MMA

8:18 AM ET The UFC is will open its third Performance Institute training facility later this year, and the location will be in Mexico City, promotion officials told ESPN. The building is targeted to open in the fourth quarter of 2023. Currently, the UFC has Performance Institutes in Las Vegas and Shanghai, China. While the

8:33 PM ET Kevin Lee is heading back to the UFC, the former lightweight title challenger told ESPN on Monday. Lee, 30, says he has agreed to an exclusive deal with the UFC, a little more than one year after the promotion released him of his contract. Lee has not booked his return to the

2:12 PM ET Over three years since 57,127 fans crammed into Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium, the UFC is officially finally back in Australia. Perth’s RAC Arena will on Sunday host UFC 284, headlined by the lightweight title fight between the champion Islam Makhachev and the challenger, Australia’s own Alexander Volkanovski. Will Volkanovski join rarefied company and

8:35 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim Rankings are opinions. Opinions are debatable. Except for this one: Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski is the No. 1 fight to watch at this weekend’s UFC 284. There’s simply no other way to stack up the event in Perth, Australia. Makhachev, 23-1 and a winner of his past 21 fights,

2:00 PM ET Throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic there was one constant question that plagued Australian MMA fans: When will the UFC return Down Under? This Sunday morning [AEDT], after more than 1,220 days that have come and gone, the Octagon will once again take centre stage on the Australian sporting consciousness when

12:17 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim For the retirement fight of Fedor Emelianenko, one of the greatest ever to compete in mixed martial arts and the icon of an era gone by, there was a who’s who of MMA legends gathered at Bellator 290 in Inglewood, California, on Saturday night to give one of their own

5:15 AM ET Eddie Maisonet The UFC kicked off its February schedule with a heavyweight main event, and Serghei Spivac delivered in a big way. Spivac (16-3) defeated Derrick Lewis (26-11) in the finale of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. “The Polar Bear” submitted Lewis via armbar in the first round, thus

10:21 AM ET Conor McGregor‘s return has been set, as the former UFC double champion will coach against lightweight star Michael Chandler on the next season of “The Ultimate Fighter” before facing him in the Octagon. UFC president Dana White announced McGregor and Chandler as the coaches on social media Saturday. No date or location

11:15 AM ET After knocking out Tony Ferguson at UFC 274, Michael Chandler thought it might take a lapse in judgment for the UFC to book a fight with him against Conor McGregor. Instead, a coaching opportunity with The Ultimate Fighter helped put the pieces in motion for a megafight later this year. “If Hunter

10:17 PM ET The UFC has shifted a highly anticipated bantamweight main event between Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen from Feb. 18 to March 25, multiple sources confirmed to ESPN on Thursday. The bout was originally scheduled to headline UFC Fight Night later this month at the Apex in Las Vegas, but will now serve