MMA

6:09 AM ET The UFC is working to finalize a welterweight matchup between former champion Tyron Woodley and Vicente Luque at UFC 260 on March 27, per multiple sources. Contracts have not been signed, but the promotion is close to officially booking the 170-pound contest. The UFC has not officially announced a location for the

2:19 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim The bad news for Conor McGregor fans is that he was knocked out by Dustin Poirier in the second round of their UFC 257 main event in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, early Sunday morning. The good news for fans of the Irish superstar? Their man immediately recognized he had

6:40 PM ET Conor McGregor is not looking past Dustin Poirier, but “The Notorious” definitely had a big picture in mind as he prepared for their UFC 257 main event Saturday on “Fight Island.” And that big picture includes staying active and eventually fighting for the lightweight belt. Current champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has made it

7:43 AM ET ABU DHABI, U.A.E. — When Conor McGregor is involved, there is always potential for hyperbole. When you have a star that big, everything tends to dial up a notch — including any comments related to him or an upcoming fight. But allow me to say, I have genuinely looked forward to this

6:25 AM ET ABU DHABI — A non-title UFC lightweight rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier is official for UFC 257 on Saturday, as both fighters successfully made weight during Friday’s weigh-in. McGregor (22-4), a former undisputed champion at lightweight, weighed-in at 155 pounds. Poirier (26-6), who won an interim lightweight champion in 2019,

1:30 PM ET UFC cut undefeated lightweight Ottman Azaitar from its active roster Friday, just one day before he was scheduled to face Matt Frevola at UFC 257 on Fight Island in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. Azaitar (13-0), an exciting German-Moroccan lightweight with 10 career knockouts, was pulled from UFC 257 after committing a “violation

6:57 AM ET When Conor McGregor arrived at “Fight Island” on a massive yacht for his UFC 257 main event against Dustin Poirier, it was yet another illustration of a career that has reached unprecedented heights for an MMA fighter. It wasn’t always this way. McGregor’s coach, John Kavanagh, remembers a time in 2013 when

7:09 PM ET Conor McGregor went into last year with the desire to fight at least three times before the calendar turned to 2021. Now, the former UFC double champion has even more ambitious goals: seven fights in the next 18 months, he said Thursday on Stephen A’s World. “The truth is the fight game

1:42 PM ET One of the greatest MMA fighters ever is currently hospitalized in Russia after testing positive for COVID-19. Fedor Emelianenko, the former PRIDE FC heavyweight champion and long considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, revealed the news Thursday morning. Sources close to Emelianenko confirmed he is still in a Russian hospital.

6:50 AM ET THE ONLY TIME Dustin Poirier wanted to fight an opponent outside of the cage was the week of UFC 178. Poirier remembers standing behind a curtain at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas in September 2014, waiting to get on the scale. He recalls seeing a few scuffles in the

9:10 AM ET A few big bets have already shown up on Conor McGregor and his odds are on the move ahead of Saturday’s UFC 257 main event that’s expected to draw significant betting interest at sportsbooks. McGregor is a consensus -315 favorite over Dustin Poirier and attracting the bulk of the action, including a

12:54 PM ET A woman has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against UFC superstar Conor McGregor for alleged personal injury, her lawyer confirmed Tuesday with ESPN. Dave Coleman, the attorney for the woman, said the suit, over events that allegedly took place in 2018, was filed Monday in the High Court in Dublin, Ireland. In addition,

6:30 AM ET Conor McGregor laid on the mat of the UFC Octagon looking toward the ceiling, his hands clasped behind his head. It was March 5, 2016, and McGregor’s chest was heaving with deep breath after deep breath. The mixed martial arts superstar had just suffered his first UFC loss, a second-round submission defeat

Jan 18, 2021 UFC welterweight Neil Magny was not the fighter of the year in 2020, OK? Let’s make that clear right now. There were only two possible answers for fighter of the year in 2020, and they were UFC men’s flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo (who went 3-0-1) and middleweight Kevin Holland (who went 5-0).

10:32 PM ET Paul Varelans, a well-known name from the UFC’s early days, died Saturday after a battle with COVID-19, his live-in girlfriend, Kim Watson, confirmed to ESPN on Monday. He was 51 years old. Varelans was admitted in December to Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta, Georgia, with coronavirus and was subsequently put into

1:42 PM ET Michael Chiesa meets Neil Magny in the welterweight main event of a midweek matinee UFC Fight Night on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The fights will be broadcast on both ESPN and ESPN+, with the main card starting at noon ET and the prelims at 9 a.m. ET. Chiesa (17-4)

6:55 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim MGM GRAND GARDEN Arena was packed with great fighters that night. It was Sept. 27, 2014, and the headline bout of UFC 178 had a championship at stake. The Las Vegas spotlight was also shining on the return of a long-gone former champ. There were even three future titleholders sprinkled

8:37 AM ET The last time I spoke to Conor McGregor in person was on Jan. 18, 2020. It was moments after his electrifying 40-second TKO of Donald Cerrone in Las Vegas. We were in his locker room inside the T-Mobile Arena. He was happy, but not overly so. Excited. Somewhat emotional. Most of all,