Demian Maia explains why Charles Oliveira is the ‘man to beat’ Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov

Jorge Masvidal is bringing out the stars from the world of MMA for his next boxing event. The UFC welterweight contender announced Monday on The MMA Hour that the PFL’s Anthony Pettis will face the legendary Roy Jones Jr. in the main event of Gamebred Boxing 4, which takes place April 1 at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

Conor McGregor always feels one win away from a title shot. “The Notorious” former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion hasn’t fought since July 2021 when suffering a nasty broken leg opposite Dustin Poirier. Seemingly all healed up and good to go, McGregor’s return is set for the second half of 2023, coming at the conclusion of The Ultimate Fighter 31’s finale.

The second episode of UFC 284 Embedded features Alexander Volkanovski grinding through a brutal training session, Islam Makhachev winding down in the Australian water, Randy Brown taking in the wildlife at a zoo, and Josh Emmett reflecting on his journey to an interim featherweight title fight with Yair Rodriguez. Check...

Dana White is pushing back at Islam Makhachev’s recent comments about the marketing for UFC 284. Makhachev faces Alexander Volkanovski on Saturday in a champion vs. champion collision of the two top-ranked pound-for-pound fighters in MMA. It’s only the seventh meeting between two reigning champions in UFC history, and it’s being held in Volkanovski’s native home of Australia, with the card set to take place in Perth’s RAC Arena.

UFC commentator Joe Rogan Francis Ngannou back in the octagon, but the can’t fault the ex-UFC champ for seeking a big payday in boxing. Rogan expects Ngannou to take a boxing match and believes a bout with heavyweight boxing champ Tyson Fury is in the works. Rogan hopes that after Ngannou cashes in, he can return to the UFC to face the winner of Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane.

Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen have a new site for their highly anticipated clash and that means a new official poster. On Monday, the UFC released the poster for UFC San Antonio, which takes place March 25 at AT&T Center is headlined by a contenders’ clash between “Chito” and Sandhagen, currently Nos. 6 and No. 4 respectively in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings.

The ‘UFC 284 Countdown’ video highlights the best action set to go down this Saturday at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. In the main event, UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev puts his belt on the line against featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, in “The Great’s” own backyard. The lightweight title isn’t the only thing on the line though, as Volkanovski and Makhachev are currently the top two pound-for-pound fighters in the world, making this a superfight not just for the belt, but for the title of Best Fighter In The World.

Dana White and Fedor Emelianenko never managed to do business, which is just fine with the UFC president. On Saturday, the legendary Emelianenko competed in his retirement bout in the main event of Bellator 290, where he lost by first-round knockout to heavyweight champion Ryan Bader. Afterward, Emelianenko was celebrated in an in-cage ceremony that included other legends of the sport, including former UFC champions Randy Couture, Matt Hughes, Quinton Jackson, Frank Shamrock, and Mark Coleman.

Michael Chandler has already been a part of some huge fights since joining the UFC roster, but he’ll reach a new stratosphere with his upcoming showdown against Conor McGregor. The ex-Bellator lightweight champion is preparing to film the next season of The Ultimate Fighter opposite McGregor, then the two...

Robert Whittaker thinks Israel Adesanya’s second knockout loss to Alex Pereira could take some pressure off the former champion for their rematch. Or it could add even more. Pereira and Adesanya have a storied history in combat sports, with Pereira twice beating Adesanya in kickboxing, the second time by devastating knockout. That pair of fights led to Pereira getting fast-tracked to Adesanya in MMA, where at UFC 281, it happened again. Pereira scored a fifth-round comeback TKO over “The Last Stylebender” in one of the best fights of 2022, and even Whittaker, who has his own history with Adesanya, was left impressed.

Even with all eyes on his opponent, Ryan Bader knew he had a job to do at Bellator 290. Bader faced Fedor Emelianenko for the second time in Saturday’s main event in Inglewood, Calif., and just like their first meeting, Bader won via first-round knockout. The win marked Bader’s third straight successful heavyweight championship defense as well as the final fight of Emelianenko’s illustrious career.

One-time interim lightweight title challenger Kevin Lee is once again a UFC fighter. Lee, 30, has re-signed with the promotion one year after being released from contract, a person with knowledge of his new deal confirmed to MMA Fighting after an initial report from ESPN.com. In a statement to ESPN.com,...

Doo Ho Choi would have won his fight with Kyle Nelson at UFC Vegas 68 were it not for a point deduction he received for an illegal headbutt. UFC President Dana White didn’t agree with the resulting majority draw, however, so he took matters into his own hands after a call he felt was “absolutely not” justified.

Chris Weidman is almost ready to return to the cage. Weidman, a former UFC middleweight champ, has been away from competition for nearly two years following the catastrophic leg injury he suffered against Uriah Hall at UFC 261. In January, the former UFC middleweight champion announced he will return to action in March, where he faces Owen Livesey in a grappling superfight at Polaris 23. Speaking with Ariel Helwani on Monday, Weidman explained that his leg is still not quite 100 percent, and so he viewed grappling as a good way to ease himself back into competition.

The Mixed Martial Arts Hour is back in your life! Below is a rundown of Monday’s show, which begins at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT / 6 p.m. UK time. 1 p.m. ET: We recap another wild weekend in combat sports. 1:30 p.m.: Michael Chandler returns to...

If Tommy Fury fails to show up to fight Jake Paul on Feb. 26, Mike Perry will be more than ready to take his place. The UFC veteran turned bare-knuckle fighter was secured as a backup opponent for Paul after two previous matchups booked against Fury fell apart. There was actually some concern just recently after Paul revealed that Fury declined an appearance for a pre-fight press conference scheduled in Saudi Arabia, although the former reality show star eventually fired back while proclaiming his plans to arrive in the country 10 days ahead of the event.

Glover Teixeira entered the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro on Jan. 21 with one goal in mind: Beat Jamahal Hill and reclaim the UFC light heavyweight championship. Win or lose, he didn’t plan on laying down his gloves and retiring that night — until he realized that a 25-minute war for the belt was the perfect way to end a legendary career.

It took Alexander Volkanovski three tries to put Max Holloway behind him for good, but the UFC featherweight champion saved his best for last. Volkanovski and Holloway met for their third and final time in July 2022 at UFC 276. Heading into the match, Volkanovski held a 2-0 edge in the series, winning decisions in both 2019 and 2020. Their second fight was mired in controversy, however, with many believing that Holloway was robbed on the judges’ scorecards.

Ryan Bader is doing quite well for himself as the Bellator heavyweight champion, much better than his disclosed pay would indicate in his most recent title defense. Bader finished the now retired Fedor Emelianenko in the first round of the main event this past Saturday at Bellator 290 to retain his championship. Following the event, the California State Athletic Commission disclosed fighter pay for the event to MMA Fighting, which revealed that Bader made $150,000 for the title fight on CBS, while Emelianenko made $100,000.