12:57 AM ET One of the best bantamweight fighters in the world is making his return at the end of the year. Kyoji Horiguchi, the former Bellator and Rizin bantamweight champion, will fight current Rizin champ Kai Asakura in a rematch Dec. 31 at Rizin 26 in Saitama, Japan, the promotion announced Friday. Horiguchi has
MMA
9:36 PM ET Patricio Freire already has the best résumé of any fighter in Bellator history. Now he’s trying to add the title of Grand Prix champion to his already prodigious legacy. “Pitbull” stopped Pedro Carvalho by knockout at 2 minutes, 10 seconds of the first round to retain the Bellator featherweight title Thursday night
8:46 AM ET Scott Coker woke up March 13 in a hotel room at Mohegan Sun Casino & Resort in Uncasville, Connecticut. Later that night, the Bellator president would be promoting a card featuring the start of the anticipated Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix quarterfinals. That morning, though, he got a phone call from members
1:41 PM ET Kayla Harrison is in for a change of scenery. At least temporarily. The PFL women’s lightweight champion will compete at Invicta FC 43 on Nov. 20 in Kansas City, Kansas, PFL announced Monday. The opponent will be Courtney King and Harrison will move down to featherweight — 145 pounds — to fight
11:51 PM ET The UFC added three new athletes to its active roster on Tuesday, including an undefeated Israeli featherweight who accepted a fight this week on just five days’ notice. UFC president Dana White signed featherweight Natan Levy, lightweight Nikolas Motta, and strawweight Luana Pinheiro to exclusive contracts on Tuesday, during Dana White’s Contender
1:03 PM ET The Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier rematch is inching closer to reality. Poirier has signed a bout agreement to fight in the Jan. 23 main event of UFC 257 versus McGregor, per multiple sources. The fight would take place at 155 pounds. McGregor, per sources, hasn’t signed a bout agreement yet, however,
9:28 AM ET It will be hard for Dana White’s Contender Series to top last week. In the eighth episode of the show’s fourth season, all four fights ended in KO/TKOs and every winner won a UFC contract. The athletes on Tuesday’s edition of DWCS will attempt to continue that run. With just one episode
5:38 PM ET Brett Okamoto Close ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Marc Raimondi The UFC has found a dance partner for former champion Rafael dos Anjos this weekend. Paul Felder, one of the most exciting fighters in the lightweight division, will step in
1:55 PM ET Two-weight UFC champion Amanda Nunes has withdrawn from her featherweight title defense against Megan Anderson next month for undisclosed reasons, according to multiple sources. Nunes (20-4) was scheduled to defend her 145-pound title against Anderson (10-4) in the main event of UFC 256 on Dec. 12 in Las Vegas. The UFC has
7:57 AM ET UFC fans are anxiously awaiting Conor McGregor‘s Octagon return, which is expected to be Jan. 23 vs. Dustin Poirier. But until bout agreements are signed, it’s not a done deal, and according to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, this fight is not yet a done deal. So what happens if it falls through? And