4:17 PM ET Bellator has penned a deal with a controversial former college wrestling standout. Earlier this week, Bellator signed Pat Downey III, a former NCAA Division I All-American wrestler, to a contract, the promotion confirmed with ESPN on Friday. Downey, 29, has yet to make his MMA debut. He will compete in Bellator’s middleweight
MMA news
Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo believes the UFC 266 main event between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega is the “greatest fight” in MMA history. At the start of one of the most memorable sets of final pay-per-views a year has seen in the UFC, reigning featherweight titleholder Volkanovski met with top contender Ortega in
The proposed boxing superfight between reigning heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and UFC heavyweight king Francis Ngannou officially has odds. Earlier this week, Fury took to social media and offered to fight Ngannou inside of the boxing ring with boxing rules, but MMA gloves would be used. Ngannou has long wanted to test his luck inside
By Farah Hannoun, The Blue Corner | January 8, 2022 7:15 pm ET More than two years after losing his middleweight title, Robert Whittaker will look to reclaim his belt from Israel Adesanya. Whittaker (23-5 MMA, 14-3 UFC) challenges middleweight champion Adesanya (21-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) in the UFC 271 main event Feb. 12 at
2:09 PM ET The UFC is finalizing a five-round main event between former lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos and rising contender Rafael Fiziev for Feb. 19, multiple sources told ESPN. Contracts have not been signed, but both sides have agreed to the matchup. The 155-pound contest will headline the UFC Fight Night event in Las
On this day five years ago, we ran a story about former WWE personality Jonathan Coachman stating that the WWE would never want Ronda Rousey after Rousey’s crushing loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207. One year later, this happened… The following article is presented to you in its original, unaltered form courtesy of the
Jorge Masvidal is once again making a push for a grudge match with former teammate and fellow UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington. According to “Gamebred,” UFC will be calling Covington to offer the fight for a fourth time. As you may know, Masvidal and Covington are no longer friends after having a big falling out
By Farah Hannoun | January 7, 2022 10:00 pm ET Paddy Pimblett wants on the UFC London card, but he doesn’t have an opponent yet. Rumblings emerged that Pimblett (17-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) would be fighting Donald Cerrone at UFC 272 on March 5 in Las Vegas, but the rising star put those rumors to
1:13 PM ET The UFC is booking a heavyweight contest between Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuivasa for its pay-per-view event next month, officials confirmed to ESPN. Contracts have not been signed, but the promotion is close to finalizing the matchup for UFC 271 on Feb. 12 in Houston. Lewis (26-8) is a former two-time title
The Korean Zombie might get the push to replace Max Holloway in an upcoming title fight against UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski. Shortly after news broke that Holloway was out of his UFC 272 fight against Volkanovski, people started to wonder what will be next for the champion. Many names were suggested for Volkanovski, with
Welcome to Midnight Mania! Paddy Pimblett is already eyeing a fighter vs. one of the best Lightweights on the planet. The former Cage Warriors champ made his UFC debut in September vs. Luigi Vendramini, drubbing the Italian en route to a first-round knockout win. However, it wasn’t an easy win, as Pimblett took some big
By Farah Hannoun | January 7, 2022 7:10 pm ET Fernand Lopez knows Ciryl Gane will be facing his biggest challenge yet when he takes on Francis Ngannou. That’s because Lopez is the man responsible for bringing Ngannou up the ranks, having coached him for years at MMA Factory Paris. As Ngannou rose to the
1:30 PM ET Former UFC champion Max Holloway will not be able to challenge Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight title in March after aggravating a prior injury Thursday, sources told ESPN. The setback occurred just days after Holloway, 30, accepted a trilogy bout against Volkanovski that was slated to headline UFC 272 on March 5
The third meeting between UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway will have to wait after Holloway was forced to withdraw from the bout due to injury. The new matchup was a chance for Holloway to regain the 145-pound belt and avenge the two previous losses he took to Volkanovski in recent years. ESPN
Easy come, easy go. Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway suffered an undisclosed injury and was forced to withdraw from his Alexander Volkanovski title fight, previously scheduled for the UFC 272 pay-per-view (PPV) main event on March 5 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. ESPN reported the change on Friday. Details are murky but
By Farah Hannoun | January 7, 2022 8:00 am ET Matt Brown will get to compete in his home state for the first time since 2014. Brown (23-18 MMA, 16-12 UFC) meets Bryan Barberena (16-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC) at a March 26 UFC Fight Night event at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The event will
12:31 PM ET Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou, the two baddest men in combat sports, have plenty of options for big fights in 2022 — but that’s not stopping them from eyeing each other. In a social media post on Thursday, Fury, the WBC’s heavyweight champion in boxing, expressed interest in fighting Ngannou, the UFC’s
Newly-crowned UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña believes making weight was the first battle for Amanda Nunes ahead of UFC 269. At the final pay-per-view of 2021, Nunes saw her dominant two-division reign collapse at the hands of an unlikely challenger, although every threat to her throne had been seen as that up until “The