MMA

8:18 AM ET Roman ModrowskiESPN.com Editor’s note: This was originally published on April 6, 2020. The Ericsson Globe arena in Stockholm was empty, save for a few fighters shadow boxing and getting a feel for the Octagon in the middle of the floor. Suddenly, one of the fighters scaled a side of the cage and

4:49 PM ET UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski said Monday that he’s feeling “much better” after a harrowing battle with COVID-19, which included being diagnosed with pneumonia and hospitalized after scans showed the infection spread throughout his lungs. The illness forced Volkanovski to postpone his March 27 title defense against Brian Ortega. “I’m a UFC

7:47 AM ET Nate Diaz surprised many in the MMA world by agreeing to face Leon Edwards in the co-main event of UFC 262 on May 15 in Houston. While Diaz’s most recent fight was in November 2019, and he’s currently a heavy underdog — +330 at Caesars by William Hill — Diaz is one

12:20 AM ET The UFC is finalizing a welterweight bout between Demian Maia and Belal Muhammad for a pay-per-view event on June 12, multiple sources told ESPN. Contracts have not been signed, however, verbal agreements are in place, sources said. The bout will take place at UFC 263 at a location to be announced. Maia

11:05 AM ET A featherweight bout between Chan Sung Jung and Dan Ige will headline a UFC Fight Night event on June 19, multiple sources told ESPN. Contracts have not been signed, but the UFC is working on finalizing the 145-pound contest. The promotion has not announced an official location for the event. Ige (15-3)

11:04 PM ET The UFC is finalizing a welterweight showdown between two former title challengers in Gilbert Burns and Stephen Thompson on July 10, UFC president Dana White said Friday night. Contracts have not been signed, according to sources, but both sides have verbally agreed to the 170-pound matchup. The bout will take place at

10:51 PM ET The Ultimate Fighter reality series has officially booked its next coaches, UFC president Dana White told ESPN on Friday night. UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and No. 1 contender Brian Ortega will coach the 29th season of TUF, which is expected to start filming later this month. It will air on ESPN+

1:10 PM ET The UFC is close to finalizing a heavyweight bout between Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov to headline an event in June, multiple sources told ESPN. Both sides have agreed to the heavyweight matchup, which will headline UFC Fight Night on June 26 at a location to be announced. Gane (8-0), of France,

10:05 PM ET Cris Cyborg will put her Bellator women’s featherweight title on the line against Leslie Smith on May 21, the promotion announced Friday night during the Bellator 255 broadcast. Cyborg beat Smith in 2016 in what was Cyborg’s UFC debut. Cyborg (23-2, 1 NC) is one of the best female fighters of all

12:10 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim Two-division champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire showed off what makes him the best fighter in Bellator and perhaps the top featherweight in all of MMA on Friday night. Freire, a 33-year-old from Brazil, handed Emmanuel Sanchez his first stoppage loss with a technical submission by guillotine choke in Round 1 to

6:43 PM ET Earlier this week, as the proposed Conor McGregor–Dustin Poirier trilogy fight continued to trend in the right direction, I wrote a caption on social media that said: “For all the marbles.” Well, the caption rubbed some people the wrong way. How could I say this one is for all the marbles when

7:37 AM ET HENRY CEJUDO WAS in front of his television on Aug. 26, 2016, watching a Bellator MMA card headlined by a bout between Patricio “Pitbull” Freire and former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson. It was four months after Cejudo’s first career loss, which came in a UFC title fight against flyweight champ Demetrious

12:21 AM ET MMA fighter Khetag Pliev had to have a finger surgically reattached after it was severed during the second round of a fight Thursday night in Philadelphia. The fight, which was part of an event put on by Cage Fury Fighting Championship and aired on UFC Fight Pass, was stopped when the referee

6:37 PM ET Middleweight contender Kevin Holland will step in and fight Marvin Vettori on short notice in the five-round main event of UFC Fight Night on April 10 in Las Vegas, sources told ESPN on Thursday. Vettori’s original opponent, Darren Till, withdrew Tuesday because of a broken collarbone. Holland just fought March 20, a

7:30 AM ET UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou captured the imagination — as well as the most prestigious prize — of the combat sports world when he dethroned Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 on Saturday. So it was no surprise that ESPN’s panel made Ngannou its overwhelming choice for the top spot of its latest

6:25 PM ET Endeavor, the powerhouse Hollywood talent agency, has agreed to own 100% of the UFC, according to a filing Wednesday with the Securities Exchange Commission. Endeavor acquired a majority stake of UFC parent company Zuffa from the Fertitta brothers in July 2016 when it was then known as WME-IMG. Currently, Endeavor owns 50.1%

11:57 AM ET UFC lightweight Michael Chandler is predicting he will win the 155-pound championship against Charles Oliveira on May 15, and then make his first title defense against Conor McGregor before the end of the year. “I think it’s Conor,” said Chandler, when asked how his 2021 campaign will close out. “I think there

9:05 AM ET UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou said he would like to fight twice more this year, and while he’s not sure what’s going on between the UFC and Jon Jones, he said he wants Jones first and then a rematch with Derrick Lewis. Ngannou dethroned Stipe Miocic, who’s considered the greatest heavyweight in