MMA news

1:38 PM ET Two title fights are now official for UFC 273. Alexander Volkanovski will defend his UFC featherweight title against Chan Sung Jung, “The Korean Zombie,” in the main event of the pay-per-view card April 9 in Jacksonville, Florida, UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell confirmed to ESPN on Friday. The co-main event will

A Connecticut police department is teaching children jiu-jitsu as a form of self-defense. The New Haven police department in New Haven, CT is hoping to stop crime from the ground up. The department has instituted a youth jiu-jitsu program designed to keep kids on a good path while instilling some self-defense practices. Police Lt. Elliot

Paulo Costa is the newest member of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) roster to express his desire to box. Like most of his peers, Costa’s potential combat crossover is fueled by money. Costa, who began his professional MMA career with a 13-0 record, is widely regarded as one of the best power punchers in the

By MMA Junkie Staff | February 4, 2022 7:45 am ET LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie is on scene and reporting live from Friday’s official UFC Fight Night 200 fighter weigh-ins, which kick off at noon ET (9 a.m. PT). The weigh-ins take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The same venue hosts Saturday’s

UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou appears in Jackass Forever and will be featured in a very violent scene. Francis Ngannou captured UFC gold last March when he stopped a former foe in two-time heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic in the second round. After landing a role in the long-awaited film Jackass Forever, the newly minted heavyweight

Is Sean Strickland a legitimate title contender? The streaking “Tarzan” will have to prove it by turning away durable submission fighter Jack Hermansson in the UFC Vegas 47 middleweight main event, which takes place this Sat. night (Feb. 5, 2022) inside the promotion’s APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, streaming live on the ESPN+ digital

By Mike Bohn and MMA Junkie Staff | February 3, 2022 10:00 pm ET With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from January 2022: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for January. At

Feelings seem to be mutual between middleweights Sean Strickland and Kevin Holland. Both middleweights have recently stated their issues with each other. Holland was recently asked about his pick in the upcoming fight between Strickland and Jack Hermansson. When asked about the fight, Holland went on a rant about why he doesn’t like the rising

Eddie Hearn feels slightly guilty for the monster Jake Paul has become in the combat sports world. But at the same time, he believes the 25-year-old has provided plenty of positives. The boxing promoter ran the show where Paul made his pro boxing debut in 2020. A YouTuber vs. YouTuber clash, Paul came out victorious

By Farah Hannoun | February 3, 2022 1:50 pm ET When asked which fighter hit her the hardest, Joanna Jedrzejczyk had a surprising answer. Jedrzejczyk (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) has fought some of the best female fighters in the sport, reigning over the UFC’s strawweight division for years. She even attempted to move up in weight

8:36 AM ET Brett Okamoto Close ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Marc Raimondi Conor McGregor is the biggest star in combat sports. Francis Ngannou is the baddest man on the planet. Nate Diaz is one of the UFC’s most beloved needle movers. Every

Israel Adesanya is preparing a surprise for Robert Whittaker. A middleweight title fight rematch is on the horizon for UFC 271. Champion Israel Adesanya will be taking on Robert Whittaker in the main event of UFC 271 next Saturday. These two men have some history together, as they fought once before when the belt originally

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight scrappers Punahele Soriano and Nick Maximov will throw down this weekend (Sat., Feb. 5, 2022) at UFC Vegas 47 inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hawaii’s Soriano is a Contender Series product who quickly made a strong first impression inside the Octagon, scoring a pair of dramatic first-round knockout

By Mike Bohn and MMA Junkie Staff | February 2, 2022 10:00 pm ET With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from January 2022: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for January. At

Chris Curtis wants his 2022 to be even more active than his inhuman 2021. Curtis fought his way into the UFC last year and had a strong start in the promotion, although that was only part of his 2021 story. Curtis fought six times in the year in total, scoring four wins on the regional

Megan Anderson has managed to keep herself very busy outside the cage. The former Invicta FC 145-pound featherweight champion was signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 2017 where she was expected to debut opposite Cris “Cyborg” Justino. Unfortunately for the 6-foot Australian, Anderson was forced out of the bout for personal reasons and

By Simon Samano, The Blue Corner | February 2, 2022 12:51 pm ET Do you ever just think back to Anderson Silva in his prime and the way he moved so effortlessly in the cage? I do sometimes, and I marvel at how he embodied Muhammad Ali’s famous “float like a butterfly, sting like a

7:39 PM ET Australian fighter Tai Tuivasa said his heavyweight bout with Derrick Lewis is a fantastic opportunity, even if he agreed to the UFC 271 showdown against the American while “pissed.” Riding a four-fight win streak after a bumper 2021 that saw him defeat Harry Hunsucker, Greg Hardy and Augusto Sakai, Tuivasa has solidified