4:41 PM ET DENVER — When 20-year-old strawweight Maycee Barber enters the cage for her UFC debut on Saturday, a timer on her phone back in the Pepsi Center locker room will continue to wind down. That “countdown,” as Barber refers to it, is constantly running on her home screen. She set it up about

12:04 PM ET Veteran welterweight Brennan Ward has pulled out of a bare-knuckle boxing match against former UFC champion Johny Hendricks on Friday in Wyoming, allegedly due to the promoter’s failure to honor his contract. Ward, 30, announced his withdrawal from the bout on social media on Wednesday. “To all my followers: WBKFF won’t honor

7:00 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Former NFL All-Pro linebacker Shawne Merriman has pulled out of his bare-knuckle boxing match against Mike Bourke, scheduled to take place this Friday in Casper, Wyoming. Merriman had agreed to compete in the inaugural World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation (WBKFF) show, but a contract dispute forced the three-time Pro

7:28 PM ET In the past two weeks, Ben Askren has called out nearly every welterweight on the UFC roster. Askren (18-0) signed with the UFC last month, and the promotion had no shortage of options when it came to booking his first fight. It ultimately chose to pair him with former champion Robbie Lawler

2:34 PM ET The UFC has officially added a female flyweight bout between Paige VanZant and Rachael Ostovich for its UFC Fight Night event on Jan. 19 in Brooklyn. VanZant first hinted at the date months ago. Paige VanZant, left, has not fought since suffering a broken arm in this fight against Jessica-Rose Clark in

10:57 PM ET Undefeated UFC newcomer Ben Askren has booked his first contest in the Octagon, and it’s against a former champion. Askren (18-0) will meet former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler at UFC 233 on Jan. 26 in Anaheim, California, according to UFC president Dana White. The pay-per-view event will take place at Honda

3:32 PM ET UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier told ESPN on Monday he does not need to face Jon Jones for a third time before retirement. Cormier, who defeated Derrick Lewis on Saturday at UFC 230 to retain his heavyweight belt, has said he wants to end his MMA career by the

1:44 PM ET History was made in New York’s Madison Square Garden on Saturday, as Daniel Cormier became the first fighter in UFC history to hold two belts simultaneously and defend both. Saturday was a historic night for Daniel Cormier, but the fight was a sneeze away from not happening. The two-weight champion did make

1:08 AM ET Floyd Mayweather Jr. has made his New Year’s Eve plans official. Mayweather will exit retirement once again and fight 20-year-old Japanese kickboxing phenom Tenshin Nasukawa on Dec. 31 at the 37,000-seat Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, about a half-hour drive outside of Tokyo. Mayweather and Nasukawa appeared at a news conference

10:28 AM ET NEW YORK — Daniel Cormier may have summed it up best, just moments after defeating Derrick Lewis to retain his heavyweight title at UFC 230 on Saturday. “There are no surprises with me,” Cormier said. “If you have a puncher’s chance, that’s not enough. You have to be one of the best