1:56 PM ET As a lightweight, Sage Northcutt says, the crucial part of his weight cut began 30 hours in advance of stepping on the scale. Northcutt (10-2) will face Zak Ottow (16-5) in a welterweight bout at a UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Boise, Idaho. Northcutt’s decision to move to 170 pounds came
MMA
8:22 AM ET Khabib Nurmagomedov is not new to No. 1. The UFC lightweight champion was already at the top of the ESPN pound-for-pound rankings, but until now, he was sharing that spot. However, in the wake of Jon Jones‘ second straight close call — a decision win over Dominick Reyes in their light heavyweight
7:53 AM ET You have to come up with something pretty special to impress a sporting superstar like Conor McGregor on their birthday. Malki Kawa, the manager for Jon Jones, said Monday on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show that he is “very confident” the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency will reach a decision on Jones’ case by the
2:57 PM ET Bellator MMA has booked a Heavyweight World Grand Prix semifinal matchup between Ryan Bader and Matt Mitrione for Oct. 12, inside Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Officials announced the date and location Tuesday. The televised event will air on Paramount Network. Bader (25-5) is the promotion’s current light heavyweight champion, and
10:37 PM ET Greg Hardy‘s second professional mixed martial arts fight is very close to being set. The controversial former NFL player is slated to face Tebaris Gordon (3-0) on the Aug. 7 as part of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contenders Series card in Las Vegas, multiple sources told ESPN. Hardy won his MMA debut
8:36 PM ET Chamatkar Sandhu Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones may finally be close to a resolution with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Jones (22-1) tested positive for Turinabol, a steroid, stemming from an in-competition drug test in relation to UFC 214 last July, when he defeated Daniel Cormier in the main event.
7:52 PM ET UFC middleweight Yoel Romero is considering a move up to light heavyweight, his manager, Malki Kawa, told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani on Monday. Kawa said he has already had discussions with the UFC, which makes sense due to his recent trouble getting down to 185 pounds. Light heavyweight fighters can weigh up to
3:38 PM ET Chamatkar Sandhu UFC lightweight Michael Chiesa told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani on Monday that he thought he was going to die while cutting weight for his fight with Anthony Pettis at UFC 226. Chiesa (14-4) has been fighting at lightweight his entire career. He missed weight for the first time this past weekend
3:10 PM ET Jeff WagenheimESPN The superfight was a magical moment in MMA history. The SuperfightMania (BrockDown? RoyalBumble?) that followed was just a bad magic trick — you know, the kind where you can see the sleight of hand unfolding in the most ham-handed way and wish you could unsee it. It was a clumsy
3:26 AM ET LAS VEGAS — Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar returned to the company on Saturday and will face UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, who defeated Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 226. “We’re definitely going to make that fight,” said UFC president Dana White, who didn’t have a date or