MMA

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJan 17, 2025, 02:13 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions LOS ANGELES — The UFC’s first pay-per-view event of 2025 underwent a major change Friday, as lightweight title challenger Arman Tsarukyan was forced out of Saturday’s UFC

Andreas Hale, ESPNJan 17, 2025, 05:44 PM ET Open Extended Reactions More than a decade after producing one of the most shocking knockouts in MMA history, former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman announced his retirement on Friday during the UFC 311 weigh-in show. “Since 2009, the goal was to be a UFC fighter,” said Weidman.

Andreas Hale, ESPNJan 17, 2025, 12:50 PM ET Open Extended Reactions JiYí Procházka made his way up to the UFC 311 news conference stage at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, with a hood covering his head. When the fan favorite — who will face former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill on Saturday — pulled back

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJan 16, 2025, 07:51 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions LAS VEGAS — It’s Jan. 1, and Khabib Nurmagomedov is spending the start of this new year the same way he has spent most of his life.

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJan 15, 2025, 09:34 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions The PFL is set to make several major changes in 2025, including a complete overhaul of its signature “season” format. The promotion announced Wednesday that this year’s

Michael Rothstein, ESPN Staff WriterJan 15, 2025, 01:00 PM ET Close Michael Rothstein is a reporter for NFL Nation at ESPN. Rothstein covers the Atlanta Falcons. You can follow him via Twitter @MikeRothstein. A woman who accused Conor McGregor of sexually assaulting her after an NBA Finals game in 2023 has filed a lawsuit against

Andreas Hale, ESPNJan 15, 2025, 08:00 PM ET Open Extended Reactions LOS ANGELES — When Kevin Holland enters the Octagon against Reinier de Ridder at UFC 311, it will be his 24th fight with the UFC. Holland, who has navigated between middleweight and welterweight, has fought at a breakneck pace since joining the promotion in

Open Extended Reactions Many MMA fighters had a great year in 2024. We saw some claim their first title in a major promotion. And there were those who reclaimed titles they previously held. But no MMA fighter had a better 12-month stretch than UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. Pereira reeled off three successful title

Open Extended Reactions 2025 is starting out as a great year for MMA. ESPN’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, Islam Makhachev, puts his UFC lightweight title on the line against Arman Tsarukyan and bantamweight champ Merab Dvalishvili defends against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in Inglewood, California, on Saturday. Then February kicks off with a bang

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJan 11, 2025, 10:34 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions UFC strawweight Mackenzie Dern avenged a loss from five years ago to Amanda Ribas on Saturday, as she submitted Ribas via armbar with just four seconds remaining