MMA

9:23 PM ET UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will attempt to become a two-weight champion on March 6, when he moves up in weight to challenge light heavyweight title-holder Jan Blachowicz. UFC president Dana White broke the news to ESPN on Wednesday. The 205-pound title fight will take place at UFC 259. The promotion has

9:00 AM ET Mike Brown had a decision to make. In early November, the Japanese government announced that select noncitizens could enter the country for business purposes if they quarantined for two weeks before mixing with the general population. That meant Brown, one of American Top Team’s main coaches, would be able to corner one

7:19 AM ET Canceled cards, fights that never materialized and careers put on hold punctuated what UFC president Dana White described as his most challenging year. And while White was able to navigate the UFC through the pandemic with surprising success, several of his fighters will be looking at 2021 as a chance to put

1:16 PM ET A highly anticipated welterweight bout between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev on Jan. 20 is now off, after Chimaev was forced to withdraw for undisclosed reasons, sources confirmed. The 170-pound matchup was scheduled to headline UFC Fight Night on Jan. 20 in Abu Dhabi. The UFC has not formally announced the cancellation

12:54 PM ET Khabib Nurmagomedov believes the winner of the UFC 257 main event between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier on Jan. 23 will fight for the UFC lightweight belt. He did not, however, name an opponent for that potential title fight. Nurmagomedov remains the lightweight champ despite retiring after beating Justin Gaethje on Oct.

7:58 AM ET The UFC shouldn’t be short on excitement to open 2021. The promotion will head back to Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, to kick off its January schedule, with three compelling main events in an eight-day span. And each of those fights has title implications. The one that surely will

3:56 PM ET Former UFC and WEC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis has agreed to a new multi-fight deal with Professional Fighters League, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. He will take part in PFL’s 2021 season and will compete in their lightweight division. On Tuesday, Pettis, who recently fought out his UFC contract after an almost

10:28 AM ET Francis Ngannou has taken over the No. 2 spot in ESPN’s heavyweight rankings, thanks to the recent retirement of former UFC champion Daniel Cormier. At light heavyweight, Dominick Reyes has grabbed the second spot after the August defeat of ex-Bellator champ Ryan Bader. Those represent the highest level of flux in the

8:47 PM ET It will no longer be “Showtime” in the Octagon. Anthony Pettis, the former UFC lightweight champion, announced his departure from the UFC in social media posts Tuesday. Pettis, nicknamed “Showtime” for his flashy, exciting fighting style, wrote that he would be exploring free agency. “From being on MTV to the cover of

10:57 AM ET The UFC is officially headed back to Fight Island for its first slate of events in 2021, and it includes the return of former two-weight champion Conor McGregor. UFC president Dana White announced on Tuesday that McGregor’s nontitle lightweight fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 on Jan. 23 will take place

8:31 AM ET In the past six months, the UFC has seen records fall for the fastest 3-0 start in modern history, most middleweight wins during that span and fastest turnaround for a champ. There have been viral knockouts, stunning submissions and dominance of title contenders. ESPN’s MMA Hot List features the top fighters over

11:13 AM ET A featherweight title fight between two-weight champion Amanda Nunes and Megan Anderson has been rebooked to March 6, according to UFC officials. The 145-pound championship fight was originally scheduled to take place at UFC 256 on Dec. 12, however Nunes was forced to withdraw because of health issues. The UFC has not

12:55 PM ET A UFC strawweight bout between Nina Ansaroff and Mackenzie Dern is in the works for April 10, according to multiple sources. Contracts have not been signed, but both sides have agreed to the opponent and date. The UFC has not formally announced an event or location on April 10. Ansaroff (10-6), the

8:30 AM ET MMA fans who have seen recent social media posts by Jon Jones know that he’s nearly ready to compete at heavyweight. He has stated he weighs around the 240-pound mark, and at 6-foot-4, the former UFC light heavyweight champ is looking to pack more muscle onto his frame. He should be ready

11:35 PM ET ESPN’s panel of Ariel Helwani, Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi and Jeff Wagenheim breaks down the biggest stories coming out of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night, including Stephen Thompson‘s convincing unanimous decision win over Geoff Neal and two former champions earning key victories. Helwani: ‘Wonderboy’ is no steppingstone Considering what Geoff Neal overcame just

10:43 PM ET Geoff Neal chased Stephen Thompson down near the cage. When he got close, Thompson ripped off a lightning-quick punching combination and then angled off before Neal could even start throwing punches. That sequence — Thompson playing matador and Neal the hapless bull — occurred over and over again Saturday in the main

11:35 PM ET ESPN’s panel of Ariel Helwani, Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi and Jeff Wagenheim breaks down the biggest stories coming out of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night, including Stephen Thompson‘s convincing unanimous-decision win over Geoff Neal and two former champions earning key victories. Helwani: “Wonderboy” is no stepping-stone Considering what Geoff Neal overcame just three

LAS VEGAS — If Jose Aldo is showing any signs of slowing down at age 34, it was not apparent this weekend in Las Vegas. Aldo (29-7) snapped the longest skid of his career on Saturday, as he picked up his first win in four appearances by defeating Malon Vera (18-7-1) via unanimous decision. All