3:45 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim Former heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum, who is under U.S. Anti-Doping Agency suspension until May 2020 because of a failed drug test, plans on visiting with UFC officials next week in an effort to appeal for his release from the promotion to he can resume his fighting career. Former UFC heavyweight

4:51 PM ET The Nevada State Athletic Commission will hold its monthly meeting Tuesday in Las Vegas, and Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor are on the docket. The commission will decide what discipline the UFC stars will receive for their respective roles in a postfight brawl at UFC 229 in October. Given the names involved,

12:39 AM ET LOS ANGELES — A second Bellator MMA title. A Heavyweight World Grand Prix finals victory. And a win over a legend of the sport. Ryan Bader accomplished a lot with a single punch. Rory MacDonald will defend his Bellator welterweight title against Jon Fitch on April 27. Also on the card, women’s

10:49 PM ET Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald will defend his title against Jon Fitch on April 27 in San Jose, California, the promotion announced on Saturday. The 170-pound title fight is also part of the opening round of Bellator’s Welterweight Grand Prix. MMAFighting.com first reported the matchup, which will take place at SAP Center.

2:04 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Fedor Emelianenko competes at Bellator 214 on Saturday at The Forum, which is all the reason one needs to tune in…right? That’s kind of the sales pitch on ‘The Last Emperor,’ at this point in his career. Emelianenko, who meets Ryan Bader in the finals of Bellator’s Heavyweight Grand

2:24 PM ET Bellator MMA’s Juan Archuleta probably has an interesting closet. He requires a wide range of clothing size. Archuleta (21-1) meets Ricky Bandejas (11-1) in a key bantamweight contest on Saturday at Bellator 214 in Los Angeles. If you didn’t even know Archuleta competed in Bellator’s 135-pound division, don’t feel bad. Prior to

3:17 PM ET The lines between MMA and professional wrestling have been getting blurrier over the last few years. Brock Lesnar has crossed back and forth multiple times and won championships in both worlds, while trailblazer Ronda Rousey has gone from the UFC to one of the WWE’s hottest acts. CM Punk was less successful

10:55 AM ET Jeff WagenheimESPN February is a busy time for the UFC on ESPN. There’s UFC 234 on Feb. 9 in Melbourne, with prelims on ESPN leading to a pay-per-view main event in which Robert Whittaker defends his middleweight championship against Kelvin Gastelum. And over the course of the month there are three other

3:53 PM ET The UFC is targeting a middleweight matchup between Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa to headline an event in April, pending Romero’s availability coming off a Spanish-speaking reality show. Brazilian news outlet Combate first reported the potential matchup, and multiple sources confirmed to ESPN the fight will likely headline UFC Fight Night on