After three years away from the sport, Jon Jones is set to return at UFC 285 on March 4th against Ciryl Gane for the heavyweight title. Heavyweight is a division Jones has talked about for nearly a decade now, and in several short weeks we’ll finally see how he does a weight class up from
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Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury rebooked for February Boxing fans were eager to watch Jake Paul face off with a legitimate boxer for once when it was announced he would fight Tommy Fury, the brother of Tyson Fury, in 2021. Unfortunately, that bout never came to fruition because Fury pulled out of the bout due
7:02 PM ET Francis Ngannou said he asked for a lot of things from the UFC during a long contract negotiation period. But the former UFC heavyweight champion said he ultimately decided that what the UFC was offering didn’t afford him enough freedom. In an interview Tuesday on “The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani,” Ngannou
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has weighed in on Francis Ngannou‘s stunning release from the UFC. Ngannou and the UFC parted ways in recent days after a long-stemming contract dispute. The now-former heavyweight champion Ngannou is now free to explore other combat sports ventures, including a possible move to boxing. Ngannou had been
Sorin Comsa was left with an extremely swollen and disfigured face after participating in the RXF Slap Fighting Championships in Las Vegas. A video clip of his contest went viral after his opponent struck him full force to the face, resulting in Comsa being unidentifiable compared to earlier on in the day. This guy’s face
Arnold Allen is on the cusp of his first career Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) title shot. The British Featherweight contender is undefeated inside the Octagon and has emerged as a possible future champion after a strong 2022. Fresh on the heels of a win over Calvin Kattar in Oct. 2022, Arnold seemed poised for a
Mike Perry reacts to Dana White NYE slap video: ‘It could’ve been worse, it could’ve been better’ One of the biggest stories in MMA right now is the video of UFC president Dana White slapping his wife on New Year’s Eve. It seems everyone has an opinion (some defending White and some condemning him). Former
9:22 AM ET Jeff WagenheimESPN If Brazil isn’t the birthplace of the UFC, it is at least the playground for the promotion’s formative years. The inaugural event in 1993 took place in Denver, and the company’s first 15 fight cards all happened in the United States. It took the UFC nearly five years before finally
MMA fighter Ozzie Alvarez brutally ended Tyson Miller’s undefeated record to capture the welterweight title at Uriah Faber’s A1 Combat 7. Alvarez and Miller met on the main card of the event on Friday in Wheatland, California. 37-year-old Alvarez was chasing his second straight win after bouncing back from a five-fight losing streak. While the
Aljamain Sterling wants to fight Henry Cejudo next but understands if ‘Triple C’ decides to face Sean O’Malley instead. Sterling and Cejudo have been taking shots at each other for quite some time and both said they agreed to fight one another on March 4 at UFC 285. However, Sterling then revealed he had a
The UFC announced on Saturday that Francis Ngannou was being stripped of his heavyweight title and released by the promotion completely. And while we have heard UFC president Dana White’s take on the situation, we still haven’t heard Ngannou’s. That’s because the former heavyweight champ has been traveling in Africa. He’ll be joining our sister-site
Paddy Pimblett is headed for surgery UFC lightweight star Paddy Pimblett is headed for surgery in March for an injury he suffered in his UFC 282 win over Jared Gordon. “The Baddy” hoped to return at UFC 286 at the O2 Arena in London, but that will not be happening. He suffered an ankle injury
5:38 PM ET Muhammad Mokaev, one of the UFC’s top prospects, will take on promotional newcomer Jafel Filho later this year in London. The 125-pound bout will take place at UFC 286 on March 18 at O2 Arena, UFC officials told ESPN. It will mark Mokaev’s fourth appearance in the UFC, three of which have
With the fight week for UFC 283: Teixeira vs. Hill now officially upon us, the MMA News prediction crew is here to share their expert picks! The final pay-per-view of 2022 was designed to provide the world with a new UFC light heavyweight champion. However, the vacant title bout between former champion Jan Blachowicz and his
In the UFC’s first event of 2023, a light heavyweight bout headlined the card as Sean Strickland stepped up on short notice to take on Nassourdine Imavov. Strickland lost a split decision to Jared Cannonier in the final event of 2022 and decided to step up on a few days’ notice to try and get
Sean O’Malley only wanted to help. Cross-divisional beefs are nothing new in mixed martial arts (MMA). For the top Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight contender, O’Malley, he’s recently found himself bantering with Featherweight’s Bryce Mitchell. Things have taken a bit of a turn in regard to the hostility levels stemming from “inbred” comments hurled Mitchell’s
Israel Adesanya gets a face tattoo Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will have a slightly new look the next time he enters the octagon. “The Last Stylebender” posted a video to Twitter showing him getting some new ink on his face. “The old version of you must die before you come alive!,” Adesanya captioned
7:27 AM ET Brett Okamoto Close Brett Okamoto ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Mike Coppinger After more than a year of unsuccessful negotiations with the fight promotion, Francis Ngannou is officially no longer the UFC heavyweight champion. Ngannou (17-3) fought out his UFC