11:24 PM ET Demetrious Johnson, one of the most dominant champions in mixed martial arts history, suffered a crushing defeat to Adriano Moraes on Wednesday during a landmark night for Asian-based promotion One Championship. The One Championship event took place in Singapore and was aired live in the U.S. on TNT, marking the company’s first

7:47 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim When Ryan Bader lost his Bellator MMA light heavyweight championship to Vadim Nemkov last August, he felt sorrow and deep disappointment. The first emotion comes with the territory of losing your place at the top of the mountain. The second emotion was self-directed letdown. On his way to a second-round

4:28 PM ET UFC bantamweight Aspen Ladd will return to competition against Macy Chiasson on July 24, multiple sources told ESPN. Ladd (9-1) has not fought since she defeated Yana Kunitskaya in December 2019, due to a torn ACL last June. The 26-year-old has long been considered one of the best prospects in female mixed

10:49 PM ET Two of the UFC’s top female flyweight prospects, Maycee Barber and Miranda Maverick, have agreed to square off July 24, UFC president Dana White told ESPN. The 125-pound fight will consist of three rounds and take place on UFC Fight Night at a location to be announced. 1 Related Barber (8-2) is

8:18 AM ET Roman ModrowskiESPN.com Editor’s note: This was originally published on April 6, 2020. The Ericsson Globe arena in Stockholm was empty, save for a few fighters shadow boxing and getting a feel for the Octagon in the middle of the floor. Suddenly, one of the fighters scaled a side of the cage and

4:49 PM ET UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski said Monday that he’s feeling “much better” after a harrowing battle with COVID-19, which included being diagnosed with pneumonia and hospitalized after scans showed the infection spread throughout his lungs. The illness forced Volkanovski to postpone his March 27 title defense against Brian Ortega. “I’m a UFC

7:47 AM ET Nate Diaz surprised many in the MMA world by agreeing to face Leon Edwards in the co-main event of UFC 262 on May 15 in Houston. While Diaz’s most recent fight was in November 2019, and he’s currently a heavy underdog — +330 at Caesars by William Hill — Diaz is one

12:20 AM ET The UFC is finalizing a welterweight bout between Demian Maia and Belal Muhammad for a pay-per-view event on June 12, multiple sources told ESPN on Saturday. Contracts have not been signed, but verbal agreements are in place, sources said. The bout will take place at UFC 263 at a location to be

Apr 3, 2021 A featherweight bout between Chan Sung Jung and Dan Ige will headline a UFC Fight Night event on June 19, multiple sources told ESPN. Contracts have not been signed, but the UFC is working on finalizing the 145-pound contest. The promotion has not announced an official location for the event. Ige (15-3)

Apr 3, 2021 The UFC is close to finalizing a heavyweight bout between Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov to headline an event in June, multiple sources told ESPN. Both sides have agreed to the heavyweight matchup, which will headline UFC Fight Night on June 26 at a location to be announced. Gane (8-0), of France,