7:59 AM ET Did anyone really think Jon Jones wouldn’t at least flirt with the idea of challenging the winner of Saturday’s light heavyweight championship bout? It didn’t take long after Jan Blachowicz defeated Dominick Reyes in the UFC 253 co-main event on Fight Island for Jones to tweet about the possibility of challenging Blachowicz.
MMA
8:28 AM ET UFC president Dana White said his promotion will not “muzzle anybody,” when he was asked early Thursday morning about the backlash to recent Colby Covington comments, which several UFC fighters labeled as racist. During a news conference in Abu Dhabi to promote Saturday’s UFC 253 card on “Fight Island,” White was asked
1:32 AM ET Israel Adesanya and Jan Blachowicz entered UFC 253 on Saturday with their share of doubters, which made what happened in the Octagon even sweeter for both men. Adesanya had a “boring” tag hung on him by critics after a lackluster win over Yoel Romero in March. But that label didn’t fit on
12:44 AM ET Israel Adesanya stopped Paulo Costa in the second round to retain his UFC middleweight title in the main event Saturday night at UFC 253 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The TKO came at 3 minutes, 59 seconds. Adesanya went to work on Costa’s lead leg early on, whipping
12:11 AM ET The UFC’s light heavyweight division might not have Jon Jones — but perhaps it might still have a dominant champ. Jan Blachowicz (27-8), an overlooked slugger from Poland, defeated Dominick Reyes (12-2) via TKO at 4 minutes, 36 seconds of the second round of their light heavyweight title fight on Saturday at
12:47 AM ET The return to Fight Island saw the continued domination of the middleweight champion, the crowning of a new light heavyweight champion and the emergence of a new flyweight contender. Israel Adesanya found a way to keep his title and undefeated record with a victory over the previously undefeated Paulo Costa. While Costa’s
9:19 AM ET One of the biggest middleweight title fights in recent UFC history is officially set. Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa both successfully made weight Friday in Abu Dhabi ahead of the UFC 253 main event. Adesanya weighed 184 pounds and Costa was 185 pounds. Adesanya questioned Costa’s ability to make the 185-pound limit
8:44 PM ET You have to give it to the UFC. The promotion has pulled off this 2020 concept of “Fight Island” remarkably well, and I’m not just referring to stringent COVID-19 measures. The UFC’s pay-per-views this year on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, have offered a lot. From the “BMF” champion
3:28 PM ET Former UFC champion Conor McGregor tweeted on Friday that his next fight will be against boxing’s only eight-division world champion, Manny Pacquiao. McGregor, who announced his retirement (again) over Twitter in June, yet stayed in the USADA testing pool, has only fought in the UFC twice in the last four years, a
1:58 PM ET The UFC women’s featherweight and bantamweight champion can add another title to her collection: mother. Amanda Nunes and her fiancée, UFC fighter Nina Ansaroff, had their first child Friday. Ansaroff gave birth to a daughter, Raegan Ann Nunes. Nunes and Ansaroff each made the announcement on social media. “Speechless,” Nunes tweeted. Nunes,