LAS VEGAS – Nurullo Aliev beat Joe Solecki with a unanimous decision Saturday to open the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 249 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Take a look inside the fight with Aliev, a betting favorite of more than 8-1 who stayed unbeaten with his eighth decision in 10 wins.
MMA news
“Pitbull” is off the leash. Patricio Freire has been released from his PFL contract and is now a free agent, according to promotion founder Donn Davis. After weeks of Freire (36-7 MMA, 24-6 UFC) publicly asking for his release, including a lengthy airing of grievances Tuesday, the promotion has obliged. “We are releasing @PatricioPitbull,” Davis
The Bellator brand is no more. PFL MMA has released an official statement addressing the future branding of Bellator. PFL acquired the Bellator brand and its roster of fighters in November 2023. Tuesday, PFL chairman and founder Donn Davis publicly shared the statement on social media, confirming an initial report from Ariel Helwani that the
Din Thomas doesn’t see Umar Nurmagomedov being the one to dethrone UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili. Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) defends his bantamweight title against Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 311 (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPNews/Disney+, ESPN+) co-main event at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. Although Thomas doesn’t see Dvalishvili holding onto the
LAS VEGAS – Fatima Kline beat Viktoriia Dudakova with a second-round TKO Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 249 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Take a look inside the fight with Kline, who got her first UFC win after she lost a short-notice promotional debut. Fatima Kline def. Viktoriia Dudakova
The first numbered UFC event of 2025 is just days away, with UFC 311 set for Saturday at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. As always, some marquee on-air talent will be there to help guide viewers through the experience. Details of who will be working as commentators and analysts for the show have been acquired
Open Extended Reactions 2025 is starting out as a great year for MMA. ESPN’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, Islam Makhachev, puts his UFC lightweight title on the line against Arman Tsarukyan and bantamweight champ Merab Dvalishvili defends against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in Inglewood, California, on Saturday. Then February kicks off with a bang
UFC light heavyweight champion: That’s a title Jiri Prochazka is confident in having once more. Prochazka (30-5-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) won the UFC belt at 205 pounds in mid-2022, vacated it due to injury months later, and since hasn’t been able to regain it. The Czech fighter has had two attempts, one in 2023 and
Check out these photos of former UFC champion Holly Holm through the years The ESPYs Giant Event Hosted By Eli Manning holly-holm-bellator-91 Holly Holm holly-holm Holly Holm jon-jones-holly-holm-post-ufc-182-social-media holly-holm-ufc-184 Holly Holm MMA: UFC 184-Pennington vs Holm Holly Holm holly-holm-ufc-fight-night-71-video Holly Holm holly-holm-ufc-fight-night-71 Holly Holm holly-holm-walkout-video holly-holm-ufc-193-video-2 ronda-rousey-holly-holm-go-big Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm ronda-rousey-holly-holm-ufc-193 MMA: UFC
Former champion Holly Holm has left the UFC and will explore free agency. Holm, a former women’s bantamweight titleholder in the promotion and a boxing Hall of Famer, still had fights left on her contract, but asked to be released. Her request was granted, and she now will look for other opportunities in MMA or
LAS VEGAS – Jacobe Smith beat Preston Parsons with a first-round knockout Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 249 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Take a look inside the fight with Smith, a highly touted wrestling standout who needed just 73 seconds to win his UFC debut – but was
Since the early days when the sport was anything but a mainstream endeavor, the MMA industry has thrived and survived through various websites, forums, and – perhaps most importantly – social-media platforms. Fighters interact with fans, each other and many more through the likes of X, Facebook and Instagram, which helps outsiders get a deeper look
Coaching hasn’t been easy for Khabib Nurmagomedov. The former UFC lightweight champion and retired MMA legend hasn’t fully enjoyed this latest chapter of his life – serving as head coach of Team Eagle. Nurmagomedov transitioned from fighter to coach following his retirement from MMA in 2020, and since, Nurmagomedov has seen a lot of success
UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev once hoped he could settle one of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s rivalries. Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson (25-11 MMA, 15-9 UFC) saw five scheduled bouts scrapped, and the pair never ended up settling their beef that spanned several years. Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) revealed that he wanted to step in and take
UFC 311 is undergoing a fight-week change. With Sedriques Dumas out of his preliminary fight against Zach Reese, LFA middleweight champion Azamat Bekoev has been tabbed to step in on five days’ notice. X user Octagon Update was first to report news of Dumas’ withdrawal, although no reason was stated. MMA Junkie subsequently confirmed the addition
Frontier Airlines rejects the notion that UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov was removed from a flight for any reason other than not being compliant with Federal Aviation Administration requirements. Nurmagomedov confirmed Sunday that he was escorted off a Frontier Airlines flight after video of the incident went viral on social media. In an Instagram
Arman Tsarukyan has put in the work unlike ever before going into his first opportunity at gold on Saturday in the UFC 311 headliner. Tsarukyan (22-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) is set to rematch lightweight champion Islam Makhachev (22-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) in the main event at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+),
UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili can’t wait to shut down Umar Nurmagomedov’s hype. Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) defends his title against Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) on Jan. 18 in the UFC 311 co-main event from Inglewood, Calif. (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+). Dvalishvili has made it very clear that he doesn’t think Nurmagomedov deserves the