11:57 AM ET Endeavor Group Holdings, the media conglomerate and ownership company of UFC, launched an initial public offering Thursday. Executives Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell, as well as UFC president Dana White, were all in appearance in New York, where Endeavor stock began trading at $24 per share. “It’s official,” White wrote on Instagram.
MMA
7:22 AM ET Going into Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event, it’s not unfair to say we don’t really know who Dominick Reyes or Jiri Prochazka are. When it comes to just name value alone, we do. Reyes (12-2) fought Jon Jones for the UFC’s light heavyweight championship 14 months ago — and many observers
1:42 AM ET Diego Sanchez, one of the longest-tenured athletes in UFC history, is officially no longer with the promotion. The UFC terminated Sanchez’s contract Tuesday, according to UFC president Dana White. Sanchez, 39, basically announced the split on Thursday, as he posted “Free at last” on his personal Instagram. Sanchez was scheduled to face
12:20 AM ET Yoel Romero is out of the most anticipated first-round matchup in Bellator’s big 2021 tournament — and arguably one of the promotion’s biggest fights in recent memory. The former UFC middleweight title challenger didn’t clear pre-fight medical screening and is out of the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix, promotion officials confirmed
8:39 AM ET Rose Namajunas did not move very far, but her climb was tremendous. She entered last Saturday’s UFC 261 as the No. 2 strawweight in the ESPN divisional MMA rankings. Now she is just one spot higher at No. 1 — but she’s also once again a UFC champion, after knocking out Zhang
7:00 AM ET Former All-Pro NFL running back Marshawn Lynch has joined the PFL as an investor and brand ambassador, the promotion announced Thursday. Lynch, whose fandom of MMA is well known, is the latest celebrity to partner with the league. He joins a list that includes comedian Kevin Hart and music artist Wiz Khalifa.
8:32 PM ET The UFC has pulled a welterweight matchup between Donald Cerrone and Diego Sanchez from its event on May 8 and is seeking a new matchup for Cerrone on the same date, sources confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday. Sanchez (30-13) is off the UFC Fight Night event in Las Vegas, sources said. The
8:30 AM ET Kamaru Usman has risen to the top of the game, taking over the No. 1 spot in the ESPN pound-for-pound men’s MMA rankings. Usman (19-1) retained his UFC welterweight championship with a dazzling knockout of Jorge Masvidal on Saturday, his 18th consecutive victory and fourth title defense. He takes over the top
7:55 PM ET UFC middleweight Chris Weidman posted X-rays of his broken leg — pre- and post-surgery — on Tuesday as he made his way home following a gruesome injury at UFC 261 on Saturday. Weidman posted the images to his social media accounts, along with a video of him and his family flying from
4:42 PM ET Conor McGregor has donated $500,000 to a Boys & Girls Club in Louisiana as an apparent resolution to an issue he had with rival Dustin Poirier. The hefty donation from McGregor’s team came in to the Boys & Girls Club of Acadiana on Monday, club president and CEO Missy Andrade told ESPN