8:00 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim When Jose Aldo steps inside the “Fight Island” Octagon on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, to face Petr Yan for the vacant UFC bantamweight championship, the Brazil native will be attempting to become just the eighth fighter in UFC history to reign in more than one division. Aldo

2:52 PM ET Negotiations for next week’s Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal UFC welterweight title fight are done, sources say, and both fighters have agreed to terms to compete Saturday at UFC 251 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. That’s a massive hurdle cleared for the promotion, which worked to salvage Usman’s presence on the

2:52 PM ET Kamaru Usman will face Jorge Masvidal in a welterweight title fight on Saturday at UFC 251 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. The promotion announced the fight at midnight Monday. Masvidal passed his coronavirus test, and both he and Usman will be leaving Las Vegas for Abu

2:46 PM ET In a shocking turn of events, Kamaru Usman will defend the UFC welterweight title against Jorge Masvidal in the main event of UFC 251 this Saturday night on Fight Island. After Gilbert Burns was removed from the main event early Saturday, the UFC, which had been unsuccessful in negotiating a deal with

8:00 PM ET A day after Gilbert Burns was forced out of the UFC 251 main event, there is renewed hope that next week’s welterweight title fight can be saved with an even bigger fight. According to multiple sources, there are active negotiations to book Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal as the new main event

10:29 AM ET Alexander Volkanovski found out he’s a part of the new main event for UFC 251 upon landing in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. A source confirmed to ESPN that Gilbert Burns would not compete against welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in the original main event on July 11. As a result, Volkanovski’s fight against

9:25 AM ET Gilbert Burns will not compete in the main event of UFC 251, a source confirmed to ESPN. Burns had been set to face welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in a title fight July 11 that was the headliner of the first card at UFC’s Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The

2:40 PM ET Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, father of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, died Friday after battling COVID-19, and his impact on the world of mixed martial arts was evident by the outpouring of respect that immediately followed on social media. Abdulmanap was not just the father of Khabib, the undefeated phenom who is ESPN’s top-ranked

4:43 PM ET Max Holloway traveled Wednesday from Hawaii to Las Vegas. At the airport was the first time the former UFC featherweight champion has seen his coaches in person for months. Holloway told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani on Friday that he didn’t go to the gym or see his coaches during his UFC 251 training

1:31 PM ET Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, the father and trainer of undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, has died in Moscow, the fighter’s manager Ali Abdelaziz confirmed to ESPN on Friday. The elder Nurmagomedov had been hospitalized in Moscow since May, when he was diagnosed with coronavirus. He also underwent heart surgery for a pre-existing condition