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

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

Nov 12, 2020 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

12:57 AM ET One of the best bantamweight fighters in the world is making his return at the end of the year. Kyoji Horiguchi, the former Bellator and Rizin bantamweight champion, will fight current Rizin champ Kai Asakura in a rematch Dec. 31 at Rizin 26 in Saitama, Japan, the promotion announced Friday. Horiguchi has

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 heavyweights, respectively, according to the UFC’s official rankings. The UFC has not yet announced a location

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

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

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

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

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