Dricus du Plessis may not get his wish after all.

Du Plessis is the UFC’s first South African champion and even before he won the middleweight title, “Stillknocks” talked about bringing a UFC event to the continent. The talk only ramped up after claiming the title from Sean Strickland at UFC 297.

Everything reached a peak when ahead of du Plessis’s title defense against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305, UFC CEO Dana White promised that if the champion retained his title, the promotion would bring an event to South Africa next. Well, du Plessis did his job, submitting Adesanya in the fourth round of their fight, but he may not get what was promised.

“You know how bad I want this,” White told reporters after the most recent episode of Contender Series. “I’ve been trying to get this thing done. The arena situation there is tough. It’s tough to pull off. So that’s been the challenge with Africa as a whole. We’re trying to figure it out.

“The place that we would have to do it at is outdoors, and you know how I feel about that. So I’ve been trying to figure out the weather and one of the big things that I’ve been hearing out there is that wind is a big problem. We’ve done it a couple times, but anything that could affect the outcome of the fight makes me not even want to try. And it’s anything, from wind, rain, bugs, too much humidity. A lot of things can interfere with the fight.”

White has flirted with the idea of a UFC Africa card for years, dating back to the “Three African Kings” era when Adesanya, Francis Ngannou and Kamaru Usman all held UFC titles. The event never came to fruition though and now du Plessis is the promotion’s only African champion.

But while the future of UFC Africa remains in question for now, there’s one thing that is certain: du Plessis’s next opponent.

Despite a surge of new contenders in the middleweight division, and an upcoming bout between former champion Robert Whittaker and the highly popular Khamzat Chimaev set to take place at UFC 308, White confirmed that Strickland is next up for du Plessis, wherever the fight ends up happening.

“Yes, [Strickland is still next],” White said.

Du Plessis and Strickland fought for the middleweight title back at UFC 297 in January, with the South African winning a close split decision to take the belt. Since then, Strickland won a split decision over Paulo Costa to maintain his spot atop the middleweight rankings.

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS was branded a “cry baby” for refusing to play and then telling the umpire: “I hope you get fired.”

Tsitsipas, 26, faced old nemesis Daniil Medvedev in the last 16 at the Shanghai Masters.

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But after they put their differences aside to pose for a pre-match photo – prompting audible gasps from the crowd – the Greek star lost his rag with a spectacular meltdown.

Tsitsipas dropped the first set on a tie-break and was serving with a break early in the second when his frustrations boiled over.

Chair umpire Fergus Murphy called Tsitsipas up for a time violation because the 25-second shot clock expired and docked the two-time Grand Slam finalist of his first serve.

But the player was furious and stormed towards Murphy to remonstrate and make his feelings clear.

Tsitsipas said: “I’m being so reasonable. Why are you doing this to me man?

“I’m the best about this on tour, the most consistent player about this on tour.”

Murphy replied: “The clock starts automatically, just listen. It might help if you listen.

“The clock starts automatically so you really have to watch the clock. I have no control over that.”

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But Tsitsipas hit back: “Why are you guys against me so much? The last few months have been terrible. I don’t understand what’s gotten into you.”

Murphy refuted the accusations: “That’s not a correct statement. I’m not against you or anybody.”

Tsitsipas asked: “Are you sure? There are some out there who are much worse than me.”

Murphy then added: “Well maybe if you watch more matches, I’m sure they get time violations.

“The best thing to do is talk about this match. On that serve you were too slow.

“You need to watch the clock. You have to keep watching the clock and keep up.”

Tsitsipas reluctantly returned to the baseline for his second serve – which he missed to double fault.

He then dropped his serve as Medvedev levelled the set at 2-2.

But before the Russian could begin the next game, Tsitsipas unleashed another petulant protest – walking back to his chair and sitting down to demand the supervisor.

Tsitsipas moaned: “I need to talk to them, we need to have a conversation about the time.

“My issue is the double fault you just took away from me. That’s the issue. Have you never played tennis in your life? You have no clue about tennis it seems like.”

Murphy said: “I have. I’m not as good as you are, but I’ve played.”

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Tsitsipas then bizarrely ranted: “Definitely you have no cardio. You probably serve and volley all the time.

“Tennis is a physical sport. We need time over there. Show some compassion. We aren’t throwing darts out here.

“If it’s going to be unfair, I need the supervisor, I need to clarify the time violation you just gave me.

“Can I talk to him? You seem like you have no idea what you’re doing so I need to talk to him.

“If you’re going to gift a game like this to my opponent, I need the supervisor. If you’re going to gift a serve to my opponent.”

Murphy insisted he was following the rules correctly and the crowd started booing when Tsitsipas continued to refuse to play.

When the supervisor eventually came on, he stood by Murphy but the world No12 vented: “Let’s discuss, let’s talk. Well, your guy here decided to give me a time violation for something completely unreasonable after having to play so many rallies.

“He probably never felt how it is being out here in 40 degrees playing tennis.

“And he decided to give me a time violation before a big point which has happened with one of your Spanish guys previously in Cincinnati.

“Also another I don’t know, random guy that you decided to put on the chair out there. How can he do that? How can he do that at such a crucial moment?”

The supervisor simply responded: “Since Roland Garros you know that we’ve had a change in the procedures and the clock starts automatically.”

Tsitsipas finally trudged back to the back of the court to return serve.

He was then broken again at 4-3 before Medvedev served out for a 7-6 6-3 victory – setting up a quarter-final clash with world No1 Jannik Sinner.

Tsitsipas did shake hands with Murphy at the end of the match but as he was heading off court, he muttered a final jab: “I hope you get fired. I really wish it.”

Tennis fans piled in on Tsitsipas for his pathetic behaviour towards the officials.

One said: “Tsitsipas is 100 per cent wrong. He is a cry baby.”

Another wrote: “Biggest cry baby on tour.”

A third added: “You can’t make this up. Says the umpire should be fired and also says he needs to shown compassion. He needs to grow up, fast.”

And a final user commented: “Pathetic stuff from Tsitsipas.”

Tsitsipas – whose girlfriend Paula Badosa sparked a racism storm on social media this week – is not the only player to feel hard done by during the Shanghai Masters.

Stan Wawrinka was on the wrong end of an almighty blunder where Carlos Bernades lost track of the score.

And Frances Tiafoe lost his temper, swearing “f*** you” at the umpire five times after losing a first serve for a time violation, just like Tsitsipas.

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Wimbledon ditching line judges a double fault for British tennis

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By Joshua Jones

THE absence of line judges at Wimbledon will be a sad sight. 

For as long as I can remember, the men and women decked out in their Ralph Lauren outfits have been part of the furniture at the All England Club. 

Yes, they provided some mild entertainment on the court when one would call “fault” with plenty of extra, and unnecessary, gusto and volume that boomed around Centre Court, prompting a snigger from the fans.

Then there was the ongoing game of dodgeball they had to play when a big serve nailed a mammoth ace down the line and they had to take rapid evasive action or take a whack to the top of the head. 

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And challenges provided some audience participation, excitedly joining in the clapping countdown before the inevitable “oooh” when the graphic showed just how close the ball was to landing in or out. 

Purely objectively, Wimbledon’s decision to replace line judges with Hawk-Eye Live makes total sense. 

The accuracy and consistency of calls in real-time will speed things up, save time and should mark the end of arguments over the tight incorrect calls – well, until the technology malfunctions.

And Wimbledon’s hand was somewhat forced to ditch tradition for their standing in tennis.

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The Australian Open and US Open already use electronic line calling and the ATP Tour is adopting Hawk-Eye Live across all of its tournaments from 2025.

Wimbledon’s refusal to comply would leave them lagging behind and exposed to the threat of needless controversy over human error.

But the impact – as is so often the case in these decisions – has ramifications further down, below the surface with very little impact on Wimbledon’s Championships or the players.

It is on the line judges themselves. 

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Approximately 300 officials – aged from 18 to 80 – covered more than 650 matches at Wimbledon.

A fraction travel internationally with the circuit but the vast majority of those are part-time line judges based in the UK, earning up to £180 per day to work at the prestigious tournament and their chance to play their part at Wimbledon. 

For many, they will help out at British tournaments throughout the year, spurred on by the possibility of taking to the lawns of the All England Club.

But it is understood many of those officials would be reluctant to work at the lower-level tournaments without the carrot of Wimbledon dangling in the summer. 

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That in turn will put a major stumbling block in the pathway for British tennis umpires, who grind up through the ranks to reach the pinnacle of the sport.

Like football with referees, tennis needs umpires and line judges.

So the inability to call “out” at Wimbledon could prove to be a major “fault” for the future of the UK’s tennis officials and therefore the state of the sport on these shores.

Guardiola, 53, and Begiristain, 60, have a long association, having played alongside each other for Barcelona and Spain.

Begiristain became director of football at Barcelona in 2003 and was influential in Guardiola being named the Spanish giants’ manager in 2008.

“When nobody else would take a risk on me, when maybe three per cent of the people at Barca believed in me, he was the one who insisted on my appointment to the first team,” Guardiola said previously., external

“None of this would have been possible without him.”

It is why Begiristain’s exit could be seen as the start of the break-up of the Catalan inspired success at City, which includes chief executive Ferran Soriano, who also used to work at Barcelona.

Begiristain left Barcelona in 2010 and took up the director of football role at Manchester City two years later, before being reunited with Guardiola in 2016.

Speaking in 2021 about Begiristain, Guardiola said of their relationship: “He is the most humble person I ever met. He never goes to the media. Always, the success is for the other ones. He is always behind the scenes.

“You don’t find these type of people in this world because their egos are always so high – and I put myself as an example [of that].

“He always gives the credit to the players, to the manager, for the chairman, and the chief executive.

“That’s why it’s a pleasure working with him because I can do my job completely free, accepting the good moments and the bad moments and sharing together.

“In the bad moments we are closer than ever and in good moments we celebrate together with a glass of wine.”

Conor McGregor is gearing up for a 2025 return to the UFC.

It’s been more three years since McGregor competed when he broke his leg in an injury TKO loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021. McGregor was scheduled to return against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 this past June, but he pulled out due to a broken pinky toe. McGregor has fought while injured before, but after such a long layoff, he wanted to be 100 percent healthy.

Having waited for almost two years to fight McGregor, Chandler finally decided to move on and will run things back with Charles Oliveira in the UFC 309 co-main event Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden. McGregor still hopes to face Chandler but said several names are currently in talks to fight him.

McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) didn’t name any fighters specifically but said a trilogy with Nate Diaz and a fourth fight with Poirier still interest him.

“We’re looking for the date,” McGregor told The Schmo. “I’d like to square it away with Michael Chandler. You know, I’d like to get Chandler in. We’ve had our beef. It’s not settled. He has a match scheduled. I would like to fight before he’s recovered. There’s a few names in the line at the minute. There’s a few names being discussed.”

Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) also hasn’t fully moved on from fighting McGregor. He recently told MMA Junkie Radio that “Conor McGregor is not my next opponent, but I am Conor McGregor’s next opponent.”

Whether or not things play out that way remains to be seen.

Novak Djokovic moved a step closer to a landmark 100th ATP title with another dominant performance at the Shanghai Masters.

The Serb, 37, reached the quarter-finals with a 6-3 6-1 victory over Russia’s Roman Safiullin.

Djokovic, who won his 99th title with Olympic gold in August, will face Czech teenager Jakub Mensik in the quarter-finals.

The 24-time major champion is aiming to become only the third man – after Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) – to clock up a century of tournament victories.

Asked how he rated his performance against Safiullin out of 10, he said: “Very close to 10. The [past two matches] are some of the best matches I’ve played in a while.”

Making his first return to Shanghai since 2019, Djokovic acknowledged the prospect of winning a landmark title is giving him “extra motivation” in the ATP 1,000 event.

Djokovic, a record four-time champion, has won more matches at the event than any other player.

With a host of other top-10 players remaining in the draw, including Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev, tougher tests undoubtedly lie ahead.

But, in his first ATP tournament since a shock third-round exit at the US Open five weeks ago, fourth seed Djokovic has looked sharp.

Causing problems for opponents by serving precisely and overwhelming them in the baseline exchanges, he has not dropped a set against American youngster Alex Michelson, Italian world number 30 Flavio Cobolli and now Safiullin.

“I’m enjoying myself on the court and when you play well you are feeling good, there is a lot of joy in striking a tennis ball,” added Djokovic.

“These matches and sensations are the reasons why I still play.

“I believe I can play at a high level and its about keeping that consistency.”

A REMATCH between Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua could be pushed back after the IBF ordered a heavyweight eliminator.

Dubois defended his IBF heavyweight title with a devastating knock-out of Joshua last month.

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He dominated the fight after landing a huge blow on AJ in the first round, knocking the former champion to the canvas.

Joshua was comprehensively beaten but he aims to return to the ring and he has the option of a rematch.

But that clash could be pushed back after the IBF ordered a fight between Agit Kabayel and Martin Bakole to decide who will become the heavyweight challenger to Dubois.

The fighters have been told to make their availability known in the coming days, and there is even a chance the bout could take place before the end of the year.

However it is more likely the fight will happen in 2025, meaning Dubois vs Joshua 2 may have to wait until spring or summer.

Alternatively, the IBF could decide to sanction a rematch before ordering Dubois to face his mandatory challenger.

Dubois, 27, was previously the IBF challenger before taking the belt after Oleksandr Usyk vacated in June.

He then defended it for the first time against Joshua, with some suggesting AJ ought to hang up his gloves after the loss.

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However the Brit, 34, said he will continue to fight as long there is an appetite amongst his fans, while promoter Eddie Hearn hinted at a decision being made soon.

Hearn said: “If it was up to AJ, straight rematch.

“But he will take the advice of me and 258 [Management] and Ben Davison and everybody and then he will make the decision.

“But it will be a decision that probably comes in the next couple of weeks.”