MMA news

UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has set some lofty expectations for himself this year. O’Malley said last week in an interview with Megan Olivia that he believes he will be the “biggest star in sports – not just combat sports” and “as big as Conor McGregor” if he can deliver two beautiful performances in 2024,

Two bantamweight fighters will look to notch their first UFC victory when they collide in Atlantic City, N.J. A new addition to the UFC Fight Night event on March 30 at Boardwalk Hall, Ireland’s Caolan Loughran and Minnesota’s Angel Pacheco will throw down in a three-round bout. Two people with knowledge of the booking recently

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 234, which takes place at the UFC Apex with a card that streams entirely on ESPN+, goes down Saturday. Before fight night arrives, though, notable athletes from the main card are scheduled to speak to reporters Wednesday at media day, and MMA Junkie will have a live stream beginning

It’s still unknown what the future looks like for Francis Ngannou in terms of MMA. Some pundits, such as Brendan Schaub, doubt there’s even a future at all. Schaub, a former UFC heavyweight contender, doesn’t think Ngannou is ever going to debut for the PFL given the success he’s found securing marquee heavyweight names to

LAS VEGAS – Johnny Walker plans to enter Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 234 main event rematch against Magomed Ankalaev with a clean mental slate. The first matchup between the pair at UFC 294 in October ended in a no contest when Ankalaev (18-1-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC) landed an illegal knee on Walker (21-7 MMA, 7-4

After a nearly monthlong hiatus, the UFC opens its 2024 schedule on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 234, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams on ESPN+. Light heavyweight contenders are set to rematch in the main event of the card. Magomed Ankalaev (18-1-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC) and Johnny Walker

LAS VEGAS – Despite having several names campaigning for a title shot, Manel Kape is confident he’ll be the No. 1 contender. The UFC flyweight believes he’s next for UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja if all goes well for him in his next UFC bout. Kape (19-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) returns to the cage Saturday

Ben Askren has put Jon Jones on blast, saying he had his chance to fight Francis Ngannou when they were both in the UFC. During Ngannou’s UFC heavyweight championship reign, former light heavyweight champ Jones stepped away from the sport to put on size for his his move up a division. That took three years

Jake Michaels, ESPN Senior WriterMay 17, 2023, 08:14 PM ET Close Jake Michaels is a Melbourne-based sports writer who covers everything from Aussie Rules to Formula One, basketball to boxing. He has been with ESPN for 10 years and works as a Senior Writer, covering sport in Australia and around the world. Sydney has struck

Welcome to Midnight Mania! Kevin Lee is officially back. “The MoTown Phenom” rejoined the UFC roster back in February, but a few months have gone by without a bout announcement. Now, The Underground’s John Morgan reports that Lee’s return bout has been booked, and he’ll face top prospect Rinat Fakhretdinov on July 1 at UFC

After testing free agency, Cris Cyborg made the decision to sign a new deal with Bellator and resume her run as the organization’s women’s featherweight champion. According to a statement she released after news was announced of a new multi-fight deal, Cyborg (26-2 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) had a number of potential suitors for her services,

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterMay 16, 2023, 07:19 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Former UFC interim lightweight champions Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje will square off for the second time in a five-round main event at UFC 291, UFC president Dana White announced

North Carolina Boxing and Combat Sports Commission recently released its list of injuries and medical suspensions for those fighters competing in the UFC Charlotte lineup last Sat. (May 13) on ABC from inside Spectrum Center in the “Tar Heel State,” with four of the 13 athletes suspended getting sat indefinitely — or until a physician

Three fighters who competed at UFC on ABC 4 are no longer on the promotion’s roster. UFC on ABC 4 took place Saturday at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. and featured 11 fights including a headliner between Jailton Almeida and Jairzinho Rozenstruik. On Tuesday, algorithm-based Twitter account UFC Roster Watch shared three fighters, all from

Brett Okamoto Close Brett Okamoto ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Jeff Wagenheim May 16, 2023, 07:02 PM ET The PFL has made it a mission to persuade the MMA public that it is the No. 2 fight promotion in the sport, behind only

Welcome to Midnight Mania! Nowadays, UFC salary information doesn’t release all that often. Slowly but surely, more and more athletic commissions have been deciding to withhold rather than release salary information. That’s done in the name of privacy, but the effective outcome has been lots of unknowns about the current UFC pay scale, as well

UFC on ABC 4 took place Saturday at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. where a pair of rising stars continued their ascents up the ladder. Heavyweight Jailton Almeida and middleweight Ian Garry both picked up first-round finish victories that elevated them into the top 15 of the USA Today Sports/MMA Junkie rankings. Additionally, Johnny Walker,

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterMay 16, 2023, 05:16 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has signed an expansive, multi-fight deal with the Professional Fighters League, he and the organization jointly announced on Tuesday. Ngannou (17-3) is expected to