1:38 PM ET Two title fights are now official for UFC 273. Alexander Volkanovski will defend his UFC featherweight title against Chan Sung Jung, “The Korean Zombie,” in the main event of the pay-per-view card April 9 in Jacksonville, Florida, UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell confirmed to ESPN on Friday. The co-main event will

12:33 PM ET Max Holloway has been medically cleared to resume training and has offered to serve as a backup for the featherweight division’s next title fight, sources close to Holloway told ESPN. The former champion received medical clearance on Thursday, sources said. Holloway, of Waianae, Hawai’i, was briefly scheduled to challenge Alexander Volkanovski for

10:44 AM ET Jack Hermansson faces Sean Strickland in a meeting of top-10 middleweights in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. The fights at UFC Apex will be broadcast on ESPN+, with the main card starting at 7 p.m. ET and the prelims at 4 p.m. Hermansson (22-6), who

7:39 PM ET Australian fighter Tai Tuivasa said his heavyweight bout with Derrick Lewis is a fantastic opportunity, even if he agreed to the UFC 271 showdown against the American while “pissed.” Riding a four-fight win streak after a bumper 2021 that saw him defeat Harry Hunsucker, Greg Hardy and Augusto Sakai, Tuivasa has solidified

3:39 PM ET Associated Press CONCORD, N.C. — UFC president Dana White has struck a partnership deal with the Pitbull-owned NASCAR team Trackhouse Racing, starting this week at the exhibition Clash in Los Angeles. White’s Howler Head Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey will serve as primary sponsor of Ross Chastain‘s No. 1 Chevrolet in Sunday’s race

6:54 PM ET Kevin Holland called an internet troll’s bluff by choking him out in a grappling match. Holland, the loquacious UFC fighter nicknamed “Big Mouth,” said he had been getting messages on social media for months from a man, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, who claimed he could submit Holland. So Holland took him up

1:14 AM ET Jeff WagenheimESPN Ryan Bader is back at home and still on top. Defending his heavyweight championship for the first time in 2½ years, Ryan Bader picked up where he left off by grinding out a tight but unanimous decision over Valentin Moldavsky in the main event of Bellator 273 on Saturday night

8:51 PM ET The UFC is close to finalizing a lightweight bout between Donald Cerrone and Joe Lauzon in April, multiple sources told ESPN. The 155-pound fight would take place on a UFC Fight Night event on April 30. The UFC has not announced an official venue for the card. Cerrone (36-16) has not fought

8:00 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim At first, Ryan Bader wondered if he belonged. By using a relative colossus and a stoic legend as springboards, he came to recognize he most definitely did. The self-reflection by Bellator’s light heavyweight champion occurred as the promotion put a new challenge in front of him in 2018. Bader had

9:59 PM ET UFC president Dana White said his not putting the heavyweight title belt on Francis Ngannou after UFC 270 last weekend had nothing to do with “disrespect.” White addressed the postfight situation in a fan Q&A on Wednesday night with interviewer Laura Sanko on ESPN+. White did not put the belt on Ngannou