2:35 AM ET MELBOURNE, Australia — The sheer noise reverberating around Marvel Stadium as Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya bumped fists inside the Octagon and readied themselves for battle told you everything about Australia’s love affair with the UFC. Here were 57,127 fight fans crammed into an Aussie rules football stadium to watch two of
MMA
7:24 PM ET ESPN’s MMA contributors break down the biggest takeaways from UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya. Ariel Helwani welcomes the Israel Adesanya era Israel Adesanya made his UFC debut on Feb. 11, 2018. That isn’t a typo. He debuted against Rob Wilkinson on the undercard of UFC 221 a year-and-a-half ago. On Saturday night,
12:48 AM ET The UFC has a new undisputed champion. And maybe a new superstar on its hands, too. Israel Adesanya knocked out Robert Whittaker with a right-hook-left-hook combination at 3:33 of the second round Saturday in the main event of UFC 243 in Melbourne, Australia. Adesanya unified the middleweight title with the stoppage victory.
Oct 2, 2019 On Sunday morning (AEDT), more than 50,000 fight fans will flock into Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, as an Australia vs. New Zealand world title fight headlines a UFC card full of local fighters. It’s yet another indicator of how much the sport has grown globally, especially in Australia. Rewind the clock to
10:20 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Cain Velasquez is planning on stepping out of the Octagon and into the pro-wrestling ring for the foreseeable future. Velasquez, the former two-time UFC heavyweight champion, is in advanced talks to sign with WWE, he told ESPN. He made a surprise appearance Friday on WWE SmackDown’s FOX premiere at
9:02 PM ET MELBOURNE, Australia — The UFC’s middleweight unification bout between Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya is official for UFC 243 on Saturday, after both fighters successfully made weight on Friday. Whittaker (20-4), the 185-pound division’s current champion, weighed in at 185 pounds. Adesanya (17-0), the interim titleholder, clearly had no trouble making weight,
1:07 PM ET Conor McGregor has been charged with assault for punching a man in a Dublin, Ireland, bar in April. McGregor, the former UFC two-division champion, was formally served with a summons and is due in a Dublin court Oct. 11 on the charge, McGregor spokesperson Karen Kessler confirmed with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani. McGregor’s
6:18 AM ET On Nov. 14, 2015, UFC megastar Ronda Rousey suffered the first loss of her illustrious career, falling to Holly Holm in front of a UFC-record crowd of 56,214 in Melbourne, Australia. And wouldn’t you know it, both Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya — the two men who will headline Saturday’s UFC 243
9:41 AM ET All of a sudden, Sergio Pettis is a free agent. Following talks to book Pettis against Kai Kara-France at UFC 245, it was determined recently that Pettis’ UFC contract had expired and he is free to explore opportunities elsewhere, sources told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani. Sources said Pettis isn’t ruling out a return
Aug 28, 2019 Conor McGregor is expected to return to the UFC in 2020, but who will his first opponent be? While Khabib Nurmagomedov, Nate Diaz, Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje appear to be the most popular choices, a surprising name has emerged as a candidate — Frankie Edgar. Say what? Wasn’t he supposed to