2:57 PM ET The UFC has booked a lightweight title fight between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev to headline UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The UFC 280 pay-per-view event takes place on Oct. 22 at Etihad Arena. Officials announced the lightweight contest Saturday. Officially, the fight will be for the UFC’s vacant

Jul 16, 2022 ELMONT, N.Y. — A highly anticipated UFC featherweight main event between Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega came to a halt Saturday when Ortega was unable to continue after appearing to dislocate his right shoulder. The injury occurred at the 4:11 mark of the opening round. Ortega had just taken Rodriguez to the

Jun 28, 2022 ESPN staff The 2022 ESPYS presented by Capital One are finally here. It’s time to decide which of your favorite athletes will win the show’s biggest awards. Here are the nominees for Best MMA Fighter: Alexander Volkanovski Charles Oliveira Kamaru Usman Kayla Harrison Cast your vote now and tune in to the

9:05 AM ET The UFC is amid a busy summer schedule, coming off International Fight Week two weeks ago. Next up is UFC on ABC this weekend (Saturday, main card on ABC/ESPN+ at 2 p.m. ET, prelims on ESPN/ESPN+ at 11 a.m.), with a big-time main event between Brian Ortega and Yair Rodriguez. From there,

9:15 AM ET Any mixed martial arts fan will tell you that one of the best things about following this sport is the never ending string of storylines to follow. There is no off-season, and there is always something going on inside and outside the Octagon, and things can change instantly. Never a dull moment,

11:34 AM ET Few would dispute that UFC men’s featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and former champ Max Holloway are the two best 145-pounders in MMA. Right behind them? We might find out on Saturday afternoon, when Brian Ortega meets Yair Rodriguez in a matinee main event of UFC Fight Night in Elmont, New York. Ortega

12:51 AM ET LAS VEGAS — Rafael Fiziev proved to be one step ahead of Rafael dos Anjos over the course of four lightweight rounds on Saturday. And then in the fifth, he put the former champion away for good measure. Fiziev (12-1) continued his ascent of the UFC’s lightweight rankings with a blistering, left

7:20 PM ET The UFC has booked a strawweight clash between Mackenzie Dern and Yan Xiaonan to headline an October event, multiple sources told ESPN on Friday. The five-round contest will headline a UFC Fight Night on Oct. 1 at a location to be announced. Dern (12-2) is closing in on a potential title shot

3:12 PM ET A marquee welterweight matchup between Belal Muhammad and Sean Brady is set to take place in October, sources have told ESPN. Contracts are not yet signed but both sides have agreed to the 170-pound contest, which will take place at a UFC event Oct. 22 in Abu Dhabi. It is expected to

12:05 PM ET Alexander Volkanovski suffered a broken left thumb during last weekend’s title defense against Max Holloway, the UFC champ revealed on social media Thursday night. Volkanovski (25-1) wrote on Twitter that he will undergo surgery on the broken hand and the recovery timeline is 12 weeks. “Broke my thumb in the second round,