MMA news

Welcome to Midnight Mania! Ciryl Gane and Francis Ngannou will battle in just over two weeks time at UFC 270 from Anaheim, Calif., and the victor will be crowned the undisputed UFC Heavyweight champion. Appropriately, the anticipation has really started building quickly as the days until the event dwindle, but a great deal of the

By Nolan King | January 6, 2022 7:30 pm ET Another year has rolled around as the global COVID-19 pandemic continues at a time when the U.S. is averaging 550,000 reported infections per day as the omicron variant surges across the country. Since the start of the pandemic in early 2020, procedures and protocols for

7:49 AM ET Do you feel that? That, my friends, is the feeling of a brand new calendar year of MMA. A year in which anything seems possible. It’s time to dream big for 2022. We’ve got a fresh slate. The table is set for some incredible fights, breakthrough performances and stories that will go

The beef between Francis Ngannou and former coach Fernand Lopez continues to grow. The UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has a date set to defend his title against his old training partner Ciryl Gane. The matchup is arguably one of the most anticipated heavyweight title fights in a long time. Now, the growing animosity between

Let’s try this again. Longtime UFC welterweight slugger Matt Brown will make his return to the Octagon for a three-round battle opposite 170-pound veteran Bryan Barberena, a hard-hitting showdown expected to land on the promotion’s “Fight Night” card on March 26 in Columbus. That’s according to a report from MMA Fighting. Brown (23-18) was booted

By Danny Segura | January 5, 2022 10:00 pm ET Santiago Ponzinibbio thinks he’s just getting started. The welterweight contender is by no means giving up on his dream of becoming UFC champion, even after suffering a setback at UFC 269 in December. Ponzinibbio (28-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) came up short in a split decision against

6:13 PM ET Two long-standing championship rivalries will be settled at UFC 272 in March, UFC president Dana White told ESPN on Wednesday. Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski will meet Max Holloway in a highly anticipated trilogy bout, while bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling will look to unify his title against interim champ Petr Yan. Contracts have

Welcome to Midnight Mania! Sparring footage is supposed to remain behind closed doors for a reason. What happens in the gym isn’t always indicative of what will happen under the bright lights. Footage can be manipulated. Alternative, the “losing” fighter could be undergoing “shark tank” drills, where one athlete faces a fresh opponent each round

UFC bantamweight Sean O’Malley has responded to Marlon Vera after “Chito” criticized a video of “Sugar” giving out money to strangers. O’Malley and Vera’s feud has been well-documented across the past year-and-a-half. The rivalry began when they met inside the Octagon at UFC 252 in August 2020. Inside the opening round, the Ecuadorian handed O’Malley

Find out why professionals are using BoxBandz By Mike Bohn | January 5, 2022 6:39 pm ET Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway will run it back again at UFC 272 in March. Despite Volkanovski (23-1 MMA, 10-0 UFC) already holding two wins over Holloway (23-6 MMA, 19-6 UFC), the pair will fight in a trilogy bout

Renowned MMA voice and UFC play-by-play commentator Jon Anik has revealed the biggest question he wants answered in the promotion this year. MMA’s premier organization had a host of memorable moments in 2021. From the return of fans and memorable knockout wins for Kamaru Usman and Rose Namajunas at UFC 261, to the remarkable championship

Tommy Fury was scheduled to box Jake Paul last month in Tampa, but “TNT” was hit with a chest infection — then broke his rib in training — and was forced to withdraw. That opened the door for Tyron Woodley, who looked to avenge his Aug. 2021 loss to “The Problem Child” but instead went

By Mike Bohn | January 4, 2022 10:00 pm ET After a near-brawl outside the ring at a recent Bare Knuckle FC event, Julian Lane and Mike Perry will step inside the ropes to settle the score. Lane vs. Perry is expected to take place Feb. 19 at “BKFC: KnuckleMania 2,” which goes down at

UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou won’t allow himself to divert from the gameplan ahead of his UFC 270 clash with Ciryl Gane. Ngannou will make his first title defense against Gane, a former teammate of his while they were at MMA Factory in France. He’s been at an impasse with the UFC brass amidst an

Welcome to Midnight Mania! Top-ranked Middleweight contender Marvin Vettori is likely a long way from a third match up vs. Israel Adesanya, which is perhaps why “The Italian Dream” is casting a wider net. Earlier today, Vettori issued an open challenge to Paul, offering up an open check if “fake Paul” is willing to test

Giga Chikadze emerged as a serious player in the UFC’s featherweight division in 2021. Serving as a pivotal training partner for UFC lightweight contender Beneil Dariush at Kings MMA for years, Chikadze (14-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) made a splash when he entered the UFC in 2019. The former GLORY kickboxer went 4-0 in 2020, but

7:46 AM ET The next 12 months could be some of the most interesting in MMA history. Conor McGregor is set to return from a broken leg. Jon Jones, who hasn’t fought since February 2020, could finally get a heavyweight title shot. Kamaru Usman is closing in on Anderson Silva‘s record of 16 straight UFC

Find out why professionals are using BoxBandz Former UFC interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier has accepted a fight with Nate Diaz on just weeks’ notice if Diaz wants it. Poirier is coming off of his lightweight title loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC 269. It was the second time in his career that he fell short