10:37 AM ET “The Ultimate Fighter,” the reality show that brought fighters together in a home, is on ESPN and ESPN+. The reality series launched the mixed martial arts explosion around the world in 2005. Over the course of 12 weeks, 16 up-and-coming mixed martial artists fought to stay in the house while receiving world-class

10:17 PM ET The UFC has shifted a highly anticipated bantamweight main event between Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen from Feb. 18 to March 25, multiple sources confirmed to ESPN on Thursday. The bout was originally scheduled to headline UFC Fight Night later this month at the Apex in Las Vegas, but will now serve

5:02 PM ET NEW YORK — Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn didn’t rule out the possibility of a future fight between former boxing heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, he told ESPN on Thursday. Joshua has a fight against Jermaine Franklin on April 1, sources told ESPN’s Mike Coppinger, and

10:29 AM ET The PFL’s 2023 regular season will officially kick off in April, with a three-week series of events at Virgin Hotel in Las Vegas. The season encompasses six weight classes: heavyweight, light heavyweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight and women’s featherweight. The first round of season matchups will take place across three events scheduled on

8:30 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim Mixed martial arts is not what it used to be. In its early days, the sport was widely dismissed as a cringey toughman sideshow and relegated to the outcast fringe. For years, MMA was sustained by an obsessive and faithful fan base that mined fight clips from dingy corners of

3:22 PM ET Editor’s note: This story was originally published ahead of UFC 238. Blagoy Ivanov faces Marcin Tybura at UFC Fight Night on Feb. 4. SAN JOSE, Calif. — A bit shaky, Blagoy Ivanov stood in a doorway at Pirogov Hospital in Sofia, Bulgaria, on May 19, 2012. Camera flashes were going off. Questions

7:36 PM ET Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway will return to the Octagon against Arnold Allen in April, multiple sources told ESPN on Monday. Both sides have agreed to the 145-pound featherweight matchup, which is expected to headline UFC Fight Night on April 15. The UFC has not officially announced the contest or location

6:12 PM ET Israel Adesanya will attempt to get his title back in a fourth fight against rival Alex Pereira this spring. Pereira will defend the middleweight championship against Adesanya in the co-main event of UFC 287 on April 8, UFC president Dana White announced Friday. Jorge Masvidal will return against Gilbert Burns in the

12:34 PM ET Conor McGregor appeared to avoid injury after being struck by a car while riding his bike in Ireland. McGregor, 34, posted multiple videos of the aftermath of the accident to his social media on Friday. A breathless McGregor can be heard saying, “I could have been dead there,” as the driver of

10:57 AM ET The UFC is getting into the name, image and likeness (NIL) business. The world’s biggest fight promotion has signed Bella Mir, daughter of former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, as its first-ever NIL ambassador, officials told ESPN on Friday. Bella Mir, 19, is a freshman at the University of Iowa and competes