7:23 PM ET Marina Rodriguez passed another major test and stated her case as a potential future title challenger. Surviving several terrible positions on the ground, Rodriguez defeated Mackenzie Dern via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas. It was a classic striker vs. grappler battle

2:45 PM ET The UFC is close to finalizing a barn burner of a main event between Calvin Kattar and Giga Chikadze in January, multiple sources told ESPN. Contracts have not been signed, but the UFC is working on booking the featherweight bout as its headliner for a UFC Fight Night on Jan. 15. Kattar

1:36 PM ET Phil Hawes had the possibility of two opponents this weekend, as of Friday morning. Yet, neither bout will happen. Deron Winn, Hawes’ scheduled opponent, withdrew from the fight with Hawes due to an illness, which was not weight-cut or COVID-19 related, the UFC announced Friday morning. In Winn’s place, the UFC signed

7:32 AM ET When Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Mackenzie Dern made her full transition into mixed martial arts in 2016, the sheer potential of it was intoxicating. Granted, so many things need to go right for any prospect to fully realize his or her potential, but in the case of Dern, her submission grappling is

Oct 6, 2021 Editor’s note: On the day of publication, a fight for Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane was announced for Jan. 22, 2022. The UFC’s year-end slate is taking shape, and the promotion is already starting to fill in some big fights for 2022. Conspicuous by their absences are some prominent, pay-per-view-headlining-caliber names, including

11:24 PM ET Former UFC bantamweight champion Holly Holm has been forced to withdraw from a featherweight main event against Norma Dumont on Oct. 16, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. The UFC is working on finalizing 26-year-old Aspen Ladd as a replacement to fight Dumont in the UFC Fight Night main event, sources said. Once

11:52 PM ET Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos will be back in action soon. But not in the Octagon. Dos Santos, who was released by the UFC in March, will make his professional wrestling debut next weekend with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), it was announced Wednesday on the AEW Dynamite program. The bout

Oct 6, 2021 UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou‘s first title defense will come against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January, Ngannou’s manager, Marquel Martin, confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday. Contracts are not yet signed by both parties, but both sides have agreed. The fight is expected to be finalized shortly and to headline a

2:13 PM ET One top Bellator star will be defending her belt next month. Another will be giving up his title. Bellator president Scott Coker said Wednesday on The MMA Hour that Cris Cyborg will defend her women’s featherweight title against Sinead Kavanagh on Nov. 12 in Hollywood, Florida. Coker also announced that Patricio “Pitbull”

8:01 AM ET Mackenzie Dern faces Marina Rodriguez in a meeting of ranked strawweights in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. The fights at UFC Apex can be seen on ESPN+, with the main card starting at 4 p.m. ET and the prelims at 1 p.m. Dern (11-1) has