May 19, 2020 Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, the father of undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, has been put into a medically induced coma in Moscow, the fighter’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday. Abdelaziz confirmed Abdulmanap was transported to Moscow from his native Dagestan via airlift earlier this month. Nurmagomedov has publicly stated his
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8:04 AM ET Marc Raimondi Brett Okamoto Close ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Marcus Gaethje was at dinner with his twin brother, Justin. It was May 8, and the Gaethjes and a few of Justin’s coaches had settled in at Chart House, an
12:46 PM ET Justin Gaethje has moved up to No. 2, right behind Khabib Nurmagomedov. That rise in the ESPN lightweight division rankings, prompted by Gaethje’s May 9 TKO victory over the previously second-ranked Tony Ferguson, sets up a forthcoming matchup between the champ, Nurmagomedov, and the new interim champ, Gaethje, on a date still
7:19 AM ET Now that UFC president Dana White is back in Las Vegas after a frantic three-cards-in-eight-days stretch in Jacksonville, Florida, he said the promotion will turn its attention to the future during a matchmaking meeting on Tuesday. The first order of business likely will be filling up the cards on May 30 and
10:40 AM ET The UFC has a May 30 main event, and it features a former champion. The promotion has scheduled Tyron Woodley, who reigned as welterweight champ from 2016 to 2019, to fight Gilbert Burns in the headline bout of UFC’s next scheduled card, Burns confirmed on Twitter on Tuesday. Bout agreement is signed!
7:52 PM ET Undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov confirmed reports of his father being in critical condition due to COVID-19 on Monday. Speaking on Instagram in Russian, Nurmagomedov, 31, confirmed his father, Abdulmanap, recently underwent heart surgery due to complications stemming from a previous ailment and the coronavirus. He went on to encourage people
1:33 PM ET Bettors and bookmakers enjoyed their busiest weekend since the coronavirus pandemic halted the sports world in mid-March, with UFC leading the way and golf and NASCAR attracted higher-than-normal betting interest at some U.S. sportsbooks. FanDuel said the amount wagered on the TaylorMade Driving Relief match between Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson versus
8:22 AM ET Justin Gaethje has arrived. He might not think so, as evidenced by the disdain with which he tossed aside the interim lightweight championship belt moments after winning it with a brutal fifth-round TKO of Tony Ferguson in the UFC 249 main event on May 9. “I’ll wait for the real one,” Gaethje
12:15 AM ET The UFC wrapped up a whirlwind of three live events in a span of eight days on Saturday, and the last man standing was the seemingly ageless heavyweight, Alistair Overeem. Overeem capped off the week of UFC action with a second-round TKO over Walt Harris at UFC Fight Night in Jacksonville, Florida.
12:54 AM ET Walt Harris was stopped by Alistair Overeem in the second round in the UFC Fight Night main event on Saturday. But that didn’t diminish his performance in the eyes of his UFC peers. Many of them, including Harris’ heavyweight division rival Francis Ngannou, took to social media after the fight in Jacksonville,