MMA

OPELIKA, Ala. — The family of Aniah Blanchard, stepdaughter of UFC fighter Walt Harris, was emotional as a police detective testified about how Blanchard was found dead last year. Auburn Police Detective Josh Mixon testified in a Lee County courtroom Wednesday that a witness said he was with Ibraheem Yazeed when Yazeed appeared to drag

From a hotel lobby altercation to a UFC Fight Night co-main event, Marvin Vettori and Karl Roberson will get to settle their bad blood on June 13 at the promotion’s Apex facility in Las Vegas. UFC president Dana White announced the entire June 13 card on Thursday on ESPN. The middleweights were supposed to fight

It’s been less than one month since former UFC bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo unexpectedly announced his retirement from MMA, but the 135-pound division is ready to move on in a big way at UFC 250 on Saturday. The pay-per-view event, which will take place inside the UFC’s Apex facility in Las Vegas, features three bantamweight

The UFC is finalizing a middleweight tilt between Kelvin Gastelum and Jack Hermansson for July 18, multiple sources told ESPN. Contracts have not been signed, but both sides have agreed to the 185-pound matchup. The bout is expected to take place on the UFC’s Fight Island, which president Dana White has not revealed the exact

Cody Stamann will continue to compete this weekend despite the death of his brother. Stamann is scheduled to fight Brian Kelleher at UFC 250 on Saturday in Las Vegas. On May 27, Stamann learned that his 18-year-old brother Jacob died. Stamann told ESPN that an official cause of death has not yet been determined. Even

Miesha Tate silently nodded to herself as she watched Amanda Nunes fight Cris Cyborg. None of what she saw was unexpected — she experienced it herself. Cyborg charged forward, winging hard punches. But Nunes dropped her with a short right hand while Nunes’ back was against the fence. Cyborg came forward and Nunes put her

The UFC is close to finalizing a high-profile rematch between two former strawweight champions in Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade this summer, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. Contracts have not been signed, but both sides have agreed to meet on July 11 at a location to be determined, sources told ESPN. The location could be

UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones hasn’t fought since a razor-thin decision win over Dominick Reyes on Feb. 8, but his current war of words with UFC president Dana White is threatening to overshadow anything taking place in the Octagon. Jones is saying he will relinquish his title and has asked White to release him

Marcos Chin “I’ve been watching Bruce Lee movies since I was a kid. Growing up in Canada, there were no Asian faces on TV. I used to watch ‘The Green Hornet.’ Lee’s character, Kato, didn’t have many lines, but it was nice to see a Chinese, English-speaking character on a North American TV channel. I

When it comes to martial arts and the movies, no star has shined quite as bright as Bruce Lee. Fans can get a glimpse into his journey this Sunday as ESPN’s 30 for 30 “Be Water” will be broadcast at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN. He reached iconic status with his movies in the early

UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones hasn’t fought since a razor-thin decision win over Dominick Reyes on Feb. 8, but his current war of words with UFC president Dana White is threatening to overshadow anything taking place in the Octagon. Jones is saying he will relinquish his title and has asked White to release him

May 31, 2020 Brett Okamoto Close ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Marc Raimondi One of the UFC’s greatest champions appears set to give up his title. Jon Jones, the longtime UFC light heavyweight champ, tweeted Sunday that he plans to relinquish the belt

The UFC has a newly minted welterweight contender. Gilbert Burns defeated former champion Tyron Woodley via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-44, 50-44) in a complete performance Saturday night in the main event of UFC Las Vegas. Burns nearly finished Woodley in the opening minutes and never let his foot off the gas pedal, winning every single

UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones appeared to stop potential vandals Sunday night in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In a video posted to his Instagram account, Jones could be heard telling two young men wearing masks to “give me the spray can.” The two men relented and gave Jones their spray paint cans. Someone off camera

UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones hasn’t fought since a razor-thin decision win over Dominick Reyes on Feb. 8, but his current war of words with UFC president Dana White is threatening to overshadow anything taking place in the Octagon. Jones is saying he will relinquish his title and has asked White to release him

Despite Conor McGregor‘s recent outbursts on social media, UFC president Dana White told ESPN on Thursday that he has not talked with the former two-weight champion about his next fight. McGregor, 31, has “accepted” everything from a boxing match against retired boxer Oscar De La Hoya to a superfight against MMA legend Anderson Silva in

Billy Quarantillo and Spike Carlyle weren’t the biggest names on Saturday’s UFC Fight Night event in Las Vegas — but they sure ended up stealing the show. Quarantillo (14-2) and Carlyle (9-2) engaged in a wild, three-round affair on Saturday, inside the UFC’s Apex facility in Las Vegas. It was the UFC’s first event back

Gilbert Burns is building his case for a 2020 Fighter of the Year award — not to mention a UFC title shot. Burns (19-3) absolutely throttled Tyron Woodley (19-5-1) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday, as he defeated the former champion via unanimous decision: 50-44, 50-44 and 50-45. The 170-pound bout headlined the card inside