LAS VEGAS — We’re the writer, and Connor Ingram is the goalie.
But I don’t think I could put it any better than he did, after the Oilers played their best defensive game in a long while in a 4-2 road win at Vegas.
“I think we did everything we’ve been talking about.”
Edmonton gave up two goals — a carom off of Darnell Nurse that left Ingram no chance, and a one-off giveaway on a late power play that is, at worst, easily corrected. The rest of the night, they employed a relatively new defensive posture, and used that age-old hockey tonic — honest, hard work — to limit Vegas to just 26 shots.
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A win in this building, against those Golden Knights… Certainly, this could be something to build on.
“I do think it was,” defenceman Mattias Ekholm said. “I thought we played a really well-executed defensive game tonight. (Ingram) was good in net for sure, but I think he saw most of the pucks.
“We’re never going to be perfect, but if we can keep it to one or two (goals against) like tonight, I love our chances. One thing I know about this team: it doesn’t take a lot to get hot or turn things around, so that’s exciting.”
On a night where the Anaheim Ducks dropped a 4-0 decision to St. Louis, the Oilers won in regulation to turn the screw on the top of the Pacific. It was the perfect night to be near perfect, beating an old rival in their own barn.
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“Our division is maybe not the best, but it’s so tight now,” said Ekholm, whose Oilers are two points back of Vegas and three back of Anaheim, with 18 games left to play. “There are so many teams right there — young teams that want to get in for the first time in a while, and some veteran teams that are expected to be there, that maybe are underperforming.
“So every game counts here. Good start to this road trip.”
Another sign of things perhaps starting to turn for Edmonton came on what turned out to be the game-winning goal. It was a series of good breaks for Edmonton — and bad ones for Vegas — that started when Rasmus Andersson had an easy outlet pass, but lost the puck when his stick snapped in two.
Evan Bouchard collected that puck, the Oilers muffed their chance, and Jack Eichel collected the puck with free ice to carry it out of the zone. Well, that was the plan anyhow.
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Suddenly, Eichel lost the puck in the remnants of Andersson’s busted twig. Connor McDavid collected the loose puck and quickly fed Leon Draisaitl, who deftly deposited his 34th of the season for a 3-1 lead that would stand up to the buzzer.
It was crazy, Hockey Gods stuff, leaving the Oilers feeling blessed, the Golden Knights cursed.
“You look back in the last four or five games, one goal today (off of Nurse). How many go in off our own guys?” asked Ingram, as thoughtful a goalie as we’ve come across. “I was talking to (Tristan Jarry) after last game. I said, ‘It’ll break eventually. This string of sh—y bounces and bad luck is going to snap eventually.’ Maybe today was that day.”
Ingram made one mistake, a leaky goal on a bad-angle wrist shot that would have tied the game at 1-1. But the Oilers won an offside review, and that bad goal was erased.
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There’s another good break. One that the battling Ingram has earned, we’d say.
“We get one called back on the offside. We get one (off the broken stick),” he said. “That’s how fickle this game is. That’s all it takes between winning and losing — a sh—y bounce you don’t control.”
Edmonton limped into this one with the worst record in the NHL over their past eight games (2-6), the worst goals against since Jan. 31 (4.75), and the third worst save percentage in the NHL (.875).
But, tied 1-1 after 40 minutes, you know the dressing room talk was about winning a period and kick-starting a turnaround.
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Hockey fans already know the name, but this is not the blog. From Sportsnet, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world.
Enter Vasily Podkolzin, who grabbed a loose puck off a faceoff just over 2:30 into the frame, then outskated the Vegas D-pair of Andersson and Jeremy Lauzon all the way down the ice for a breakaway goal.
The puck barely crawled over the goal line, but who cares? It’s a career-high 15th for Podkolzin — all at even strength — whose game just slowly, steadily climbs uphill.
“I get some luck here sometimes,” he said, shyly. “Yeah, try to put myself in a good spot for some moments. Yeah, good luck.”
He’s a Russian bear, this 24-year-old. He can really skate, really shoot, plays a responsible game, and ran over Shea Theodore in the third period Sunday. On a defensive play that Theodore uses against lots of NHL players, he just couldn’t handle Podkolzin’s size and strength, folding under the pressure.
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“He never says a word, man,” Ingram said of Podkolzin. “He just puts his head down and goes to work. It’s incredible. I mean, it’s awesome to see him (have this success).”
The same could be said for Ingram’s team, a group that’s been fishing for a game like this one since Christmas, really, against a top divisional foe like Vegas.
“I think this is a good example of what we can do,” Ingram said. “But at the end of the day, this one’s over, let’s move on. We’ve got three more left on this road trip. It’s a two-hour rule: enjoy for two hours, then return the page.
“But it’s time to go to work,” he declared. “That’s what we did today. If we keep this effort and just keep this mindset, nose to the grindstone, I think we’ll be okay.”
The Dallas Cowboys are reportedly set to bolster their defensive line with an intriguing trade involving the Green Bay Packers on Monday.
The Cowboys agreed to acquire Pro Bowl defensive tackle Rashan Gary for a 2027 fourth-round draft pick, according to multiple reports. The deal comes as the team lost out on trying to acquire Maxx Crosby from the Las Vegas Raiders. He was dealt to the Baltimore Ravens last week.
Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Rashan Gary during the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field on Nov. 23, 2025.(Jeff Hanisch/Imagn Images)
The Packers selected Gary with the No. 12 overall pick of the 2019 draft out of Michigan. He improved dramatically over the course of seven seasons as he started out as a defensive end, moved to linebacker and then back to the defensive line.
Gary was a Pro Bowl selection in 2024 when he had 7.5 sacks, 47 tackles and a fumble recovery in 17 games. In 2025, Gary played in 16 games. He had 7.5 sacks, 45 tackles and a fumble recovery.
Green Bay Packers defensive end Rashan Gary celebrates after the game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Nov. 17, 2024.(Daniel Bartel/Imagn Images)
He signed a four-year contract extension with the Packers during the 2023 season. He will be owed $18 million in 2026 and $21 million in 2027.
Dallas was 7-9-1 in the first season with Brian Schottenheimer as the head coach. The team’s defense was shaken up before the season began when they traded Micah Parsons to the Packers.
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Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer before the game against the Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado, on Oct. 26, 2025.(Ron Chenoy/Imagn Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 08: Race winner Ugo Ugochukwu of United States and Campos Racing (2) celebrates on the podium during the Round 1 Melbourne Feature race of the Formula 3 Championship at Albert Park Circuit on March 08, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/LAT Images)
Young American driver Ugo Ugochukwu claimed a major victory in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, winning the Feature Race during the Australian Grand Prix weekend in Melbourne.
Driving for Campos Racing, the 17-year-old produced a fantastic performance to take the chequered flag and secure one of the biggest wins of his young career.
The Melbourne Feature Race is the main race of the Formula 3 weekend and often plays a key role in shaping the championship standings. Ugochukwu’s victory marked a strong start to the season and highlighted his growing reputation as one of the sport’s most promising young drivers.
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Born in the United States with Nigerian heritage, Ugochukwu first gained attention in karting, where he won several major international titles. His performances earned him a place in the McLaren Driver Development Programme, which supports young talents aiming to reach Formula 1.
Since moving into single-seater racing, Ugochukwu has steadily progressed through the junior ranks. His win in Melbourne is another important milestone as he continues building experience in Formula 3.
Many current Formula 1 drivers previously used Formula 3 as a stepping stone to the top of the sport.
2 min read Last Updated : Mar 09 2026 | 5:28 PM IST
Four-time Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen is taking on a “bucket list” challenge as he prepares to tackle his first 24-hour sportscar race at the historic Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit.
Verstappen and his sportscar racing team said Monday that he plans to take on the storied endurance race in May, sharing a Red Bull -liveried Mercedes-AMG GT3 car with teammates Daniel Juncadella, Jules Gounon and Lucas Auer.
“The Nurburgring Nordschleife is a special place. There’s no other track like it,” Verstappen said. “The 24h Nurburgring is a race that’s been on my bucket list for a long time, so I’m really thrilled we can make it happen now.”
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Running nearly 13 miles (20.8 kilometers) through wooded German hills, with more than 150 corners and barriers often close to the track, the Nordschleife layout at the Nurburgring is known for high-risk thrills. F1 hasn’t used it since 1976, when then-reigning champion Niki Lauda suffered severe burns in a crash.
Verstappen made his debut at the circuit in September in a slower GT4-specification car in a four-hour race which served as his test to get a full permit to race faster cars on the circuit. He returned and won another race in a GT3 Ferrari later that month.
Verstappen’s team says he plans to also enter a race there March 21 to prepare for the 24-hour challenge, fitting that appearance in between this week’s Chinese Grand Prix and the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29. The 24-hour race starts at 3 p.m. local time on May 16 and ends the following day, a week before the Canadian Grand Prix.
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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Leading hoop James McDonald piloted his fourth stakes winner of the Royal Randwick fixture as Generosity swooped late to pip Marhoona in a dramatic Group 2 $500,000 Challenge Stakes (1000m) on Saturday.
From gate to post, the weight-for-age feature was full of thrills, highlighted by short-priced Raging Force suffering issues at the start and retired by jockey Tommy Berry shy of the corner.
Concurrently, veteran Mazu surprised with sharp early foot, dictating terms ahead of Marhoona and Generosity, as Giga Kick, the 2022 The Everest hero, dropped back early.
The turning point came courtesy of McDonald’s skill, detaching from Marhoona’s slipstream late to outlast the previous Golden Slipper winner by the barest margin.
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McDonald said all three placegetters “fought it out really well”.
“Take nothing away from the second horse (Marhoona), I didn’t think I was going to get there, she’s a very good filly in her own right,” McDonald said.
“Generosity looked great in the parade ring and although I wasn’t intending to be there early, she jumped so well.
“Then she presented like the winner and jogged up to them. She’s a bonny little mare.
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“Chris (Waller, trainer) was pretty confident before the race and you always get so much confidence when you get legged onto his horses because they’re primed and ready to go.
“She’s Group 2 placed (3rd in The Shorts) from memory but The Galaxy down in the weights is the perfect race for her.”
Generosity ($10) nosed out Marhoona ($9.50) by a short half head in the nailbiter, with Mazu ($8.50) a mere head adrift in third.
Her time for the 1000m stood at a swift 56.63s, underpinned by a scorching 32.59s closing 600m that sealed the deal against those positioned rearward.
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Giga Kick ($3.20) produced a late surge to fill fourth, beaten by 1.5 lengths.
These three contenders are likely to cross paths again in the Group 1 $1 million The Galaxy (1100m) at Rosehill Gardens on March 21, while Giga Kick eyes the Group 1 $3 million TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) at Royal Randwick on April 4.
Preceding victories for McDonald came via Pinito (Group 3 Aspiration Quality), Beadman (Listed Fireball Stakes) and Chayan (Group 2 Reisling Stakes), rounding out his quartet.
An atypical move from trainer Chris Waller involved three trials to peak Generosity for the Challenge Stakes.
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“Generosity needed to be fit and fresh to win this race,” Waller said.
“I didn’t lose faith in this mare, she’s got very good form in Perth and she’s a talented mare
“She was ready to go a month ago and then we thought, where are we going to run her?
“We know she is good fresh and we couldn’t find the right race so we put her on the treadmill for a week.
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“Then we gave her a third trial as she had to be very fit and fresh for this race. She is a lovely horse to worth with, she is mentally mature now.
“So, we will go to The Galaxy on our home track at Rosehill now and could even look at the Sangster Stakes in Adelaide.”
Discover top racing odds on the Challenge Stakes follow-up across leading betting sites.
Conor Benn is set to make his Zuffa Boxing debut against Regis Prograis next month and now Josh Taylor, who famously defeated the latter, has weighed in on the contest.
Taylor trumped Prograis by majority decision when the then-undefeated duo collided in a super-lightweight world title unification at the O2 Arena back in 2019, on route to Taylor’s fabled undisputed title win.
Over six years later, the best of ‘Rougarou’ seems to be behind us, with the two-time super-lightweight ruler underwhelming in each of his last four bouts; against Danielito Zorrilla, Devin Haney, Jack Catterall and JoJo Diaz – of which he won two and lost two.
In an interview with Boxing King Media, Taylor admitted that he considers the fight a ‘bizarre’ one, believing that Prograis ‘is not the same’ fighter that he once was.
“I think that it is a bit of a strange move. Conor moved away from Matchroom because he wants to go and have massive fights and world titles and all of that.
“Then, he goes and fights Regis Prograis who, with all due respect, I think has been finished for a long time. His last couple of performances haven’t been great at all.
“Having said that, he is still a great fighter, still a world level fighter, but he is not the same Prograis that he was before.
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“I think that it is a bizarre move but at the same time, fair play to both lads, they are getting money and they are getting paid very handsomely for it.”
Although, Taylor maintained that the New Orleans operator has a chance of overcoming Benn if he can roll back the years, believing the underdog to be the better technical boxer of the two.
“To a certain extent, yes, [I do give Regis Prograis a chance]. I think that he might make it a little bit awkward and he might box, because Conor Benn is not the best of boxers, he is not a great boxer. He is aggressive, he is tough and he is strong, but he is not the best of boxers.
“I think that Regis is the better boxer but he is a 140lber, he is a little bit small height-wise as well and he is way past his best. Conor should win, but he will give him problems.”
Benn-Prograis is the co-main event of the Fury-Makhmudov bill at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, April 11, with the whole card being available to watch live on Netflix.
Dana White has a unique insight into the Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao rematch announced for September this year.
The two boxing icons face off 11 years on from their first encounter, which Mayweather won via unanimous decision, both now within touching distance of 50.
Speaking at the post-fight press conference for Zuffa Boxing 04, which saw Jai Opetaia beat Brandon Glanton for the promotion’s inaugural cruiserweight title, White was asked if he had any advice for an event at The Sphere.
“Who’s promoting? S**t. Wonder who’s paying for production. They’re in for a big surprise. It is incredibly expensive. Interesting. They better call somebody.”
Mayweather-Pacquiao 2 will be helmed by Manny Pacquiao Promotions and has significant backing from Netflix.
White staged UFC 306, headlined by Merab Dvalishvili’s victory over Sean O’Malley for the bantamweight world title, in September 2024 at the futuristic venue. The event, branded ‘Noche UFC’ to coincide with Mexican Independence Day weekend, was the first live sporting show held there and produced a record gate for the promotion.
“When you see what we did at the Sphere it’s just like, I don’t know if that will ever be done again. We spent over $20 million on it and it was a one of one and it was a f***ing amazing night. If my production team doesn’t win every f***ing award that exists in production, all the awards are full of s**t.
With his TV debut at Bay Hill now in the rearview, Furyk seems to have made it through with largely positive reviews. At the very least, he didn’t seem to draw anyone’s ire.
You might not be able to say the same about comments Furyk made before the Arnold Palmer Invitational coverage got underway.
Furyk calls to reduce sizes of driver heads for pro golfers
While Golf Channel’s announcement that Furyk would temporarily join their TV team this year came as a surprise, his credentials speak for themselves.
He’s a major champion, having won the 2003 U.S. Open at Olympia Fields in Illinois. While collecting 17 PGA Tour wins during his career, he also played on several U.S. Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup teams.
He went on to be a losing American Ryder Cup captain (2018) and winning Presidents Cup captain (2024). Furyk also served as one of Keegan Bradley’s vice captains at the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, won by the Europeans.
But during his appearance on the “Straight Facts Homie” podcast, the hot topic of the day was controversial rules that Furyk would like to see abandoned.
However, the first rule Furyk said he would change if he had the power was neither of those. Instead, he argued for a major gear rule change: reducing the size of driver heads for the pros on the PGA Tour.
“I’ll tell you what I would do. I’m not going to be very popular for this, but I would reduce the size of the driver head,” Furyk said in his “Straight Facts Homie” interview.
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He used the performance characteristics of his own mini driver as an example of how the rule change would impact Tour players’ games.
“I’ll tell you, I play a mini driver in my bag for my 3-wood. And when I hit that mini good, it goes darn near just as far as my driver. It’s less than 10 yards difference,” Furyk explained. “But if I mishit it, if I hit it a little thin, I hit a little on the toe, I hit a little on the heel, I lose a bunch of yardage.”
He continued by arguing that young pros playing large modern drivers are able to swing all out with every tee shot. With a smaller driver head like Furyk’s mini driver, they’d have to dial it back for accuracy’s sake. In other words, the less forgiving drivers would force pros to swing easier, thereby reducing the distance of their drives.
“I think you’ve got these young guys that are rearing back and swinging 110 per cent at it, and you can kind of cover areas on the face and get a lot of forgiveness and a lot of distance. I just think it would show an extra skill set,” Furyk said. “They’re extremely talented, don’t get me wrong, but I think it would also limit guys swinging 110 per cent at it all the time. They’d have to kind of pick and choose their spots and maybe golf courses wouldn’t have to quite be as long.”
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1 key difference between Furyk’s driver rule and golf ball rollback
However, Furyk also clarified one way he would make his new driver rule different than a another gear rule change that the USGA and R&A have planned.
In 2023, golf’s governing bodies announced what is known as the “golf ball rollback.” It’s a new rule putting manufacturing limits on how far golf balls can fly. The goal is to reduce average drives by 15 yards. But this rule is not just for pros. The rule change will apply to all golfers.
Initially, the golf ball rollback was planned to be introduced to pro golfers in 2028 and then recreational golfers in 2030. Though recently the USGA and R&A reportedly told ball manufacturers they were considering changing the timeline so that all golfers, pros and Average Joes alike, would start playing the new balls in 2030.
Furyk, on the other hand, argued that his proposed driver head rule should only apply to the “golf professional,” not amateurs.
“Maybe not necessarily for the average golfer, but I would do that for the golf professional. Because you can hit it all over the face right now and it’s pretty forgiving. You don’t lose a lot of distance,” Furyk said.
Ultimately, the golf ball rollback is designed to fix one problem with modern golf. Because of equipment innovation (and an increase in fitness and athleticism), players are hitting it much longer than in the past, especially in the pro ranks. This has forced numerous historic golf courses to be lengthened (and then lengthened again).
Furyk sees his driver rule as a way to combat that problem, too.
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“They’d have to kind of pick and choose their spots and maybe golf courses wouldn’t have to quite be as long,” Furyk said.
Furyk will be back in booth for Golf Channel at the 2026 Players Championship when the opening round gets underway on Thursday.
You can hear Furyk’s full comments on his proposed drive rule change on the “Straight Facts Homie” podcast here.
The Oklahoma City Thunder will host the Denver Nuggets on Monday. This will be the third matchup of the season between the two squads. OKC has won the first two contests. Last time, it survived a drama-filled overtime game on Feb. 27.
The Thunder (50-15) have won five in a row. They scraped by the Golden State Warriors in a 104-97 win on Saturday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 27 points and five assists.
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Meanwhile, the Nuggets (39-25) were embarrassed in a 142-103 loss to the New York Knicks on Friday. Nikola Jokic had an efficient 38 points and eight rebounds, but it just didn’t matter.
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The Thunder will be without an All-NBA player and others. Jalen Williams (hamstring strain) is out. Chet Holmgren (flu) is questionable. Isaiah Hartenstein (calf contusion) is out. Alex Caruso (hip contusion) is questionable. Branden Carlson (back strain) is out. Thomas Sorber (torn ACL) is out.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets could be without an All-Star player. Jamal Murray (ankle sprain) is questionable. Peyton Watson (hamstring strain) is out. DaRon Holmes II (G League assignment) is out. KJ Simpson (G League two-way) is out. Curtis Jones (G League two-way) is out.
Tipoff from Oklahoma City is set for 6:30 p.m. CT.
Roberto De Zerbi has admirers at Manchester United after his impressive work at Brighton and Marseille but his appointment would come with a number of red flags
His stock is relatively high after his time at Brighton & Hove Albion between 2022 and 2024. He succeeded Graham Potter and led the Seagulls to Europe for the first time in their history.
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De Zerbi left Brighton at the end of the 2023/24 season after publicising his displeasure at the recruitment strategy at the AMEX Stadium. After spending a year-and-a-half at Marseille, leading them to a second-place finish in his debut season, De Zerbi left this year.
According to The Telegraph, the 46-year-old is keen on the job at United. He has previously been of interest at Old Trafford, but this summer appears to be the most likely time for him to become the new man in the dugout.
De Zerbi’s front-foot style of football makes him highly-attractable for most clubs, with him precise on his teams dominating the ball. At Brighton, De Zerbi’s team averaged possession of 60.8% in the 2022/23 season and 59.8% the following campaign. Marseille averaged 63.3% in his first season in France.
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However, there are doubts over him that can’t be ignored by United this summer. The most recent example being his consistent heavy losses against better teams, with Marseille losing 5-0 to Paris Saint-Germain in his final game, 3-0 to Club Brugge and 3-0 to Liverpool.
In the Champions League this season, they also lost to Atalanta and Sporting. During his Brighton days, De Zerbi suffered heavy defeats to Manchester City, Arsenal, AS Roma, Luton Town, Aston Villa and Everton.
In his last season at Brighton, the club sold big players like Moises Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister and Robert Sanchez. In came Bart Verbruggen, Joao Pedro and Carlos Baleba, with Mahmoud Dahoud arriving for free and Ansu Fati coming in on loan.
De Zerbi admitted his frustration at not being financially backed to the level he believed he deserved after finishing sixth in the Premier League and qualifying for the Europa League. “That year after finishing sixth, the squad should have been strengthened as they did the year I left,” he said, after the club spent nearly £200m in Fabian Hurzeler’s first window.
“We reached a point where after qualifying for the Europa League, I didn’t understand what the next step forward was,” he added. “And you can offer to double my salary, but if I can’t see a dream or goal to achieve, I can’t give my all as I would like. I would lose motivation and a purpose I always had in football.”
There is also De Zerbi’s track record at clubs. His three-season stint at Italian side Sassuolo is the longest he’s been at a club since he came into management in 2013. He lasted 85 days at Palermo, less than a year at Benevento 30 days at Shakhtar Donetsk.
After Michael Carrick came in as an interim head coach until the end of the season, United are expected to want to bring a new man in to overstay their turnaround for years to come. In an ideal world, they won’t be searching for a new manager after two or three years.
If attacking, dominant football is what United want to maintain at Old Trafford with their next appointment, De Zerbi will be among the top contenders. There are just some warning signs they must consider before the appointment.
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Many fans have expressed disappointment in the card, after promises that it would be the greatest in UFC history. Some fans craved a match-up between pound-for-pound No 1 Makhachev and No 2 Topuria, for example, as well as a dream fight between Pereira and all-time great Jon Jones.
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Over the weekend, Marca journalist Irati Prat actually reported that Makhachev vs Topuria had been planned for the White House event. The report followed comments by White earlier in the week, when the UFC president said a fight had fallen through at the 11th hour.
But at the UFC 326 post-fight press conference on Saturday, White denied that Makhachev vs Topuria was the bout that collapsed. The American, 56, even denied that the contest was ever planned.
“That’s not true [that Makhachev was going to fight Topuria],” said White. “It was never Islam vs Topuria. Don’t worry about what fights are being made; we announce which ones are made and which ones will be happening.
“I told you there were some weird circumstances [as] the reason that fight fell out […] All the boys went back to the office and literally were there ‘til 9 in the morning, and that’s how Gaethje ended up on the card. And Topuria wasn’t originally supposed to be on the card either, so he got the call, too.
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Ilia Topuria is the reigning UFC lightweight champion, and a former featherweight champion (Getty Images)
Justin Gaethje (left) almost finished Paddy Pimblett multiple times in their interim-title fight (Getty)
“I don’t know [when Makhachev will return]; he’s got some hand issues, I know that. I don’t know how serious the hand issues are or how long that will keep him out, but yeah, he’s injured.”
That same evening, Gaethje had claimed: “Two days ago, I got a call and they said, ‘You’re definitely not fighting on the White House card, so I was like: ‘Oof.’ And then yesterday, I got a call and they said: ‘You might hear something, you might be on the White House card.’ I was like, ‘How are you gonna do a complete 180 turn on me?’, and then today, I found out that I was on it. I didn’t know if I was main event or not.”
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At the UFC 326 post-fight press conference, White did say: “That is true [that Gaethje was brought in on late notice].”
Topuria has long called for a showdown with Makhachev, but so far the dream fight has eluded him.
Islam Makhachev (top) with coach and friend Khabib Nurmagomedov, a UFC icon (AP)
Topuria vacated the featherweight title last February to move up and challenge for the lightweight belt, which Makhachev held at the time. However, the Russian gave up the lightweight strap last May and set his sights on welterweight gold.
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In June, Topuria knocked out Charles Oliveira to win the vacant lightweight title. Then, in November, Makhachev dominated Jack Della Maddalena to claim the welterweight belt.
With Topuria subsequently taking a break from MMA due to personal reasons, the UFC booked an interim-title fight between Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett. The American dominated the Liverpudlian for a points win in January.
 "Max Verstappen to race in 24-hour race in Germany")
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