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Two all-time great Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters have been selected as some of the best athletes this century.

Revealing the list of 100 athletes by sections of 25 at a time, ESPN concluded its Top 100 list of pro athletes since 2000 on Thursday. Two MMA fighters were listed: Jon Jones (66) and Georges St. Pierre (76). In ESPN’s past list of SportsCentury for the 20th century, no fighters were selected although multiple boxers including Muhammad Ali (3) and Joe Louis (11) made the list. Jones and GSP were passed by Floyd Mayweather (25) but the former was ranked higher than Manny Pacquiao (71) and both came in above Bernard Hopkins (78).

Often considered to be the greatest MMA fighter of all time, Jones’ lone loss as a professional came against Matt Hamill via disqualification in a fight he was dominating. Failed drug tests, criminal activity and legal issues plagued a career that could have been even more exceptional without lengthy patches of inactivity a…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship matchmakers decided this ranked heavyweight match needed five more rounds.

On the prelims of 2020’s UFC Fight Night 169 card, Marcin Tybura (25-8) faced and defeated Sergey Spivak (16-4) via grinding decision. Since then, the two have gone on similar runs of 7-2 and 6-2, respectively, to establish themselves in the top 10 at heavyweight. News broke in June that the two would run it back at the UFC Fight Night event on Aug. 10 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and the promotion announced Thursday morning that it would serve as the main attraction.

The win over Spivak in 2020 was the start of a run for Poland’s Tybura, who won his next four after the Spivak victory to put himself in title contention. Alexander Volkov spurred him at UFC 267, but he bounced back to claim decisions over Alexander Romanov and Blagoy Ivanov to stay in the picture. “Tybur” went on to headline UFC Fight Night 224 against Tom Aspinall, and the Brit smashed him in…

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Cody Durden recently revealed why he accepted a fight against teammate Bruno Silva after initially turning it down.

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Durden (16-5) and Silva (13-5) are slated to lock horns in a flyweight bout at UFC on ESPN 60 at The Apex in Las Vegas this weekend. Durden revealed that he was initially hesitant to accept a fight against his American Top Team teammate.

However, when their manager Ali Abdelaziz proposed the matchup, Silva allegedly accepted it, saying they were adults. That permanently flipped the switch for Durden who now wants to see blood come fight night. The 33-year-old said on the UFC on ESPN 60 media day:

“I didn’t really want to fight a teammate but we got the same manager Ali Abdelaziz,” Durden said at UFC Media Day. “And at first I turned the fight down. I don’t want to fight a teammate. But then Bruno, he accepted the fight and said we’re not boys. And that really lit a fire in me. I was like, ‘Alright motherfuc*…

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Brad Tavares jokingly expressed disappointment in teammate Dan Ige for accepting a short-notice fight at UFC 303.

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Tavares (20-9) is scheduled to fight Jun Yong Park (17-6) in a middleweight matchup at UFC on ESPN 60 at the Apex in Las Vegas this weekend. Tavares was originally scheduled to share the card with Xtreme Couture teammate Ige, who was slated to trade leather with Jose Mariscal.

However, Ige ended up replacing Brian Ortega against Diego Lopes on four hours’ notice in the co-main event at UFC 303 last month. While Ige went on lose by unanimous decision, he gave Lopes a run for his money, putting the Brazilian in survival mode in the final frame. Ige subsequently asked for a spot on the highly sought-after UFC 306 card in September at the Sphere, which he was guaranteed by Dana White.

Tavares revealed that he and Ige had discussed potentially fighting at UFC 306 even before “50k” accepted the short-notice matchup.…

Ramon Taveras announced on Instagram that he is out of his UFC 304 booking against Caolan Loughran due to an injury.

Newcomers Taveras (10-2) and Loughran (9-1) were scheduled to trade leather in a bantamweight matchup at UFC 304 on July 27 at Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England. The bout is now off.

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Ireland’s Loughran hopes to stay on the pay-per-view card close to home and is open to fighting anyone.

Catch deez hands just pulled out

I text him a few days after the bout was signed saying he would

This Games not for everybody

The UFC are the best in the world and they’ll sort it 👍

Been here before will fight anyone

Yeno that ☘️

— Caolan Loughran (@DonCaolan135) July 17, 2024

Taveras holds a unanimous decision win over Serhiy Sidey in his promotional debut at UFC 297 this past January, avenging a Contender Series knockout loss from last year. Meanwhile, Loughran suffered the…

The cards for the Professional Fighters League playoffs appear to be complete.

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The promotion on Wednesday announced alternate and showcase matchups to fill out each of the three events scheduled for next month. The PFL had previously only confirmed semifinal matchups in each weight class.

At PFL 7 on Aug. 2 at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, Sergey Bilostenniy will square off against Tyrell Fortune in a heavyweight alternate bout.

Meanwhile, PFL 8 will take place on Aug. 16 at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida and will include a light heavyweight alternate clash pitting Antonio Carlos Jr. against Karl Albrektsson. Additionally, Mads Burnell will meet Elvin Espinoza in a lightweight alternate pairing.

Finally, PFL 9 will be held on Aug. 23 at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. and features a pair of alternate bouts: Neiman Gracie vs. Luca Poclit at welterweight and Tyler Diamond vs. Enrique Barzola at …

A strawweight clash pitting Tabatha Ricci against Angela Hill has been booked for an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Aug. 24.

Hill initially announced the bout on her ”2Straws” podcast, and it was later confirmed by MMAjunkie.com. The UFC Fight Night event is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and does not currently have a headliner.

Ricci has been victorious in five of her last six Octagon appearances. Most recently, “Baby Shark” took a split decision against Tecia Pennington at UFC on ESPN 56 on May 11.

Hill, meanwhile, has won four of her last five outings in UFC competition. The former Invicta FC champion is coming off a second-round submission triumph against Luana Pinheiro at UFC Fight Night 241 on May 18.

Jon Jones has pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor charges stemming from an encounter with a drug-testing agent at his Albuquerque, New Mexico, home earlier this year.

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During a virtual hearing in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court on Wednesday, Jones pleaded not guilty to a petty misdemeanor for assault and a misdemeanor for interference with communications. Jones was in attendance with attorney Christopher Dodd, while Judge Brittany Maldonado was in charge of the hearing.

A date for a bench trial is still yet to be determined. The conditions for Jones’ release until said date are as follows: Jones is not allowed to possess any firearms or dangerous weapons, he’s not allowed to possess or consume any alcohol or illegal drugs, he has to notify the court if his address changes and he has to maintain contact with his attorney. Additionally, Jones must avoid contact with the alleged victims in the case.

If Jones is convicted on both charges, h…

Maurice Abevi will welcome undefeated newcomer Samat Mamedov to ONE Championship when they meet at the promotion’s upcoming event in Denver on Sept. 6.

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The organization recently announced the lightweight (170-pound pairing). ONE Championship 168 takes place at Ball Arena in Denver and features a muay thai title bout between Jonathan Haggerty and Superlek Kiatmoo9. The card will stream on Prime Video in the United States.

After dropping a unanimous decision to Halil Amir in his promotional debut, Abevi has rebounded to score back-to-back triumphs against Blake Cooper and Lipeng Zhang under the ONE banner. The 24-year-old Switzerland native has been victorious in eight of his nine professional appearances overall.

Kazakhstan’s Mamedov will take a 6-0 make into his first ONE Championship foray. The 25-year-old Mamedov has finished all of his victories inside of a round, including a stoppage of one-time UFC competitor Will Chope this past December.

Julian Erosa largely credits teammate Andy Varela for refining his guillotine choke to a lethal weapon.

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An underdog going into the fight, Erosa tagged Christian Rodriguez on the feet before submitting him with a guillotine late in the first round at UFC on ESPN 59 in Denver last weekend. Erosa recently weighed in on his guillotine, which has now earned a quite reputation for itself around Las Vegas.

Erosa claims to have already had a decent guillotine choke when he started training at 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu in Las Vegas. There Erosa met Varela, who according to him has one of the best guillotines in the world. “Juicy J” credits Varela for helping him make small adjustments to his own guillotine, which he claims is now nearly “unstoppable.”

“I would say I moved to Vegas about almost seven years ago now,” Erosa said on UFC Unfiltered. “And when I first moved to Vegas, I walked into 10th Planet in Henderson here and met a kid named Andy Varela. And…

Virna Jandiroba recently elaborated on the significance of her unique headgear and her nickname, “Carcara.”

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Jandiroba will headline UFC on ESPN 60 — her first main event in the promotion — against fellow Brazilian Amanda Lemos at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. While walking out, the strawweight contender will be sporting her signature traditional leather hat usually worn by Brazilian cowboys.

Born and raised in the countryside of the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia, Jandiroba takes pride in her ancestry. Jandiroba explained that her signature hat is a common headgear among cowboys in “backlands” of Bahia. According to the 36-year-old, the hat is a representation of her home.

“I’m from Brazil. Born and raised in the countryside of Bahia,” Jandiroba told ESPN. “My parents are from there. My mother came from a farming family. From the fields. I think our ancestry is very strong here in the northeastern region. From my family, all t…

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Muhammad Mokaev believes Tom Aspinall’s father, Andy Aspinall, can hold his own against ranked UFC fighters.

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Mokaev and Aspinall will share a card in their hometown of Manchester, England, at UFC 304 on July 27 as the promotion returns to the city after nearly eight years. While Mokaev takes on Manel Kape in a flyweight matchup, Aspinall will put his interim heavyweight title on the line against Curtis Blaydes in the co-main event at the Co-op Live Arena.

As two elite MMA fighters hailing from the same region, Mokaev and Aspinall go back a long way. Mokaev was training in Wigan when he first met Aspinall and his father Andy, who were coaching at a different gym. Mokaev revealed that “Honey Badger” was working security at a pub then and would give him a ride home after practice for several years.

“Yeah, I met Tom Aspinall, he was coaching the kids session… And then his father was coaching adult session next session… And once…