MMA

Feb 18, 2024, 02:11 AM ET Open Extended Reactions What were the biggest moments from UFC 298? Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi and Jeff Wagenheim offer up their final thoughts after an 12-fight card in Anaheim, California, on Saturday night. Topuria’s win signals a changing landscape at 145 pounds Wagenheim: The narrative during the leadup to

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterFeb 18, 2024, 01:39 AM ET Open Extended Reactions ANAHEIM, Calif. — UFC 300 finally has its main event. Alex Pereira will defend his UFC light heavyweight title against former champ Jamahal Hill in the headliner on April 13 in Las Vegas, UFC CEO Dana White announced Saturday night on social

Feb 17, 2024, 06:10 PM ET Open Extended Reactions ANAHEIM, Calif. – Alexander Volkanovski played up his age this week, wearing clothes befitting a grandpa, old-man glasses and pretending to fall asleep at the prefight news conference. Volkanovski is not actually old. He’s just 35. But, technically, that is an advanced age for a UFC

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterFeb 16, 2024, 02:23 PM ET Open Extended Reactions IRVINE, Calif. — Go, brother. Junior Tafa will step in on just one-day notice to fight Marcos Rogerio de Lima in a heavyweight bout at UFC 298 on Saturday. The man Tafa is replacing? His own brother Justin Tafa, who withdrew from

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterFeb 16, 2024, 08:15 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI STILL LAUGHS about the time in 2019 when he was explicitly told not to get a haircut during fight week. Volkanovski was in Rio de

Carlos Contreras Legaspi Feb 16, 2024, 08:43 AM ET Open Extended Reactions ALICANTE, Spain — Of the 40 Olympic medals Georgia has won since its independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991, 19 were earned in wrestling. Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling are parts of the country’s fabric and a source of pride for the

Jeff Wagenheim Feb 15, 2024, 11:51 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Erin Blanchfield vs. Manon Fiorot is a pivotal matchup in the UFC women’s flyweight division. Now it is being treated like one. The UFC announced Thursday that the previously announced bout between Blanchfield (12-1) and Fiorot (11-1) has been elevated to the headline spot

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterFeb 15, 2024, 09:33 AM ET Open Extended Reactions ANAHEIM, Calif. — The UFC and WWE merged last year into one company, the publicly traded TKO Group owned by Hollywood talent agency Endeavor. And now, some of the effects of that merger are coming to light. The UFC and WWE have

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterFeb 14, 2024, 05:56 PM ET Open Extended Reactions IRVINE, Calif. – The career of one of the most accomplished athletes in UFC history could be coming to a close. Again. Former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo said Wednesday that he’ll retire if he loses Saturday at UFC 298.

Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.auFeb 12, 2024, 07:43 PM ET Close Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. Open Extended