5:42 PM ET NEW YORK – Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington went back and forth Thursday during a heated news conference, fueled by a crowd starved for conflict. Usman shoved Covington during the staredown, sending the fans to another level of raucousness. There has not been a major MMA show in New York City in

7:47 AM ET NEW YORK — To say the UFC is ending 2021 with a bang is an understatement. The UFC has two pay-per-view events left, and each could be considered the best card of the year. But for my money, nothing beats the UFC 268 main card this Saturday at Madison Square Garden. Two

9:41 AM ET NEW YORK — One of the most anticipated title rematches in UFC history is official, as Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington both weighed in successfully Friday morning. Usman, who was first to the scale, weighed in at 169 pounds, and Covington was 169.4 pounds. Usman will defend his UFC welterweight title against

8:00 AM ET SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — It’s a Saturday morning in October and Zhang Weili is in MMA gloves and her workout gear, walking to the mat at Fight Ready MMA & Fitness. A YouTube video with the sound of fans loudly booing at a sporting event is being broadcast over the gym’s speakers. Coaches

Nov 4, 2021 Morgan Mularski DENVER — Trevor Wittman starts off every morning reciting five things for which he’s grateful. Then he repeats the mantra “externalize the internal champion,” a saying he lives by and aims to instill in others. Wittman encourages those in his life to embrace their inner being and passions. Wittman has

4:09 PM ET NEW YORK — Justin Gaethje expects to get the nod for a title shot if he takes care of business this weekend. And he’s hoping that opportunity will come against an old rival. Gaethje fights Michael Chandler at UFC 268 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden. With a victory, Gaethje said he

7:30 AM ET Kamaru Usman will defend his welterweight championship in a rematch with Colby Covington on Saturday in the main event of UFC 268. That fight is just one of two title bouts on the card at Madison Square Garden in New York. In the co-main event, Rose Namajunas will defend her strawweight belt

7:48 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN On Saturday, we’re set to see arguably the biggest fight night of the year. Canelo Alvarez, the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world, looks to become an undisputed world champion for the first time in his career as he faces Caleb Plant in a super middleweight unification fight at

8:00 AM ET This promises to be the most prolific year of Dana White’s Contender Series. The UFC launched the show in 2017 in order to find talent to add to its roster. Through its first four seasons, the promotion awarded 117 fighter contracts, including a record 37 last season. Season 5 began Aug. 31

7:42 AM ET Editor’s note: Watch Colby Covington’s complete breakdown of his first fight against Kamaru Usman on ESPN MMA YouTube. HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — Colby Covington didn’t talk — publicly — for nearly two months after his failed UFC welterweight title bid against Kamaru Usman at UFC 245 in December 2019. From the outside, it