11:06 AM ET Joseph Benavidez is one of the best fighters in UFC history to have never won a championship. Benavidez, who fights Deiveson Figueiredo for the vacant men’s flyweight title at UFC Fight Night on Saturday on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, is 15-4 inside the Octagon. Three of those losses
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1:25 AM ET There was a different feel to the second card on Fight Island. Saturday’s UFC 251 featured three title fights and star power across the card. Wednesday’s event had a must-see main event and 11 other fights that offered a showcase of the future of the UFC. The prospects seized their moments, and
1:32 AM ET Calvin Kattar landed a knee, Dan Ige slipped to the canvas and Kattar got on top, throwing punches downward as hard as he could. The time on the clock expired. The fight was over. By then, Kattar had the decision in the bag. But he was still trying to finish, even in
7:36 PM ET UFC analyst Paul Felder will leave the broadcast location Wednesday — in the middle of the show — to corner a teammate. Felder, a UFC lightweight fighter and one of the promotion’s top on-air analysts, will temporarily step away as color commentator and man the corner of longtime friend Jared Gordon, who
9:16 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim Calvin Kattar can relate to where Dan Ige stands at this point in his career. He understands the big-picture mindset of his opponent in Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night main event in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Kattar has been there himself. “I think we’re similar in the fact that many
7:41 PM ET Bellator is back. The ViacomCBS-owned MMA promotion will hold its first event in five months on July 24, sources confirmed to ESPN. The main event for that card will be Ricky Bandejas vs. Sergio Pettis. News of the fight was first reported by Combate. Bellator prospect Aaron Pico also is slated to
5:24 PM ET Jorge Masvidal said Tuesday he wants an immediate rematch with UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman, even if it would mean passing on a potential bout with Conor McGregor, which Dana White said could be the biggest fight in UFC history. Usman won a unanimous decision over Masvidal early Sunday morning on “Fight
9:37 AM ET A critical matchup in the UFC’s surging featherweight division is now official. Calvin Kattar and Dan Ige both successfully made weight Tuesday for their UFC Fight Night main event bout in Abu Dhabi. Kattar weighed in at 146 pounds and Ige was 145 pounds. Both co-main event fighters also weighed in successfully
Jul 12, 2020 UFC flyweight contender Deiveson Figueiredo is headed to Abu Dhabi after all. According to his manager, Wallid Ismail, Figueiredo was cleared to fly to Abu Dhabi late Saturday night after testing negative for COVID-19. There was concern the Brazilian would not be allowed to fight next weekend against Joseph Benavidez for the
Jul 12, 2020 Alexander Volkanovski wanted to finish Max Holloway in their featherweight title rematch at UFC 251 on Sunday morning, to prove beyond a doubt he is the better of the two. Instead, the second meeting proved to be much closer than the first — but ultimately, Volkanovski maintained the title via split decision.