7:40 AM ET FOUR YEARS AGO Majdi Shammas was on the second floor of Allstars Training Center, the martial arts facility he owns in Stockholm, when he heard a disturbance downstairs. It sounded like someone was fighting. And not the kind of fighting that goes on in Shammas’ gym seven days a week. No, it

12:44 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — Kayla Harrison‘s dominance of the PFL continues. For the second consecutive season, Harrison has captured the PFL lightweight championship. She did so with ease Wednesday at the Hard Rock Live; she attempted 90 strikes and landed all but five of them en route to an armbar submission

11:21 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — Claressa Shields has suffered the first defeat of her professional fighting career. In her second MMA bout, Shields, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in boxing, was outpointed by Abigail Montes via split decision on Wednesday at Hard Rock Live. One judge scored the bout 29-28 for Shields,

1:29 AM ET Marc Raimondi Mike Coppinger Kayla Harrison can be biggest women’s star in MMA since Ronda Rousey Harrison, the charismatic, trash-talking, one-woman wrecking crew, who coincidentally happens to be Rousey’s former teammate with USA Judo, won her second $1 million PFL championship Wednesday night, beating Taylor Guardado via armbar submission 4 minutes into

4:10 PM ET HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — After a full season of PFL fights in six divisions, and a playoff win for each fighter remaining, twelve fighters will walk into the cage Wednesday at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida with a chance to be a champion. Only six will end the

7:40 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim Six championship fights. Six life-changing $1 million paydays. The PFL closes out its 2021 season Wednesday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel Casino in Hollywood, Florida (4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2/ESPN+), with the PFL World Championships hosting the high-stakes finals in a half-dozen weight

5:42 PM ET Former UFC fighter Mike Perry, known for action-packed UFC fights, issues outside the cage and having his girlfriend work his corner, has signed a deal with Bare Knuckle FC (BKFC), the promotion announced Tuesday. Perry’s manager Malki Kawa of First Round Management said Perry’s UFC contract expired with his April loss to

11:26 AM ET There’s something special about UFC 267. A few things, actually. First and foremost, Saturday’s fight card is headlined by a title bout, as light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz defends against Glover Teixeira. It’s always special when a belt is on the line, but it’s not so unusual in a fight promotion with

8:00 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim “And new!” might be the most thrilling two words in mixed martial arts. They alert everyone within reach of a very loud voice that there has been a change in the power structure. There’s a fresh coat of paint. There’s ascension accompanied by the potential for memorable greatness. Even if

5:51 PM ET The UFC is finalizing a middleweight bout between “The Ultimate Fighter” winner Bryan Battle and Tresean Gore, sources confirmed to ESPN on Monday. The 185-pound bout will take place at a UFC Fight Night on Feb. 5. The UFC has not announced an official venue for that event. MMAJunkie.com first reported the