[ad_1] For Rafael Dos Anjos, Saturday's main event against Leon Edwards will mark his 28th appearance in the UFC. Not many of those were negotiated directly with promotion president Dana White. This one was, though.Dos Anjos (29-11) had just fought in May and was looking forward to spending the summer with his kids. He and his son were camping in Utah five weeks ago when White called to see whether
[ad_1] Why? What if? Those are the questions I ask myself every day.What if my dad didn't bring me to the United Kingdom? What if my gym never opened in the Erdington neighborhood of Birmingham, England? It's just mad -- it's a crazy thing.Why was I the one who made it off the streets of Kingston, Jamaica, who escaped the killing, the drugs and the poverty when so many others
[ad_1] It was an eventful first half of 2019 in mixed martial arts. New stars like Jorge Masvidal and Israel Adesanya have emerged, new champions have been crowned and a titleholder has been stripped of a belt. We've seen some of the best knockouts in the history of the sport and some of the best fights. There has been adulation and heartache.Looking back on the first six months of 2019
[ad_1] UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal has expressed interest in fighting Conor McGregor next, following his record-setting 5-second knockout over Ben Askren at UFC 239 in Las Vegas.When asked for his thoughts on the potential matchup, however, UFC president Dana White cut to the chase."Hell no," White told TMZ. "Masvidal is too big for Conor. There's plenty of fights for [Masvidal] in his weight division without Conor. He's too big for
[ad_1] Rafael dos Anjos avoided the first three-fight losing streak of his career with a gritty fourth round submission over Kevin Lee in May. In the process, he held on to his place as the UFC's No. 4-ranked contender in the UFC welterweight division. In order to remain in the conversation as a future challenger to champion Kamaru Usman, Dos Anjos will need to defeat another young prospect this weekend
[ad_1] 6:32 PM ETMarc RaimondiESPN Growing up in Brazil, Ricardo Prasel always had dreams of stardom. He wasn't sure how he would accomplish that, but he ruled out a few things right away."I was not born with the gift to sing and I never had the opportunity to be an actor," Prasel said with a laugh. "The way would be in sports."For his entire youth, and into early adulthood, soccer
[ad_1] This year so far has been a banner six months for mixed martial arts, as fans saw top champions cement their status among the sport's elite, new stars rise and some of the craziest finishes in history. And there's much more to come: Max Holloway vs. Frankie Edgar; Daniel Cormier vs. Stipe Miocic; Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Dustin Poirier.Which fights not currently scheduled for 2019 need to be made? ESPN's
[ad_1] It's Monday, time for another edition of Ariel Helwani's MMA Show, which airs live starting at 1 p.m. ET on Twitter and YouTube. After it ends, you can listen to the show via the ESPN podcast center.Four of the world's top MMA promotions (UFC, Bellator, ONE, PFL) held events this weekend. Usually, I don't love this because that means some shows are happening at the same time, but --
[ad_1] UFC Fight Night in Sacramento on Saturday featured the return of the ageless 'California Kid' in Urijah Faber, as well as the re-emergence of former featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie and several first-round finishes from the city's own Team Alpha Male.What's next for Faber, de Randamie, Aspen Ladd and the other top names from this weekend? Here's ESPN's take.Germaine de Randamie, bantamweight Result: Defeated Aspen Ladd via first-round TKONext:
[ad_1] UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber returned to the Octagon on Saturday in his hometown of Sacramento as a heavy underdog against rising prospect Ricky Simon. He left the victor following an impressive first-round TKO finish. The 40-year-old Faber was asked following the win for his next step, and he wasn't shy in his ambitions."I think (UFC bantamweight champion) Henry Cejudo called me out a little bit ago," Faber
