7:33 AM ET UFC 266 will see Brian Ortega make his second attempt at becoming a UFC champion. And anyone who saw the first attempt knows that the fact he’s back in this position is no small feat. Ortega (15-1) will challenge Alexander Volkanovski (22-1) for the featherweight crown on Saturday in Las Vegas, almost
MMA
3:38 PM ET The UFC is finalizing a featherweight matchup between former champion Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez to headline an event on Nov. 13, multiple sources told ESPN. Contracts have not been signed, but the bout is expected to become official shortly. It will serve as the main event of a UFC Fight Night
2:45 PM ET LAS VEGAS — UFC star Jon Jones was arrested Friday morning by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, just hours after a past UFC fight of his was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Jones is being charged with misdemeanor battery domestic violence and injuring or tampering with a vehicle, Officer
7:39 AM ET LAS VEGAS — The return of Nick Diaz is complicated. I’ve been talking to professional fighters since 2009, but I have never had an interview go the way my conversation with Diaz went this week. Diaz, 38, returns from a six-year absence on Saturday, against Robbie Lawler at UFC 266. He has
11:12 PM ET LAS VEGAS — Jon Jones has not yet fought at heavyweight. But the longtime former UFC light heavyweight champion told ESPN on Thursday night that he weighs 255 pounds right now and is planning to get up to 270 before a heavyweight debut he wants to make against the winner of Francis
11:27 PM ET Miesha Tate‘s second fight during her comeback run with the UFC will have to wait. The popular former UFC women’s bantamweight champion has tested positive for COVID-19, and her main event bout with Ketlen Vieira is off the UFC Fight Night card Oct. 16 in Las Vegas, Tate’s manager Josh Jones told
8:00 AM ET Marc Ratner was sitting cageside at UFC 255 last Nov. 21 in Las Vegas. It was part of his usual routine, one the UFC vice president of regulatory affairs had upheld for hundreds of fight nights. When a video started playing on the UFC Apex screen, though, things started to feel different
9:02 PM ET LAS VEGAS — Nick Diaz never has been one to hold back, whether it be in the cage or talking with the media. On Wednesday, three days before he returns to the Octagon after more than six years away, Diaz spoke of his “resentment” toward mixed martial arts, wondered aloud why he
4:25 PM ET LAS VEGAS — A high profile rematch between Nick Diaz and Robbie Lawler will apparently still happen at UFC 266 this weekend, following a last-minute request from Diaz’s camp to change the weight limit of the bout. Diaz (26-9) and Lawler (28-15) originally agreed to fight at the 170-pound welterweight limit, however
7:46 AM ET HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — Brian Ortega was feeling good, like his career and his life had been elevated to the next level. It was December 2018, and Ortega was invited to a holiday party at the Los Angeles home of actor Robert Downey Jr. Sure, a few weeks earlier Ortega had lost