12:50 PM ET UFC 251 on Fight Island continues to evolve. From visions of palm trees surrounding an Octagon on a beach with Kamaru Usman defending his welterweight belt against Gilbert Burns to what looks like an indoor venue with a possible main event of Alexander Volkanovski defending his featherweight title against Max Holloway. And
MMA
2:40 PM ET Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, father of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, died Friday after battling COVID-19, and his impact on the world of mixed martial arts was evident by the outpouring of respect that immediately followed on social media. Abdulmanap was not just the father of Khabib, the undefeated phenom who is ESPN’s top-ranked
4:43 PM ET Max Holloway traveled Wednesday from Hawaii to Las Vegas. At the airport was the first time the former UFC featherweight champion has seen his coaches in person for months. Holloway told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani on Friday that he didn’t go to the gym or see his coaches during his UFC 251 training
1:31 PM ET Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, the father and trainer of undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, has died in Moscow, the fighter’s manager Ali Abdelaziz confirmed to ESPN on Friday. The elder Nurmagomedov had been hospitalized in Moscow since May, when he was diagnosed with coronavirus. He also underwent heart surgery for a pre-existing condition
8:18 AM ET As the giant screens hanging from the roof of the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas went from blank to an Irish flag, and Sinead O’Connor’s version of “Foggy Dew” played over the house system, it was obvious 2020 would be a memorable year for the UFC with the return of Conor McGregor
7:51 AM ET There were times during the first half of 2020 when the idea of voting for midyear awards in any sport seemed ill-conceived, and it was no different for the UFC. Would there even be enough events from which to garner candidates for the various categories? The coronavirus pandemic canceled sports around the
9:01 PM ET When UFC president Dana White announced that he would be putting cards on Fight Island, it was natural to envision an Octagon set up on a tropical paradise. So when the announcement was made that Fight Island was Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, and the events would be held in an arena,
9:30 AM ET Rose Namajunas‘ last fight was more than 14 months ago. On that night, in Brazil, she lost her strawweight title in dramatic fashion after she was knocked out following a slam by Jessica Andrade. Following the bout, Namajunas said she might never fight again. Six months later, in an emotional interview, she
7:41 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim Five championship bouts. Several other top-10 showdowns. A few high-profile rematches. More than a dozen fights featuring former world champions. The UFC has quite a summer of fighting lined up. After taking this coming weekend off, the promotion makes a big splash on July 11 in Abu Dhabi with UFC
6:23 PM ET It’s safe to say that a familiar face is back in UFC title contention. In what could be a fight of the year candidate, Dustin Poirier won a brutal battle against Dan Hooker in the UFC Fight Night main event on Saturday in Las Vegas. Both fighters traded wicked shots from the