Ramazan Temirov and CJ Vergara meet Saturday on the main card opener of UFC Fight Night 244 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom. 

Last event: 3-2
UFC main cards, 2024: 84-74-3

Ramazan Temirov vs. CJ Vergara UFC Fight Night 244 preview

Temirov (17-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his UFC debut in a main card opening slot, putting his nine-fight winning streak on the line. On his current run, the 27-year-old Uzbekistan native has racked up six first-round finishes, four of which have come consecutively in recent outings. … Vergara (12-5-1 MMA, 3-3 UFC) will look to pour cold water on Temirov’s streak, while remaining about .500 in the UFC. Vergara will need to bounce back from a unanimous decision loss to Asu Almabayev in March.

Ramazan Temirov vs. CJ Vergara UFC Fight Night 244 expert pick, prediction

Despite the impromptu promotion to this spot, Temirov vs. Vergara is an arguable improvement to the endless middleweight slog that the UFC usually force-feeds you in these spots. It’s also great to see more men’s flyweight fights in more prominent positions.

Although the betting line for this fight is a bit wide for my liking, I can understand why Temirov is favored.

Despite Temirov’s lack of UFC sample size, the Master of Sports in hand-to-hand combat looks to be an aggressive athlete with all the instincts for fighting. Temirov is not beyond getting clipped for his aggression early, but the 27-year-old appears capable of powering through both on the feet and the floor.

Vergara strikes should be extra live off clinch breaks, but I’m not sure that Temirov gives the American his preferred space.

For that reason, I’ll semi-reluctantly pick Temirov to force a stoppage by strikes in Round 1.

Ramazan Temirov vs. CJ Vergara UFC Fight Night 244 odds

The oddsmakers and the public heavily favor the Uzbek fighter, listing Temirov -325 and Vergara +250 via FanDuel.

Ramazan Temirov vs. CJ Vergara UFC Fight Night 244 start time, how to watch

Vergara and Temirov are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 7:05 p.m. ET (4:05 p.m. PT). The fight will stream on ESPN+.

Seventh-tier side Harborough Town made history by making it into the FA Cup first round for the first time, beating Bury 1-0 in the fourth qualifying round.

Ben Stephens squeezed the ball past Bury goalkeeper Mitch Allen from the penalty spot in the second half.

Harborough, who play in the Southern League Premier Division Central, had previously made the cup’s second qualifying round in both of the past two seasons.

They will learn their first-round opponents in Monday’s draw at Valley Parade, Bradford, live on BBC Two (19:00 BST).

National League South side Chesham United surprised Yeovil Town of the National League to go through to round one for the second term running.

Jack Cawley’s back-post header – the only goal of the game – sparked great celebrations at The Meadow.

Elsewhere, 10-man Aldershot Town left it until the 98th-minute to seal a 2-1 victory over National League South side Bath City.

The winning strike came from academy graduate Maxwell Mullins, who fired in his first goal for the club, following Christian Maghoma’s red card for a high challenge.

There was similar full-time joy for Southend United, who scored in the 93rd minute in their game at Eastleigh.

Substitute Aribim Pepple powered through the home side’s defence, before his shot narrowly evaded the grasp of Spitfires goalkeeper Joe McDonnell.

Fellow National League side Barnet progressed more comfortably, thumping Chelmsford City 4-0.

Callum Lee Stead netted twice from close range in the first half for the Bees.

Rochdale also scored four as they enjoyed a comfortable 4-1 win at fellow fifth-tier side AFC Fylde, who had former England and Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips in charge for the first time.

York City’s Ollie Pearce was another player to get a brace as they progressed with a 3-1 victory at eighth-tier side Biggleswade.

It was the same final score as Sutton United beat Chertsey Town – but the Southern League side missed a penalty when it was 2-1 which would have levelled the tie.

Meanwhile, Braintree Town got the better of Bishop’s Stortford in a scrappy affair at Cressing Road that saw Iron striker Inih Effiong slot the ball in the bottom corner for the only goal.

Maybe Terence Crawford is having second thoughts about a pair of fights against Conor McGregor?

The undefeated, multi-division boxing champion recently confirmed that McGregor reached out to him about potentially battling it out in boxing and then fighting in MMA, but Crawford passed on the offer with no desire to get kicked or elbowed in a fight. Perhaps Crawford had a change of heart because he posted a video on Saturday showing him on the wrestling mats where he sent a direct message to McGregor.

“We out here working,” Crawford said with McGregor tagged on his video on Instagram. “We getting back on the mat. Getting back on the mat. I’m getting back on the mat.

“Hey, Conor, I’m getting back on the mat. Stay tuned. Working.”

That’s a far cry from Crawford’s comments about a potential MMA fight when he first addressed McGregor’s interest in the crossover matchup.

“I told Conor, I said hell no!” Crawford said. “They called me and they offered me the fight. Me and Conor got on the phone and we start politicking, trying to figure something out, and I just told him, ‘I’m not getting in no f*cking octagon with you so you can be kicking me and elbowing me and shit.’

While Crawford has built his name off being one of the top pound-for-pound boxers in the sport, he’s occasionally dabbled in wrestling in the past.

Back in 2023, Crawford posted a video showing him wrestling somebody on a front lawn and even three-time NCAA champion wrestler and current UFC prospect Bo Nickal was impressed.

“Legit,” Nickal wrote. “Bud was being nice here (in the video).”

Now perhaps Crawford is just having some fun with his message to McGregor but maybe he’s re-thinking that series of fights that would undoubtedly earn both men a hefty payday.

Alex Morono and Daniel Rodriguez meet Saturday on the main card of UFC Fight Night 244 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom. 

Last event: 3-2
UFC main cards, 2024: 84-74-3

Alex Morono vs. Daniel Rodriguez UFC Fight Night 244 preview

Morono (24-10 MMA, 13-7 UFC) has traded wins and losses over his last six fights. In his most recent outing in June, Morono dropped a unanimous decision to Niko Price. Before that, Morono was on the right side of a unanimous decision against Cour McGee in April. … Rodriguez (17-5 MMA, 7-4 UFC) has his back against the wall as a loser of three straight. His most recent outing was a unanimous decision loss vs. Kelvin Gastelum in June. “D-Rod’s” last victory was a split decision over Li Jingliang in September 2022.

Alex Morono vs. Daniel Rodriguez UFC Fight Night 244 expert pick, prediction

Filling out the main card is a welterweight bout between Morono and Rodriguez.

Although I’m a big fan of Morono, I can see why he’s the underdog in this spot.

Aside from having more miles on him than Rodriguez, Morono has traditionally struggled against southpaws on the feet, going 1-2 against UFC-level lefties. Even in Morono’s lone southpaw win against Tim Means, “The Dirty Bird” was piecing him up on the feet before Morono was able to pull out a hail-mary submission win.

So long as Rodriguez can avoid the same fate, I suspect he should have the edge in exchanges here.

This fight going the distance wouldn’t shock me, but I’ll pick somewhat begrudgingly take Rodriguez to clip a tiring Morono for a TKO win late into Round 2.

Alex Morono vs. Daniel Rodriguez UFC Fight Night 244 odds

The oddsmakers and the public favor the older fighter, listing Rodriguez -215 and Morono +172 via FanDuel.

Alex Morono vs. Daniel Rodriguez UFC Fight Night 244 start time, how to watch

Morono and Rodriguez are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 7:35 p.m. ET (4:35 p.m. PT). The fight will stream on ESPN+.

Ben Whittaker left the arena in a wheelchair after suffering a leg injury when he fell out of the ring along with opponent Liam Cameron during a wild exchange on the Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev undercard on Saturday.

The incident happened as Cameron and Whittaker were backing up towards the ropes at the end of the round. As the fighters hit the ropes, they both toppled over in a dramatic scene as the crowd in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia jumped to their feet.

The fighters crashed on the side of the ring after spilling over the ropes but while both athletes remained down momentarily, it was clear that Whittaker got the worst of it. As he got back to his feet, Whittaker was favoring his leg as he got back into the ring to receive medical attention.

It wasn’t long before Whittaker had his shoe removed with his trainers checking his leg and the fight was stopped when it was clear that the highly touted British prospect would not be able to continue.

With the fight stopped due to injury, the scorecards were gathered up to provide a decision but even that ended in some controversy.

The final scores were 58-57 for Whittaker, 58-57 for Cameron and 58-58 with the fight being declared a split draw.

A dejected Cameron left the ring after believing he did enough early in the fight to deserve the win with the broadcast team marveling over his performance while admitting that Whittaker was having a tough night at the office.

In the end none of that matters with the fight scored a split draw and Whittaker requiring medical attention after falling out of the ring.

It seems like these two are headed for a rematch in the future once Whittaker is healthy enough to compete again.

Under-pressure Arsenal women’s head coach Jonas Eidevall says his players are still giving everything on the pitch after defeat by Chelsea at home leaves his side with just one win in the WSL this season.

MATCH REPORT: Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea

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