10:01 AM ET Jeff WagenheimESPN Jon Jones was just 23 years old when he became light heavyweight champion back in 2011, making him the youngest belt-holder in UFC history. He looked unbeatable, and the sky was the limit, it seemed. But it’s been a bumpy road for “Jonny Bones” ever since, a mixture of breathtaking
MMA
5:32 PM ET Jon Jones, as of Monday afternoon, is subject to drug testing from both the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA). According to California State Athletic Commission executive director Andy Foster, Jones, 31, enrolled in the VADA program on Monday. As a UFC athlete, he is still enrolled
10:33 AM ET Richard Mann Despite some last-minute maneuvering, the UFC still has high hopes for its year-end offering, a card featuring two title fights. In the main event of UFC 232, former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones returns against old rival Alexander Gustafsson in a bout for the vacant title. In the co-main event,
2:13 PM ET The entire sport of mixed martial arts is still spinning today, from the UFC’s decision to move its UFC 232 pay-per-view event from Las Vegas to Los Angeles just six days before fight night. Picking up a major event and moving it from T-Mobile Arena to The Forum on such short notice,
10:57 AM ET Jeff WagenheimESPN “I’m at a very healthy place,” Jon Jones insisted to ESPN recently while in the midst of describing life changes he made over the summer during several weeks at a trauma and rehab facility. “Well, I mean, I don’t know, uh, who knows?” “Who knows?” is right. It was an
6:42 PM ET In an unprecedented move, the UFC is relocating next weekend’s UFC 232 pay-per-view event from Las Vegas to Los Angeles because of a licensing issue involving Jon Jones in the state of Nevada. UFC president Dana White broke the news on SportsCenter on Sunday. UFC 232, originally scheduled to take place at
2:50 AM ET Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez will return to competition against Francis Ngannou in February, according to UFC president Dana White. The heavyweight matchup will headline UFC Fight Night on Feb. 17 in Phoenix. It will mark the first UFC main card to air exclusively on ESPN television. A UFC Fight Night
7:49 PM ET A bantamweight bout between John Lineker and Cory Sandhagen is in the works for the UFC’s Jan. 19 card in Brooklyn, New York, sources told ESPN. The card will mark the UFC’s debut on ESPN+. Lineker (31-8) was slated to fight former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz in January, but the fight
11:17 AM ET Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone has recorded more wins than any other fighter in UFC history, but says he’s going into 2019 with something to prove. Cerrone (34-11) will return to lightweight for the first time in three years next month, when he meets Alexander Hernandez at UFC Fight Night on ESPN+: Cejudo vs.
5:33 PM ET Bellator 214 is down a title fight. Gegard Mousasi, the Bellator middleweight champion, has withdrawn from his Jan. 26 title defense against Rafael Lovato Jr. due to a back injury, sources told ESPN. It’s unclear at this time how long he’ll be sidelined. The promotion and Lovato Jr. have yet to determine