Mar 3, 2021 Editor’s note: This story was originally published ahead of UFC 259 when Jan Blachowicz defeated Israel Adesanya to retain the UFC light heavyweight title. He then lost the title to Glover Teixeira at UFC 267, but will get a chance at capturing gold once again against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 282. The

4:01 PM ET UFC star Israel Adesanya is likely to be cleared of charges after he was arrested last month in New York for possession of a weapon. The former UFC middleweight champion was given an “adjournment in contemplation of dismissal” Tuesday, according to a spokesperson for the Queens County District Attorney’s Office. That means

8:51 AM ET Paddy Pimblett made his UFC debut in September 2021. Two months later, the MMA prospect out of England traveled to the United States. Pimblett was accosted for photos in places like Times Square in New York and Yard House restaurant in San Diego. Fast-forward a little more than a year, and “The

10:12 PM ET Kayla Harrison‘s plans for the next year and beyond are very much up in the air. The two-time former PFL women’s lightweight champion told ESPN she is not sure what her next move will be, but her top priority is a rematch with Larissa Pacheco, who handed Harrison her first career loss

2:09 PM ET James Krause, the MMA coach at the center of a UFC betting controversy, is barred from attending or cornering any fighters at the Fighting Alliance Championship event on Friday in Independence, Missouri, sources told ESPN. Krause-trained fighters Gauge Young, Gina Mazany and Alexa Culp are on the card for FAC 17. The

8:28 PM ET TJ Dillashaw, one of the top bantamweight fighters in the history of MMA, has retired from the UFC, Dillashaw’s agent Tiki Ghosn confirmed to ESPN on Monday. Dillashaw, a former two-time UFC bantamweight champion, went into his title challenge against bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling at UFC 280 in October with a bad

Dec 6, 2022 Dubbed by UFC president Dana White as “the future” of the sport, 21-year-old Cameron Saaiman (6-0-0) is on a mission to prove him right on his debut at UFC 282 in Vegas on Dec. 10. The South African, a protégé of Dricus “Stillknocks” du Plessis and coach Morné Visser, will fight Steven

2:24 PM ET Former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler has been forced to withdraw from a bout against Santiago Ponzinibbio on Saturday due to an undisclosed injury, sources told ESPN. According to sources, the UFC is working on finding a potential replacement for Ponzinibbio (28-6). The 170-pound contest was scheduled to take place on the

12:49 PM ET ONE Championship is making its debut in the United States with one of the biggest fights the promotion can put on. All-time MMA great Demetrious Johnson will defend his ONE 135-pound title against Adriano Moraes in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 10 on May 5 in Broomfield, Colorado, the

9:19 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim “There’s an enticing aura of unpredictability surrounding the main event of UFC 282.” That was the opening line in my original draft of this story. I wrote it shortly before Thanksgiving, figuring I’d smartly get a jump on assessing the final Octagon pay-per-view of the year. Who knew the unpredictability