MMA news

Marvin Vettori has hit out at Israel Adesanya as the champion prepares to return to action this weekend at UFC 293. While he may not be the champion, Marvin Vettori is certainly one of the most colorful characters in the middleweight division. As he prepares to turn 30, though, it’s interesting to look back on

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is just one day away from the upcoming UFC 293 pay-per-view (PPV) mixed martial arts (MMA) event on ESPN+, scheduled for this Sat. night (Sept. 9, 2023) at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. UFC 293 will be headlined by the middleweight title fight pitting reigning 185-pound kingpin Israel Adesanya against

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterSep 7, 2023, 10:43 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun The UFC has booked two new main events for October. A lightweight bout between Grant Dawson and Bobby Green will headline a UFC Fight Night on Oct. 7, sources confirmed

Dan Hardy has a theory as to why UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones isn’t “gonna stick around” after fighting Stipe Miocic at UFC 295. Jones (27-1 MMA) is scheduled to defend his heavyweight title Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA) on November 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York. ‘Bones’ of course captured the promotion’s heavyweight

Nate Diaz had a $10 million offer to rematch Jake Paul in MMA. Unfortunately, the former UFC welterweight headliner turned it down, according to “The Problem Child.” Perhaps the boxing match they had back in August — which ended in favor of the blonde bomber — had Diaz second-guessing his abilities. “We’re at the drawing

Jake Michaels, ESPN Senior WriterSep 7, 2023, 07:37 AM ET Close Jake Michaels is a Melbourne-based sports writer who covers everything from Aussie Rules to Formula One, basketball to boxing. He has been with ESPN for 10 years and works as a Senior Writer, covering sport in Australia and around the world. SYDNEY — Israel

O’Malley’s state of the union “I knocked out Merab [on] August 19th, the same night I knocked out Aljo. They’re the same, they hold hands, they’re the same person. I knocked them both out August 19th, so, we’ll see what happens. I called out the Chito fight before me versus Aljo, before Pedro versus Chito.

Welcome to Midnight Mania! Mike Perry has become known as the bloodied and bruised face of Bare Knuckle boxing. “Platinum” rose to fame and the public eye while a member of the UFC roster from 2016-2021, picking up some good names early in his career as a promising prospect. Things fell apart in the latter

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterSep 5, 2023, 12:59 PM ET The cover athletes for the next UFC video game were revealed Tuesday. UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and former women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko will grace the cover of the main EA Sports UFC 5 game. Israel Adesanya, the two-time UFC middleweight champion, will be

“UFC Noche” is nearly a week away, and the promotion is pulling out all the stops to ensure the event captures the essence of Mexican Independence Day. Dana White admitted the UFC missed the boat on bringing the Mexican fanbase the best event possible. Still, it’s a near-perfect alternative with Alexa Grasso as the headliner

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) continues to beef up its anti-betting practices in the wake of the James Krause scandal, which caused an international incident back in late 2022. In addition to its recent collaboration with U.S. Integrity, the promotion today announced a new partnership with ProhiBet, an encrypted and decentralized cross-monitoring platform that blocks specific

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterSep 6, 2023, 08:30 AM ET UFC will use the program ProhiBet to expand its compliance with gambling regulations by catching fighters and others around the sport trying to place bets, the promotion announced Wednesday. Through ProhiBet, wagers made by prohibited bettors — described in a release as UFC athletes, coaches,

Once again, a competitor wants to get into Dana White’s wheelhouse, except it isn’t directly related to MMA. Steve Williams’ Pillow Fighting Championship, the Florida-based promotion that has taken over the Internet for its ridiculousness as a “sport,” is challenging the UFC. As most MMA fans know, the UFC has been around since 1993 and

Welcome to Midnight Mania! UFC President Dana White doesn’t seem terribly concerned about the competition. Professional Fighters League (PFL) is doing its best to build momentum. The promotion recently received a major investment from Saudi Arabia, and their promises of better pay and more freedom have drawn over some top talent recently. Names from former

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterSep 5, 2023, 01:11 PM ET UFC middleweight contender Jared Cannonier will weigh in as a backup for the UFC 293 main event this weekend, his manager Lou DiBono of First Round Management confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday. Israel Adesanya will defend his UFC middleweight title against Sean Strickland in the

Israel Adesanya is confident he will be leaving Sydney as the UFC middleweight champion. Adesanya is set to defend his title in the main event of UFC 293 against Sean Strickland in a fight that wasn’t the original plan. Instead, after Dricus Du Plessis beat Robert Whittaker in July, the plan was for him to

UFC middleweight contender Sean Strickland is prowling the streets of Sydney, snapping photos with MMA fans ahead of the UFC 293 pay-per-view (PPV) event this weekend at Qudos Bank Arena. Unfortunately for all parties involved, one Israel Adesanya supporter got a little too close for comfort, ultimately paying the price for his “Tarzan” trash talk.

Jeff Wagenheim, ESPNSep 5, 2023, 09:21 AM ET UFC 293 is Saturday in Sydney, and Israel Adesanya is the star of the show. This will be his first fight Down Under for the flamboyant New Zealander since he became UFC middleweight champion four years ago. Adesanya is more than just the weekend’s top attraction. He