MMA

10:29 PM ET Curtis Blaydes, one of the most unapologetic wrestlers in the UFC, decided to show off his hands on Saturday. A former collegiate wrestler, Blaydes (16-3) produced a highlight-reel finish over Chris Daukaus (12-5) in the main event of UFC Fight Night at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The finish came just 17

7:48 PM ET The UFC lost a top women’s bantamweight contender fight on its pay-per-view card next month but is replacing it with another. Irene Aldana is out of a scheduled fight with Aspen Ladd at UFC 273 on April 9 in Jacksonville, Florida, because of an undisclosed injury, sources confirmed Saturday to ESPN. In

2:32 PM ET The UFC is finalizing a middleweight bout between Sean Strickland and Alex Pereira in July, multiple sources told ESPN. Contacts have not been signed but both sides have agreed to the 185-pound matchup. It will take place on what is expected to be a UFC 277 pay-per-view on July 30. The UFC

3:49 PM ET UFC superstar Nate Diaz has publicly requested a release from his exclusive contract with the promotion. Diaz, 36, issued the request on social media on Saturday. He tagged the accounts of the UFC and UFC president Dana White. He also included a tag aimed at Hunter Campbell, the UFC’s chief business officer.

11:34 AM ET The UFC is finalizing a flyweight matchup between Jessica Eye and Casey O’Neill for a pay-per-view event on July 2, sources told ESPN. The 125-pound contest will take place at UFC 276, which is expected to be held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The UFC has not announced a main event

1:53 PM ET Bellator has shuffled its upcoming tournament after a pair of injuries to significant names. Bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis and the popular James Gallagher are both out of the scheduled Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix, the promotion officially confirmed Thursday. Former champ Juan Archuleta will replace Pettis and fight Raufeon Stots for the

8:56 AM ET The 2022 PFL regular season will kick off on April 20 at the Esports Arena Arlington in Texas, featuring the lightweight and light heavyweight divisions. Last year’s lightweight champion, Raush Manfio (15-3), will headline the event against Don “Magic Man” Madge (10-3-1), of South Africa. In the co-main event, former UFC champion

11:56 PM ET UFC star Jorge Masvidal was taken into custody Wednesday night in Miami Beach on charges of aggravated battery with bodily harm and criminal mischief, both of which are considered felonies, according to an arrest report obtained by ESPN. Masvidal was booked into Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center at 10:27 p.m. local time

5:12 PM ET UFC star Conor McGregor was arrested for “alleged road traffic violations” Tuesday in his native Dublin, Ireland, his team confirmed Wednesday with ESPN. The Irish Independent was first to report the news. “Mr. McGregor was driving to the gym when he was stopped by [Irish police] for alleged road traffic violations,” McGregor

12:00 PM ET Curtis Blaydes was riding high in the UFC’s heavyweight division a little over a year ago. He had won four fights in a row, and the only defeats of his career had come against the champion, Francis Ngannou. But then, in February 2021, Blaydes ran into a Derrick Lewis uppercut, and his

8:54 AM ET Bellator welterweight champion Yaroslav Amosov has withdrawn from his title bout against Michael Page in May as he continues to defend his native Ukraine against Russia’s invasion. Amosov won the welterweight title in a unanimous decision over Douglas Lima in June and was due to defend his belt for the first time

12:01 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Colby Covington scored a lopsided unanimous decision over Jorge Masvidal when they met earlier this month at UFC 272, but apparently they have unfinished business. Masvidal is suspected of felony battery in connection with an altercation Monday, according to a Miami Beach police report obtained by ESPN. The other person

3:28 PM ET Retired UFC fighter Chael Sonnen is being charged with 11 counts of battery, including a felony, stemming from a Dec. 18 incident in Las Vegas, according to court records. The felony is being classified as battery by strangulation. Sonnen initially received five battery citations in the case, but those were dismissed in

8:00 AM ET Kayla Harrison turned away from the Octagon and placed both hands on the barricade behind her. She threw her hands up and screamed “f—!” several times. It was Dec. 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Harrison had just witnessed, from the front row, her then-American Top Team training partner Amanda Nunes

8:39 PM ET Brett Okamoto Close ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Marc Raimondi LONDON — After his submission victory in the main event of the UFC Fight Night card Saturday, Tom Aspinall told me he was pacing himself against Alexander Volkov, because of

7:01 PM ET LONDON — English heavyweight Tom Aspinall has said, respectfully, no one outside of the Top 10 of his division is capable of giving him a challenge. Well, he faced the UFC’s No. 6-ranked heavyweight on Saturday at the O2 in Alexander Volkov. And it looked as easy as any fight in Aspinall’s

3:09 PM ET Brett Okamoto Close ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Marc Raimondi LONDON — The UFC is back in the United Kingdom for the first time since March 2019, with a main card featuring plenty of the region’s most promising talent. In

3:03 PM ET Conor McGregor has his eye on a third UFC championship, and the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, in his eventual return to the Octagon. McGregor (22-6) hasn’t fought since he suffered a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 last July. The fight ended in the first round, when