Walker (18-7 MMA, 4-4 UFC) square off on Saturday’s UFC 279 pay-per-view main card opener at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Walker marks the second straight taller and rangier opponent that Cutelaba will face,
MMA Fighter Bakhtovar Yunosov picked up a confusing victory at MMA Series 55 that was immediately followed by a strange celebration. Facing Magomed Kadiev in a bantamweight bout, Yunusov had a kick caught by his Russian opponent early in the second round. The two fighters ended up on the canvas, where Kadiev quickly tried to
4:12 PM ET A women’s flyweight bout between Alexa Grasso and Viviane Araujo will be the new headliner for a UFC Fight Night event on Oct. 15 in Las Vegas after a middleweight matchup between Jared Cannonier and Sean Strickland fell through because of injury, the promotion announced Wednesday. Nate Diaz returns to take on
Welcome to Midnight Mania! UFC 279 is a strange card in that several match ups could be shuffled about without issue. The primary example is, of course, Nate Diaz vs. Tony Ferguson, a match many argued before those veterans became the respective huckleberries of Khamzat Chimaev and Li Jingliang. A bit more under the radar
Junior Dos Santos is not the biggest fan of Ciryl Gane. The former UFC heavyweight champion has criticized the former interim champ, specifically calling Gane a “dirty fighter” after his knockout victory over Tai Tuivasa at UFC Fight Night 209. In the final moments that led to the third-round stoppage, Gane landed what appeared to
Even after carving out one of the most successful careers in the history of MMA, Demetrious Johnson is still adding new wrinkles to his game. “Mighty Mouse” is coming off a highlight-reel stoppage of Adriano Moraes in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 1. The 36-year-old claimed ONE Championship’s 135-pound title with the
2:38 PM ET The UFC is finalizing a massive lightweight matchup between Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler for UFC 281 on November 12. Contracts have not been signed but will be issued to all parties on Tuesday, UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell told ESPN. The 155-pound bout will take place on the pay-per-view card
Johnny Walker, like many fighters before him, eagerly boarded the Cannabidiol (CBD) train. Unfortunately for the UFC light heavyweight, the cannabis chemical — made popular for providing the health benefits of marijuana without the side effects of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) — triggered an allergy that caused extreme (and adverse) psychological reactions. Like schizophrenia. LIVE! Watch UFC
LAS VEGAS – Daniel Rodriguez has never been the talking type, but he knows it won’t be smart for him to keep his mouth completely shut at UFC 279 when he fights Kevin Holland, a fighter nicknamed “Big Mouth.” “I’m from Los Angeles, bro,” Rodriguez told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s news conference.
UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya has reacted to a clip of a male MMA fighter finishing a transgender woman in one round. The debate surrounding the inclusion of transgender athletes in sports has been a present topic in recent years. Last month, the WBC — regarded as boxing’s most prestigious governing body — reached its
Find out why professionals are using BoxBandz 12:27 PM ET Jake Paul has found his next opponent — and he’s a combat sports luminary. The YouTuber-turned-prizefighter will meet former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in a boxing match Oct. 29 in Phoenix, Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions announced Tuesday. The bout will be contested at 187 pounds
Welcome to Midnight Mania! After a 15-year stint with UFC, Nate Diaz appears to be headed towards greener pastures. Diaz has not completely closed the door on signing a new contract with UFC, but it certainly appears unlikely given his recent comments, general interest in boxing, and his own MMA promotion. In all likelihood, Diaz’s
LAS VEGAS – Perhaps the most prominent storyline entering UFC 279 is the contract status of Nate Diaz, one of mixed martial arts’ biggest stars. UFC president Dana White isn’t panicked, however, at least he didn’t show it when asked about Diaz’s impending free agency at a DWCS 53 post-fight news conference Tuesday. “Nate and
Bellator women’s featherweight champion and MMA pioneer Cris Cyborg feels Ronda Rousey left the sport with plenty more to still give. Cyborg is set to make her professional boxing debut against Simone Silva at Fight Music Show on September 25th. She still plans on competing in MMA and eventually returning to Bellator to defend her
9:02 AM ET Jeff WagenheimESPN Five of the last six UFC pay-per-view fight cards have been headlined by not just one championship bout but a pair of them. That’s a lot of gold and glory on the line. By contrast, UFC 279 will have not even a single title contest. What Saturday’s event in Las
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is expected to make his debut in the 265-pound weight class at some point later this year, assuming the promotion can close the deal on a potential Stipe Miocic fight. Or “Bones” could bide his time and wait for reigning heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who recently underwent knee