8:34 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim Clay Collard was the other guy. He was the one standing across the cage from the PFL’s prized new signee, Anthony “Showtime” Pettis. It was a big moment for the emerging fight promotion, and the vibe of the introductions for this season-opening main event last month in Atlantic City, New
MMA
1:57 AM ET City Kickboxing (CKB) fighter Fau Vake, who died earlier this month, will be firmly in the thoughts of both middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and rising lightweight Brad Riddell when the duo step into the Octagon at UFC 263 next month. Vake died on May 23 in an Auckland hospital, seven days after
7:51 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim MMA is doing pretty well for a sport less than three decades old. From the UFC to Bellator to the PFL and beyond, the fight game has grown from a shady niche to the spotlit mainstream, drawing in new fans by the day. A few fighters have broken through to
9:20 PM ET The UFC is working on a featherweight matchup between Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez for July, according to UFC president Dana White. Contracts have not been signed, but the UFC is close to finalizing the 145-pound contest, sources told ESPN. Once official, it is expected to headline a UFC Fight Night event
2:09 PM ET Former UFC champion Jon Jones has enlisted veteran boxing promoter Richard Schaefer as a representative, he announced via social media on Wednesday. Jones, 33, is one of the most dominant fighters in UFC history, although he has not fought since February 2020. A former light heavyweight champion, Jones vacated his UFC title
7:31 AM ET With a rare off week on the UFC calendar, it’s a good moment to take a step back and look at the biggest stories across several key divisions, with each having its own questions surrounding the championship and the greater title picture. The heavyweight division is seemingly headed toward a rematch of
1:33 PM ET Aaron Pico has his next fight queued up. The top MMA prospect will fight Aiden Lee at Bellator 260 on June 11 at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, sources told ESPN on Tuesday. That card will be headlined by a welterweight title fight between champion Douglas Lima and challenger Yaroslav Amosov. Pico
7:29 AM ET The Ultimate Fighter was an instrumental force during the UFC’s explosion of popularity in the early 2000s — shining a spotlight on fighters like Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock, who coached a variety of MMA hopefuls in a season-long competition in which all of the competitors were housed
11:27 PM ET If Rob Font was underrated heading into Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event against Cody Garbrandt, he took a big step toward establishing his presence in the bantamweight division with a unanimous decision win. The co-main event was considered by some to be a No. 1 contender fight. Carla Esparza was ranked
11:00 PM ET One of the best divisions in the UFC has a newly minted contender. Rob Font put on one of the best performances of his career, beating former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt via unanimous decision (48-47, 50-45, 50-45) in the bantamweight main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. Font’s