MMA

1:56 PM ET The UFC is down a fight on Saturday’s card. Eryk Anders is out of a scheduled bout against Antonio Arroyo at UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. dos Anjos in Las Vegas, Anders announced on social media. 1 Related Anders wrote that his withdrawal is “due to issues concerned with my health.” The

4:23 PM ET UFC is finalizing a middleweight bout between Kelvin Gastelum and Ian Heinisch in January, sources told ESPN. Both sides have agreed to the 185-pound matchup, which will take place at UFC Fight Night on Jan. 30. UFC has not announced a location for the event or a main event. Gastelum (16-6) hinted

4:15 PM ET The story coming into UFC Fight Night on Saturday was the path of Paul Felder. On Monday, just five days before the card, Felder agreed to be the short-notice replacement to fight Rafael dos Anjos in the main event in Las Vegas. Felder was supposed to be the color commentator on the

8:45 PM ET Nothing like a ranked UFC lightweight accepting a five-round fight … against a former champion … on five days’ notice … to stir up the MMA community. The reaction to Paul Felder (17-5) stepping into Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event against Rafael dos Anjos (29-13) on short notice has been genuinely

12:30 PM ET Paul Felder didn’t even know he’d be fighting this weekend as of Monday morning. That day, he weighed more than 170 pounds. The popular UFC lightweight accepted the UFC Fight Night main event against Rafael dos Anjos this weekend on just five days’ notice later Monday. And Friday, Felder had no issues

1:21 PM ET UFC is finalizing a light heavyweight matchup between former title challenger Thiago Santos and Aleksandar Rakic on March 6, sources told ESPN. The promotion has not officially announced an event on the date of March 6, nor given a location. Sources said the 205-pound matchup will consist of three rounds and not

7:48 AM ET Paul Felder was home with his family on Sunday night in Philadelphia. It was around 7:30 p.m., and while scrolling through social media, Felder saw a report that Islam Makhachev was out of his UFC Fight Night main event with Rafael dos Anjos, a bout scheduled for the following weekend. That was

9:36 PM ET Patricio Freire already has the best résumé of any fighter in Bellator history. Now he’s trying to add the title of Grand Prix champion to his already prodigious legacy. “Pitbull” stopped Pedro Carvalho by knockout at 2 minutes, 10 seconds of the first round to retain the Bellator featherweight title Thursday night

4:40 PM ET A heavyweight fight between Alistair Overeem and Alexander Volkov is set to headline UFC Fight Night on Feb. 6, UFC president Dana White told ESPN on Thursday. Overeem and Volkov are the Nos. 5 and 6-ranked heavyweights, respectively, according to the UFC’s official rankings. The UFC has not yet announced a location

8:46 AM ET Scott Coker woke up March 13 in a hotel room at Mohegan Sun Casino & Resort in Uncasville, Connecticut. Later that night, the Bellator president would be promoting a card featuring the start of the anticipated Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix quarterfinals. That morning, though, he got a phone call from members

2:01 PM ET Editor’s note: This piece originally ran June 17, 2019, and some content has been updated. Yoder will face Miranda Granger on Saturday night. SAN DIEGO — Ashley Yoder was a 20-year-old undergrad at Indiana University studying criminal justice. She had an internship at the Monroe County (Indiana) prosecutor’s office. Before that, she

11:51 PM ET The UFC added three new athletes to its active roster on Tuesday, including an undefeated Israeli featherweight who accepted a fight this week on just five days’ notice. UFC president Dana White signed featherweight Natan Levy, lightweight Nikolas Motta, and strawweight Luana Pinheiro to exclusive contracts on Tuesday, during Dana White’s Contender

1:03 PM ET The Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier rematch is inching closer to reality. Poirier has signed a bout agreement to fight in the Jan. 23 main event of UFC 257 versus McGregor, per multiple sources. The fight would take place at 155 pounds. McGregor, per sources, hasn’t signed a bout agreement yet, however,

1:41 PM ET Kayla Harrison is in for a change of scenery. At least temporarily. The PFL women’s lightweight champion will compete at Invicta FC 43 on Nov. 20 in Kansas City, Kansas, PFL announced Monday. The opponent will be Courtney King and Harrison will move down to featherweight — 145 pounds — to fight

12:50 PM ET Editor’s note: This story was originally published ahead of Paul Felder’s bout against Dan Hooker on Feb. 22. Some content has been updated. IT WAS LATE summer 2009, and Paul Felder was at a party with his theater friends. Felder had graduated from Philadelphia’s University of the Arts the previous year, and

9:28 AM ET It will be hard for Dana White’s Contender Series to top last week. In the eighth episode of the show’s fourth season, all four fights ended in KO/TKOs and every winner won a UFC contract. The athletes on Tuesday’s edition of DWCS will attempt to continue that run. With just one episode

5:38 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 The UFC has found a dance partner for former champion Rafael dos Anjos this weekend. Paul Felder, one of the most exciting fighters in the lightweight division, will step in

1:55 PM ET Two-weight UFC champion Amanda Nunes has withdrawn from her featherweight title defense against Megan Anderson next month for undisclosed reasons, according to multiple sources. Nunes (20-4) was scheduled to defend her 145-pound title against Anderson (10-4) in the main event of UFC 256 on Dec. 12 in Las Vegas. The UFC has