Carlos Ulberg thinks his chance to challenge UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira could come sooner than expected.

Ulberg (10-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) takes on former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir (20-7 MMA, 8-6 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 248 Nov. 23 from Galaxy Arena in Macau, China.

Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) is fresh off his third light heavyweight title defense – a brutal fourth-round finish of Khalil Rountree in the UFC 307 headliner. A former kickboxer himself, Ulberg wasn’t surprised to see Rountree pose problems for Pereira.

“I had my money on Rountree,” Ulberg told Sky Sport New Zealand. “I thought Rountree would do well, given he’s quite explosive and it’ll give a different look to Alex Pereira. But as the rounds went on, I think Pereira came back and he stuck to his game plan, which was to tire him out and make use of the explosive power Rountree was using and over-using.”

Watching No. 8 ranked Rountree get a title shot, Ulberg won’t rule out the possibility of getting his chance with a win over Oezdemir.

“I’ve been studying Alex for a while now. He’s at the top and he’s the prime right now,” Ulberg said. “He’s definitely someone that everyone’s keeping an eye on, so knowing that he’s got a high fight IQ, it is always good to sit back and see how he operates in the octagon.

“I’m coming up, and soon I’ll get my chance. …  Once I get through Oezdemir, which is going to be a hard task for sure, it’s free rein from there and it’ll give me the opportunity to go for the light heavyweight title. As you’ve seen the No. 8 who’s just fought for the light heavyweight title, at any given time we’re going to be called up for that.”

Ulberg has some adversity to deal with before stepping into the cage against Oezdemir. The City Kickboxing standout revealed that he broke his toe six weeks’ out of his fight, but has no intentions of pulling out.

“I just broke my toe yesterday in sparring and didn’t realize that I’d broken it until doing my sit-ups and seeing it was facing the other way,” Ulberg said. “It’s just going through all that pain and struggle, and doing it all over again the next day. So, until then, it’s just doing what I need to do, what’s been working in my favor in the past, and just trying to keep to the same formula really.”

Cory Sandhagen sees a potential fight against Sean O’Malley as a no-brainer.

Sandhagen (17-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC), a former title challenger and long-time UFC bantamweight contender, is hoping to get booked against O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC), and is surprised that there’s not a big effort, at least for now, by the promotion to get that fight done.

Speaking on Michael Bisping’s YouTube channel, Sandhagen continued his push for a fight against the former UFC champion, and even said he’d be willing until June – O’Malley’s targeted return.

“You read all the comments, and you talk to fans, and you talk to people, and that’s the fight everyone wants to see happen,” Sandhagen said. “I’m actually kind of surprised the UFC hasn’t come to me or Sean, hasn’t said anything about that fight yet or anything, or (the UFC) asked, ‘Hey, are you willing to wait till June?’ because I would entertain that big time.

“I think a big piece I’ve been able to appreciate lately is I really want to give fans what they’re paying to see, and if it means waiting to give fans a fight they’re most excited for, I would definitely big time entertain that. I would rather not have it all the way in June, but there’s no better fight you can make. Me and O’Malley is a banger of a fight.”

Sandhagen said he was offered a fight against Deiveson Figueiredo for late 2024, but Figueiredo turned it down, and now the UFC will look to book Figueiredo against Petr Yan.

Not wanting to fight too down the UFC bantamweight rankings, Sandhagen sees O’Malley as the only viable option, as he’s coming off a championship loss to Merab Dvalishvili in the main event of UFC 306 last month.

“I feel like O’Malley is the only fight,” Sandhagen said. “Maybe the winner of Yan and Figgy if O’Malley is going to be weird and still not bring me up or mention that fight or anything like that. So yeah, that’s what I’m looking at.”

At the 2018 finals in Russia, Zlatko Dalic led a nation with a smaller population than that of Scotland to the zenith of international football when they contested the World Cup final. They would come up short against France on the day.

Croatia reaching that showpiece was a surprise, but Modric is the very embodiment of upsetting the odds.

He and his family had to flee their home near the Dalmatian city of Zadar due to the Croatian War of Independence that provided the backdrop to his childhood.

As a Dinamo Zagreb graduate, 20 years ago, he was sent on loan to Bosnian club Zrinjski Mostar. For a young Croatian, that will have been an eye-opener.

In the ensuing two decades, Modric has won six Champions League titles, five Super Cups, four Spanish titles and five Club World Cups alongside the 180 caps he has proudly amassed in Croatia’s red and white checks.

Yet, when he made big-money moves to Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid, where he has won anything and everything, he was written off by many. He is currently enjoying his 13th season at the Santiago Bernabeu.

“I’m still here, motivated as before,” Modric said last month. “I am most proud to play for Croatia. I think I can still help.”

He was right as he followed up that statement with a complete masterclass against Poland on matchday two in Osijek in which he scored the only goal of the game with a superbly executed free-kick.

Scotland actually have a winning record against the Croats and are unbeaten on their two previous visits to Zagreb.

However, their two victories during the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign, including an unexpected triumph in the Croatian capital, came after the qualification horse had long since bolted.

More recently, the Scots were on the receiving end of Modric wizardry in what was their must-win final group match of Euro 2020. Croatia eased to a 3-1 victory at Hampden Park, with the veteran scoring the second, and the game exposed a big gap between the teams.

To remain in contention in the current Nations League section and maintain hopes of a place in pot one or two for next year’s World Cup qualifiers, this is a game Scotland will probably have to win.

The trouble is that Croatia do not lose at home very often. That Scotland victory 11 years ago is one of only seven competitive defeats suffered on their own soil since Croatia entered the Fifa rankings in 1994.

Like Scotland, they had a disappointing European Championship in Germany, exiting at the group stage after conceding late goals against Albania and Italy in a tough group. Eventual winners Spain topped the section.

However, that anti-climax does not detract from the fact this will be a very tough assignment.

Magomed Ankalaev had some harsh words for Anthony Smith.

Later this month, Ankalaev takes on Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308 in a bout that many believe is a title eliminator for the next shot at light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira; however, not everyone agrees.

Earlier this week, Smith, a past opponent of Ankalaev’s, suggested there are other fighters in line for a crack at Pereira, saying that Ankalaev’s unexciting style has made the UFC less interested in him.

“I wouldn’t count on it because there’s a good chance that Volkan Oezdemir and Carlos Ulberg can have a conversation, or at least have some sort of case to make to get that fight,” Smith told MMA Junkie. “Especially if Ankalaev does what he tends to do sometimes, and that’s lay an egg and still win. He’s already been punished for that. He’s already done it once before in the Jan Blachowicz fight and Dana was absolutely furious.

“Pereira just fought. What would have stopped him from fighting in Abu Dhabi and fighting Ankalaev there?”

“They’re not rushing Ankalaev into a title fight for a reason,” Smith continued. “I think if that fight lays an egg and Volkan Oezdemir goes in there and finishes Carlos Ulberg, I think Volkan Oezdemir has a great case to make for a title shot. So I wouldn’t just count on that.”

As you might expect, Ankalaev did not seem to take too kindly to this.

On Friday, Ankalaev responded to Smith’s recent comments, ripping his former opponent on social media and calling Smith his “easiest fight ever.”

“Just to be clear, Rakic is my toughest fight in the division.”

“Anthony Smith said I sometimes sting the show, hey do you remember what I did to you [and] Johnny Walker? You are an analyst and supposed to stay neutral.”

“Chael Sonnen, you are right my friend, my toughest fight in the division is Rakic, my easiest fight ever was Anthony Smith. I hit him with a combination from a video game I used to play when I was 12.”

Ankalaev and Smith faced off back at UFC 277, where Ankalaev won by second-round TKO. That fight earned Ankalaev a shot at the vacant light heavyweight title against Jan Blachowicz in a fight that ended in a split draw. Following that, Ankalaev had a no-contest with Johnny Walker due to an illegal eye poke, but then won their rematch this January, stopping Walker in the second round and earning a Performance of the Night bonus. Ankalaev also holds wins over Oezdemir and No. 7-ranked Nikita Krylov.

UFC 308 takes place Oct. 26 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

Kayla Harrison and a large portion of the MMA community seem to believe it’s an inevitability that she will defeat Julianna Pena to claim the UFC women’s bantamweight title.

Not so fast.

Peña (11-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) recaptured the championship this month at UFC 307 with a split decision over Raquel Pennington in Salt Lake City. Earlier that night, two-time Olympic gold medalist Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) likely punched her ticket to a crack at gold with a victory over Ketlen Vieira.

Although Peña largely ignored Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in the aftermath of the event and said she was “not impressed” by the performance while subsequently calling for Amanda Nunes to come out of retirement for a trilogy, all signs point to the showdown with Harrison being next.

Peña’s coach, Mike Valle from VFS Academy in Chicago, said his athlete will be ready if it is indeed Harrison. He doesn’t share the same negative slant of the two-time PFL season winner as Peña, but he does think Harrison is in for a rude awakening if she thinks it will be easy to snatch the belt.

“I can’t say that we weren’t impressed,” Valle told MMA Junkie on Friday. “She’s a great fighter. She’s very good in certain areas. It’s nothing that the world hasn’t seen. It’s not nothing we can’t come on top of. She’s good. But Julianna is good, too. When you get her in front of you, you realize how good she is. That’s what makes it very interesting. Whenever Harrison sees Julianna in front of her, she’s going to be like, ‘Oh my God. This girl is way better than what I think.’ And she’s going to be in tons of trouble. That’s what it is. That’s what makes the fight so interesting. All respect to her and her team. I’ve never disrespected her or her team. But I just can’t wait. If they sign a contact, we’ll go to work.”

Valle has heard it all before when it comes to Peña. She’s not skilled enough. Not athletic enough. Not powerful enough. Not dangerous enough. The criticisms can be endless in this industry, but Valle knows better than anyone what he has with “The Venezuelan Vixen” and is happy to let anyone continue to underestimate her.

“When you get that feeling, and you have someone across from you that’s not just going to fight with skills – we’re going to fight with a lot of will,” Valle said. “An unbreakable will. That says something to a person. I think that’s what it is. … You may see the skills and go, ‘OK, she lacks here and here.’ That’s fine. When you have her in front of you, you’re going to see how good she is. Then, on top of that, her will to push, will to go forward and to push. To have her on top of you or in your face all night, it says a lot about an athlete.”

Ultimately, Valle said he knows Peña’s biggest fights and toughest tests are on the horizon. Whether it’s the matchup with Harrison, a trilogy with Nunes or both in successive fashion, Valle is excited to dive into the challenge of game planning and finding a way for Peña to come out on top.

“Both of those fights represent something very interesting in their own way. I think a fight with Amanda would be great, but if it’s Harrison, cracking her is going to be – people think she’s invincible and just going out there and Julianna putting her stamp on it, I think it would be a great statement. From there, Amanda hopefully comes out of retirement. All three girls are amazing and it’s very interesting for MMA fans. Whichever one happens is going to be a great fight.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

Victory in Helsinki will help ease some of the early pressure on Hallgrimsson following last month’s defeats by England and Greece.

The Irish players were booed by sections of their home fans at the Aviva Stadium following the loss to Greece while the travelling supporters voiced their frustration in Helsinki after Nathan Collins’ woefully underhit backpass gifted Finland the opening goal.

However, Azaz insists he and his team-mates are blocking out the noise as they bid to secure back-to-back competitive wins on the road for the first time since November 2021.

“I am going out there to do my job, that’s what I am trained to do, so I try to ignore the outside noise, we all try to do that. That’s how you have to be,” said the Westminster-born 24-year-old, who qualifies for the Republic of Ireland through his Cork-born grandparents.

“We do hear criticism but that’s part of the job. You need a strong mentality to ignore the noise and hopefully this win will help us gain even more confidence. We have a lot of belief.”

Azaz, who was replaced by Jamie McGrath for the final 20 minutes against Finland, added: “I didn’t hear any boos at half-time. It was a tough game and a tough first half, but you need to show respect to the opposition.

“We are a good team. I felt we could push on at half-time and that’s what we tried to do in the second half.

“With Nathan, mistakes happen and we are ready for that. We didn’t need to say anything to him, he’s an experienced player. We just focused on the positives and had that positive energy for the second half.”