8:38 AM ET Clay Collard will try to continue his march toward a PFL title on June 17, when he takes on Alexander Martinez in Atlanta. PFL officials announced the lightweight matchup Wednesday. The event, which takes place at OTE Arena, marks the second round of regular-season action. Collard (21-9) is on a mission in
MMA
8:17 AM ET ESPN News Services LOS ANGELES — Baseball great Alex Rodriguez is taking a swing at mixed martial arts as an investor and board member for the Professional Fighters League. The PFL announced the addition of the former New York Yankees superstar to its board of directors Thursday. Rodriguez’s investment is part of
4:04 PM ET Glover Teixeira’s days competing in the Octagon seem numbered. The UFC light heavyweight champion told Globo’s Mundo de Luta podcast Wednesday that he would like to wrap up his illustrious career in the next few months and this would “probably” be his final year fighting. Teixeira, 42, will defend his light heavyweight
4:43 PM ET Khabib Nurmagomedov says he recently texted Dana White to argue in favor of a lightweight title shot for his longtime friend and teammate Islam Makhachev — and apparently White left the retired legend on read. “Honestly, this is first time since we started talking to each other that he don’t respond to
7:47 PM ET Manel Kape is free to compete at UFC 275 following an atypical drug-test finding last month. But he will not yet be licensed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. The NSAC ruled Tuesday at a hearing during its monthly meeting that Kape must undergo six more months of drug testing before being
May 16, 2022 UFC lightweight Islam Makhachev wants to face Charles Oliveira for the vacant title in October, and believes he will beat the Brazilian at his own game of submission grappling. Makhachev (22-1) is expected to fight Oct. 22 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, located in a predominantly Muslim region where he is
11:48 AM ET The two-sport plan for WBA, WBC and IBF middleweight champion Claressa Shields over the next 18 months is starting to take shape, but it’s no longer clear whether it will include an undisputed middleweight title fight against WBO champion Savannah Marshall. Shields told ESPN on Tuesday that a possible fight with Marshall,
9:50 PM ET Aleksandar Rakic tore the ACL in his right knee in a UFC Fight Night main event loss to Jan Blachowicz last Saturday in Las Vegas, Rakic’s manager Marcelo Brigadeiro confirmed to ESPN on Monday evening. Early in the third round, Rakic took a step back following a Blachowicz combination. When Rakic planted
1:43 PM ET Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez was denied bail again Monday in his attempted murder case at a motion hearing in Santa Clara (California) County, per the court. Judge Shelyna Brown decided against allowing Velasquez bail for a second time, citing Velasquez’s “reckless disregard for human life.” Brown first denied Velasquez bail
8:51 AM ET With big fights happening every week and new champions being crowned along with current championship forging their legacy, it’s easy to forget that Kamaru Usman is still the pound-for-pound best in MMA today. But is it possible for Usman to catch a former pound-for-pound champ and arguably the greatest ever welterweight in