MMA

12:24 PM ET For the second time in three weeks, a pay-per-view main event for the UFC flyweight title is official. Flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo weighed in successfully Friday morning at 124.5 pounds and challenger Brandon Moreno was also 124.5 pounds. The bout will take place in the UFC 256 headliner Saturday night in Las

5:20 PM ET The lawyer for a well-known mixed martial arts coach says a video that triggered the coach’s sexual assault arrest actually shows he did not commit a crime. Rafael “Barata” de Freitas, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach for prominent UFC fighters such as Holly Holm and Michelle Waterson, pleaded not guilty to a charge

7:31 AM ET Marc Raimondi Eric Gomez The half-made piñata would be sitting on the floor of Pinatas Moreno in Tijuana, Mexico, and business owner Alfredo Moreno would not be happy. The job was not done, and his son’s other interest was probably to blame. Brandon Moreno started his mixed martial arts training when he

1:18 AM ET Bellator has a new flyweight queen. Juliana Velasquez beat Ilima-Lei Macfarlane via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 48-47) to win the Bellator women’s flyweight title Thursday night in the main event of Bellator 254 at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. Macfarlane had been the only women’s flyweight champion the promotion had ever known

5:52 PM ET The plaintiffs in the long-running antitrust lawsuit against the UFC have earned a victory. Judge Richard Boulware of the United States District Court in Nevada granted the plaintiffs class certification on a status conference call Thursday, opening the door for nearly 1,200 fighters to be included in what will now be considered

8:00 AM ET LAS VEGAS — Tony Ferguson believes he is a big reason the UFC resumed operations as quickly as it did in 2020, and he theorizes that everyone profited from that quick return — except for him. Ferguson (25-4) will face Charles Oliveira (29-8) at UFC 256 on Saturday, in his first appearance

10:00 AM ET Deiveson Figueiredo will make history Saturday when he puts his UFC men’s flyweight championship on the line for the second time in 21 days, the shortest span between title defenses ever in the promotion. But Figueiredo (20-1) has another fight in mind beyond this weekend’s UFC 256 main event against Brandon Moreno,

7:54 AM ET Anthony “Rumble” Johnson is headed to Bellator. In an unexpected move, the former two-time UFC title contender has agreed to terms with Bellator, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. Johnson, who has not fought in over three years, is expected to sign his deal imminently, sources said. Johnson recently mutually parted ways with

8:07 AM ET Igor Resende Deiveson Figueiredo needed less than two minutes to submit Alex Perez on Nov. 21 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas to retain his flyweight title. The plan was to return home to Brazil shortly after the fight, but then everything changed — quickly. Now, Figueiredo is set to make

1:18 PM ET UFC 256 has lost two more fights because of coronavirus, but the event also has named a replacement fighter for a third bout that previously had been canceled because of COVID-19. Dwight Grant (10-3), who was to face middleweight Li Jingliang (17-6) in an early prelim on Saturday’s card in Las Vegas,

5:58 PM ET PFL lightweight champion Kayla Harrison will get a second fight in 2020 after all, as she has booked a 155-pound contest against Jozette Cotton at Titan FC 66 on Dec. 17. Harrison (8-0) is still under exclusive contract with PFL, but was given permission to fight outside the organization because of the

7:27 AM ET Jon Jones was in his Albuquerque, New Mexico, living room in front of a projection television on July 25. UFC Fight Night aired that evening, and Jones had a keen eye on the undercard as Alexander Gustafsson, one of Jones’ main light heavyweight rivals, was making his heavyweight debut against former champion

5:58 PM ET PFL lightweight champion Kayla Harrison will get a second fight in 2020 after all, as she’s booked a 155-pound contest against Jozette Cotton at Titan FC 66 on Dec. 18. Harrison (8-0) is still under exclusive contract with PFL, but was given permission to fight outside the organization due to the postponement

6:27 PM ET Popular women’s flyweight fighter Rachael Ostovich is the latest victim of UFC’s planned cuts, the promotion confirmed on Monday. UFC president Dana White said Saturday following UFC Fight Night that they would be making “serious cuts” — about 60 fighters would be released before the first of the year. The UFC released

8:01 AM ET Already a breakout star in 2020, UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo is looking to make a rather extraordinary statement on Saturday. Figueiredo will defend his title against top contender Brandon Moreno in the main event of UFC 256 in Las Vegas. That fight will go down as the fastest turnaround in history

4:16 PM ET A Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach who trains several well-known UFC fighters has been arrested and charged with third-degree criminal sexual penetration in New Mexico, per court records. Rafael “Barata” Freitas had a court appearance Saturday where the state filed a motion to keep him detained until trial, Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court public information

1:22 AM ET Marvin Vettori has had an extremely unlucky year. But the UFC middleweight contender will finish a trying 2020 with a fortunate break and the biggest victory of his career. Vettori defeated Jack Hermansson via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-45) in the entertaining, back-and-forth main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in

1:46 AM 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 Marvin Vettori‘s thrilling unanimous-decision win over Jack Hermansson, and whether the type of violent slam Jordan Leavitt executed to beat Matt Wiman should remain legal. Marvin Vettori