6:38 PM ET HOUSTON — UFC 247 has a new participant — just about 24 hours before the fights will commence Saturday at Toyota Center. James Krause agreed to fight Trevin Giles on the card on just a day’s notice, he told ESPN on Friday. Antonio Arroyo, Giles’ initial opponent, had issues with cramping after
MMA
11:59 AM ET HOUSTON — Jon Jones‘ quest to make more MMA history is official. Jones, the longtime UFC light heavyweight champion, weighed in at 204 pounds Friday morning for his title defense against Dominick Reyes, which is scheduled for Saturday at Toyota Center (10 p.m. ET, order here on pay-per-view). Reyes weighed in at
8:36 AM ET In 2019, Jon Jones accomplished something he never had before: He flew under the radar. Even in a year in which the UFC’s biggest star, Conor McGregor, failed to make a single appearance, 2019 was by all measures one of the quietest years of Jones’ career. He defended his light heavyweight championship
11:33 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim Jon Jones was just 23 years old when he became light heavyweight champion in 2011, making him the youngest belt holder in UFC history. He looked unbeatable and the sky was the limit, it seemed. But it has been a bumpy road for “Jonny Bones” ever since, with a mixture
4:49 PM ET The UFC has no intention of deviating from a heavyweight championship trilogy bout between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier, despite the former’s lingering eye injury. UFC president Dana White told ESPN on Thursday there is still no firm time frame for Miocic’s return. White said the promotion will continue to wait it
4:35 PM ET Chinese UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili successfully traveled from her home country to Thailand last weekend, according to sources close to the situation. Weili (20-1) is scheduled to make her first 115-pound title defense against Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248 on March 7 in Las Vegas. She normally trains out of Beijing,
4:48 PM ET HOUSTON — Jon Jones‘ fight strategy isn’t limited to what happens inside the Octagon. The UFC light heavyweight champion revealed during media day for UFC 247 that there was a game plan behind picking Dominick Reyes for Saturday’s title defense. Jones previously had said he picked Reyes because he and his coaches
7:00 AM ET IN THE SUMMER of 2017, at a cramped desk parked in a cluttered office, Dominick Reyes pulls up a video of one of the biggest MMA stars on the planet and starts to dream. Maybe that’ll be him soon. All around him is the detritus of academia. His office, for all intents
8:21 AM ET I want to be clear about something right off the bat: I think a lot of people are sleeping on Dominick Reyes this weekend. I think of Jon Jones‘ past three opponents (Alexander Gustafsson, Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos), Reyes has the best shot to unseat Jones. In fact, I’m getting a
7:25 AM ET Katlyn Chookagian will board the shuttle at her Houston hotel on Saturday en route to the Toyota Center for UFC 247. At some point during the ride she will likely turn to her coaches and crack a joke. “I’m always like, maybe the bus will get in a car accident on the