8:30 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim Mixed martial arts is not what it used to be. In its early days, the sport was widely dismissed as a cringey toughman sideshow and relegated to the outcast fringe. For years, MMA was sustained by an obsessive and faithful fan base that mined fight clips from dingy corners of
RIZIN is primed to kick off a new year. On Wednesday, the Japanese promotion announced several fights for its first card of 2023, including the returns of K-1 standout Kouzi and 22-year-old flyweight prospect Makoto Shinryu. RIZIN 41 is set to take place April 1 in Osaka, Japan. Kouzi is set to fight fellow kickboxer
It is slightly bittersweet, though, as Nakamura will be facing his countryman with a lot on the line not just for the combatants, but the Japanese MMA scene, as well. It’s better to have a non-Japanese opponent because I want all of Japan’s fighters to succeed,” he said. “When I step into the cage with
No.5-ranked UFC lightweight Michael Chandler recently weighed in on a hypothetical bout with UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev. ‘Iron’ last fought at UFC 281. There, he fell to Dustin Poirier in a bloody Fight of the Night winner. Despite displaying explosive offense, a badly busted up Chandler ultimately succumbed to a third-round rear-naked choke. Despite
Laura Sanko will be making history this Saturday night at UFC Vegas 68. Derrick Lewis and Sergey Spivak are currently slated to headline the event at the UFC Apex this weekend. Other key matchups on the card include heavyweight contenders Marcin Tybura and Blagoy Ivanov colliding, as well as the return of Doo Ho Choi
Outspoken UFC lightweight Paddy Pimblett was recently embroiled in a social media feud with YouTube star and celebrity boxing mainstay Logan Paul, for reasons not quite understood, prompting “The Baddy” to post a video trashing PRIME, which is now the official sports drink of UFC. Hey, these things happen. The clip, which compares Body Fuel
Tim Kennedy: ‘It’s totally fine for UFC fighters to train with a terrorist’ Former UFC, WEC, and Strikeforce fighter Tim Kennedy isn’t happy that some of the top UFC fighters train with Ramzan Kadyrov, Head of the Chechen Republic. Kadyrov’s reign of power has been marred with alleged human rights violations, assassinations, torture, and disappearances.
Sabah Homasi learned a lot of hard lessons during his short stint in the UFC, but those experiences made him the must-see fighter he is today. Homasi faces Brennan Ward on Saturday at Bellator 290, which takes place at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The welterweight tilt serves as the first Bellator fight to
That opened the door for an interim title fight between Gastelum and Israel Adesanya, the latter winning the duel in 2019’s Fight of the Year and setting up an Australia-vs-New Zealand matchup to unify the title. At the record-breaking UFC 243 in Melbourne, Whittaker relinquished his title to “The Last Stylebender,” but he remains entrenched
UFC bantamweight contender Sean O’Malley feels Dana White‘s Power Slap League is dangerous to those choosing to compete. Power Slap launched earlier this month to mixed reviews from the viewing audience. While the show has produced plenty of highlights, such as brutal knockouts, some have questioned whether or not the league should’ve continued after White’s
UFC middleweight Nick Diaz believes he could’ve been a double-champion if things hadn’t gone awry. The fan-favorite has been out of action since his rematch with Robbie Lawler at UFC 266 in September 2021. In that outing, Diaz had some early success with the striking, even winning round one. However, ‘Ruthless’ wound up scoring a
Welcome to Midnight Mania! Paulo Costa has just a single fight left on his UFC contract. He’s made his frustrations with his salary clear, as well as his intentions of moving on towards greener pastures following that final fight. Despite being just a single match away from freedom, Costa remains picky for his final match
PHOTOS: Laura Sanko’s best social media posts ahead of color commentary debut Laura Sanko makes history on Saturday night when she steps into the color commentary role for UFC Vegas 68. She will be the first woman to act in this role in the modern era and the first woman since UFC 1 when Kathy
3:22 PM ET Editor’s note: This story was originally published ahead of UFC 238. Blagoy Ivanov faces Marcin Tybura at UFC Fight Night on Feb. 4. SAN JOSE, Calif. — A bit shaky, Blagoy Ivanov stood in a doorway at Pirogov Hospital in Sofia, Bulgaria, on May 19, 2012. Camera flashes were going off. Questions
Over the last few days, a slew of massive fights have been announced for the UFC, including two big ones for UFC 287 with Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya 2, and Gilbert Burns vs. Jorge Masvidal. On Monday evening, another big fight was confirmed in the featherweight division between Max Holloway and Arnold Allen for
“It doesn’t mean much at all,” he says when I ask him about headlining for the first time. “This is just the next fight that I must win.” His response isn’t surprising, but it doesn’t come off as convincing either. So when I push back, asking if this weekend’s matchup really doesn’t carry any greater
Prime Hydration, a sports drink founded by YouTubers-turned-combat sports figures Logan Paul and KSI, has become the official global sports drink of the UFC. On Monday, Paul teased a major UFC-related announcement on social media. While the video he posted led some to believe the revelation would be fight-related, most appeared to acknowledge the likelihood
A featherweight banger is set to headline a UFC Fight Night card as Max Holloway is set to face Arnold Allen. According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Holloway and Allen have verbally agreed to headline the April 15 card. As of right now, contracts have not been issued or signed. The location of the event is