MMA
Joanderson Brito believes UFC is helping Diego Lopes with favorable matchups
Joanderson Brito was the first man to defeat Diego Lopes inside the octagon, when both clashed for a UFC contract at Dana White’s Contender Series in August 2021. Since then, Brito watched Lopes skyrocket to the top of the featherweight division with what he sees as the benefit of a promotional push.
Brito defeated Lopes via technical decision – 29-28 on all scorecards – after an unintentional eye poke left Lopes unable to continue in the final round. Brito was awarded a UFC deal and later lost his debut against Bill Algeo, but he has rebounded with five straight UFC finishes, including wins over Andre Fili and Jack Shore. Lopes went 2-1 on the regional circuit to finally earn a shot in the UFC, stepping in on less than a week’s notice to fight Movsar Evloev at UFC 288.
Although Brito thinks Lopes “is very tough,” he doesn’t see his fellow Brazilian beating 145-pound champion Ilia Topuria.
“The way the UFC is booking him, it’s possible that he fights for the title,” Brito said in an interview with MMA Fighting, “But if you really put him against [Max] Holloway, Arnold Allen or even Movsar Evloev, it will make his run difficult. But the UFC doesn’t want that for him. It’s all about wanting or not, right?”
Lopes has won five in a row since losing to Evloev, going 3-0 alone this year against Sodiq Yusuff, Dan Ige, and Brian Ortega. Brito reenters the cage Saturday to face William Gomis on the main card portion of UFC Paris.
“Even if I win, and I will win before the end of the second round, I honestly don’t think they’ll do this [Lopes rematch],” Brito said. “Everybody knows what will happen [at UFC Paris]. I know, you know. Even Gomis knows. When it happens, [Gomis] will realize he wasn’t ready for this. But even then, even after I win another one, UFC won’t give me Diego. I’ve seen that happen many times before in the UFC, but sooner or later, this fight will happen if he stays on top. If he continues winning, this fight will happen, because I know I’ll get there. It’s a matter of time.”
Brito said he would beat the undefeated Topuria “at any moment,” but doesn’t feel Lopes can do the same. “Tubarão,” however, doesn’t expect Topuria to be holding UFC gold after he faces Holloway next month at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi.
“I think Holloway is the toughest featherweight today because of his chin,” Brito said. “He can get hit. Other than him, I see Movsar Evloev as a tough guy because he doesn’t fight, he just hangs in there to win by points. Other than him, I see no one else.”
Brito called out Dan Ige multiple times in the past and was finally paired up against him earlier this year before withdrawing from the match with a leg injury. He also targeted Brian Ortega following his UFC 301 victory over Shore in May. With Lopes defeating both featherweights in June and September, Brito has moved on from those callouts.
“If you lose to Lopes, it makes no sense to me anymore,” Brito said. “I plan on asking for Yair Rodriguez. I don’t know how the UFC sees this fight, but that’s one I’d like to do. He’s been in the top 5 for a long time and this fight makes a lot of sense right now. It would be very good for me.”
“Many people say I should fight someone ranked [instead of Gomis], that I should have done this or that, but in the end, the most important of all is money in the bank,” he continued. “It’s not my fault. I’m calling out ranked fighters for a long time. I let my fights do the talking. I’ve won five in a row, all by finish, but the UFC isn’t giving me the opportunity. I don’t know what else I’ve got to do, but I don’t lose sleep over this. I just need to fight, and I hope I can fight one more before the end of the year. It’s all about timing. Some guys just got here and have all the hype, but honestly, I don’t care about any of that. I just need to fight.”
Griffith’s journey towards becoming a referee started in September, on a three-year programme designed to give former players the chance to have a crack at the job often described as the ‘hardest in football’.
After a brief flirtation with refereeing 10 years ago, when the idea of getting players into officiating was first tried, Griffith said it was an experience that stuck with him.
“I had a go at it in 2014 and I really enjoyed it,” he added. “Staying connected to the game and controlling the whole match – it was great.
“At the time there was no pathway, so I’m pleased that there’s an opportunity for ex-players because the game is calling out for that niche.”
While Griffith’s love for a tackle may have put him in front of a referee a fair bit, he says the way he tried to speak to them is something he is using on the new course.
“I think the way you communicate with players is key,” he said.
“Referees are human and will make mistakes but there is that communication aspect where you can talk to a player if you’ve got it wrong.
“I tried to communicate with the referee – it makes a little bit of a difference when you’ve got the armband because you can communicate a bit more and you’re also in the pre-match talk so you get that feel.”
Griffith knows that “shouting, screaming and balling” at referees “doesn’t do you any favours” adding: “Yes, there may have been a lot of yellow cards [in my career] but there was never any disrespect towards the referee”.
At the UFC 307 official weigh-ins, all 24 fighters on Saturday’s UFC fight card step on the scale Friday evening in Salt Lake City. Watch MMA Fighting’s live stream of the official weigh-ins above.
UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and Khalil Rountree Jr. meet in the main event and can weigh no more than 205 pounds, the maximum limit for a light heavyweight championship bout.
The UFC 307 official weigh-in video begins at 11 a.m. ET, and the video is above.
The UFC 307 ceremonial weigh-ins will be at 6 p.m. ET.
Check out UFC 307 weigh-in results below.
Main Card (ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET)
Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.
Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Peña
Ketlen Vieira vs. Kayla Harrison
Roman Dolidze vs. Kevin Holland
Preliminary Card (ESPNEWS/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET)
Stephen Thompson vs. Joaquin Buckley
Marina Rodriguez vs. Iasmin Lucindo
Cesar Almeida vs. Ihor Potieria
Austin Hubbard vs. Alexander Hernandez
Early Prelims (ESPN+ at 6:30 p.m. ET)
Ryan Spann vs. Ovince Saint Preux
Carla Esparza vs. Tecia Pennington
Court McGee vs. Tim Means
Preston North End striker Milutin Osmajic has been banned for eight games by the Football Association for biting Blackburn’s Owen Beck.
The 25-year-old Montenegro international, who admitted the charge of violent conduct, has also been fined £15,000.
The incident followed Beck’s sending off in the closing stages of September’s goalless Lancashire derby for kicking out at Preston’s Duane Holmes.
Osmajic will now be unavailable for selection until Preston’s home Championship game against Derby on Saturday, 23 November.
Football
Premiership picks: Hearts aim to end Aberdeen run, Hale in form and Simo Valakari watches on
Simo Valakari is a familiar name to Scottish football fans of a certain generation following his playing spell with Motherwell in the late 1990s.
On Sunday evening, he will watch on as his St Johnstone side face Rangers at Ibrox, with Andy Kirk and Alex Cleland continuing in the dugout. Valakari will take proper charge after the international break, but any changes he makes after Sunday could be telling.
Saints sustained a heavy 6-0 loss at home to Celtic last weekend and are bidding to end a run of six defeats in a row to Rangers in all competitions.
However, the player who scored the winner in their most recent victory in the fixture, Nicky Clark, is still going strong in Perth and the former Rangers forward’s experience could be crucial as Saints seek to capitalise on any post-Europa League hangover at Ibrox.
Rangers were humbled 4-1 at home by Lyon on Thursday and could be eight points off the pace in the Premiership by the time Sunday’s game kicks off at 20:00.
“I don’t know how they got in,” laughs Keinan Davis.
The striker had scored the most important goal of his career and returned to his apartment to find ‘thank you’ posters and stickers from Udinese fans across his front door.
Davis’ first goal in Italy was also the one that kept Udinese in Serie A on the final day of last season, the substitute netting a 76th-minute winner at Frosinone that relegated the hosts and lifted his own club to 15th and safety.
“That was probably the best feeling I’ve ever had in football,” adds the Englishman, who missed most of his debut season in Italy because of a calf injury.
“In football, you get your respect on the field with your team-mates and not being able to do it was a bit difficult. But it was all worth it to score that goal – 100%.”
From almost dropping out of the division in May, Udinese are now eighth, just three points off top spot, a position they occupied before defeats by Roma and Inter Milan.
Davis, largely from the bench, has already made more appearances this term than in his injury-hit first season, and has benefitted from the arrival of English-speaking head coach Kosta Runjaic.
The striker’s route to Udine, in north east Italy, has been unconventional.
Davis grew up in Stevenage but was let go by the League One club and was playing under-18s football at seventh-tier Biggleswade Town when he was scouted and signed by Aston Villa, going on to make more than 70 appearances in the Championship and Premier League before loan spells at Nottingham Forest and Watford.
In September 2023 Davis joined Udinese for an undisclosed fee.
“I was a bit scared to leave England because that’s obviously all I knew,” explains the 26-year-old. “When you get older different situations arise, like this one. It opened my mind to playing in a different country, learning a different language.”
He watched former Villa team-mate Tammy Abraham succeed at Roma, and now AC Milan, and brings a physicality to Serie A which can be rare.
“The tactical side of it is slower than English football,” says Davis. “I am physical and there are not really too many of those types of player.
“You see [Romelu] Lukaku and people with physical attributes do well. In England everybody is physical and everybody is fast.”
Joining Udinese has also presented Davis with the opportunity to link up and learn from one of his heroes.
Iona Ballantyne, Kevin Thomson and Ryan McGowan discuss the big Scottish football news
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