MMA

Mike Coppinger, ESPNMar 8, 2024, 08:01 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Anthony Joshua scored a spectacular knockout of Francis Ngannou in Round 2, a right hand that landed clean on the former UFC heavyweight champion’s chin and rendered him unconscious. After Ngannou regained his senses, ringside officials administered oxygen to the 37-year-old, who was boxing

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterMar 8, 2024, 10:35 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Two of the top women’s fighters in the world will coach against each other on the next season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” UFC women’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and former champ Valentina Shevchenko will be coaches on the show, which will premiere

Mar 7, 2024, 11:15 AM ET Open Extended Reactions PRETORIA, South Africa — UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis told ESPN he is expecting to be ready to fight by mid-2024, and reiterated his desire to face Nigeria-born New Zealander Israel Adesanya in South Africa. ‘Stillknocks’ Du Plessis injured both legs in his January UFC

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterMar 7, 2024, 01:56 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Thirteen key witnesses, including several well-known fighters, will not be allowed to testify for the UFC during its upcoming antitrust trial, a court decided earlier this week. Judge Richard Boulware declared Monday that those witnesses, named by the UFC in a trial

Jeff Wagenheim, ESPNMar 7, 2024, 09:22 AM ET Open Extended Reactions “17-0.” That was the tweet. Nothing more, just that one line. That one lie. Sean O’Malley was not 17-0 when he posted on X last March about supposedly having an unblemished professional fighting record. At the time, he was actually 16-1 with a no

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterMar 6, 2024, 04:42 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Bellator has a big slate set for France later this year. Undefeated Usman Nurmagomedov will defend his Bellator lightweight title against Alexander Shabliy and Patchy Mix will put his bantamweight title on the line against Magomed Magomedov at Bellator Champions Series on

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterMar 6, 2024, 10:42 AM ET Open Extended Reactions A LARGE MOTOR COACH bus pulled out from the side of TD Garden in Boston, and with it came a swarm of people. The oversized vehicle turned onto Causeway Street as security attempted to disperse the mob. It was Aug. 18, 2023,

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterMar 5, 2024, 09:45 PM ET Open Extended Reactions MIAMI — UFC bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili will weigh in as a backup for Saturday’s UFC 299 main event, his manager, Oren Hodak, confirmed to ESPN, just three weeks after the biggest win of his career. UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley is

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterMar 5, 2024, 08:02 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley and Marlon “Chito” Vera will meet for the second time on Saturday in the main event of UFC 299 in Miami. The

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterMar 4, 2024, 08:21 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Francis Ngannou uncorked a short left hook that collided with Tyson Fury‘s jaw. The impact of the blow sent Fury to the mat — and might have changed the trajectory of the combat sports economy for the foreseeable future. Ngannou lost the