LAS VEGAS – Daniel Rodriguez entered UFC Fight Night 244 not under the best circumstances.

The UFC welterweight veteran was on a three-fight losing streak prior to his fight with Alex Morono this past Saturday at the UFC Apex. Fortunately for Rodriguez (18-5 MMA, 8-4 UFC), he was able to edge out Morono (24-11 MMA, 13-8 UFC) in a close, split decision.

“I worked so hard for this fight and for so long, you know,” Rodriguez said. “It feels great to be back in the win column.”

Some online were split on who had done enough to warrant getting their hand raised. Rodriguez felt he had a shaky start, but is confident with the3 work he put on rounds two and three.

“I feel like this fight went a little tougher than I expected to, but hat’s off to him,” Rodriguez said. “He did a great job, and he was trying to knock my head off in that first round. I knew he was going to gas out, but I just stayed composed and used my veteran skills.”

Now back in the win column, Rodriguez is hoping to fight in his hometown. Nothing has yet been made official by the promotion, but Rodriguez said he’s heard that the UFC is planning an event for the “City of Angels” at the start of 2025.

“I hear that the UFC is coming to Los Angeles in January and me being an L.A. hometown boy I feel like it’s only right for them to put me on the card. So please UFC, put me on L.A.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 244.

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. left Sunday’s game because of a concussion after his head hit the thigh of Green Bay Packers linebacker Isaiah McDuffie.

Harrison tried to get up after the second-quarter incompletion but appeared to stumble. He then headed into the injury tent on the sideline and eventually walked into the tunnel. Early in the second half, Arizona ruled him out of the game.

Harrison has 17 catches for 279 yards and four touchdowns for the Cardinals, who selected him out of Ohio State with the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft.

In other injury news, New Orleans Saints starting receiver Chris Olave was ruled out to be evaluated for a concussion following a helmet-to-helmet hit as he lost a fumble that was returned for a Tampa Bay Buccaneers touchdown on Sunday.

Olave was in the process of being stripped from behind by Bucs defensive back Tykee Smith moments after catching a pass from Saints rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler when the receiver absorbed a heavy hit to the head from cornerback Zyon McCollum.

Olave sat on the field, apparently dazed, while Bucs safety Antoine Winfield Jr. scooped up the loose ball and ran it back 58 yards for a score that gave Tampa Bay a 14-0 first-quarter lead.

No flag was thrown on the play, which was reviewed by rule because it involved a turnover. Referee Clete Blakeman looked at video that clearly showed the helmet-to-helmet hit, but his review was confined to whether Olave had completed the catch before he was stripped.

Blakemen then delivered his decision that the fumble — and resulting Bucs score — would stand to a Superdome crowd that also had seen replays and booed in apparent anger over the missed personal foul call that put the Saints’ No. 1 receiver into the concussion protocol and out of the game.

Olave, a 2022 first-round draft choice also out of Ohio State, entered the game with 22 catches for 275 yards and a touchdown through the season’s first five weeks.

Olave had been in the NFL’s concussion protocol twice before in the past three NFL seasons.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Chris Barnett is heading to Abu Dhabi.

Barnett steps in on two weeks’ notice to face Kennedy Nzechukwu at UFC 308, which takes place Oct. 26 at Etihad Arena. The news was announced during Saturday’s UFC Vegas 98 broadcast.

The fan-favorite Barnett replaces Justin Tafa, who has been removed from the bout for undisclosed reasons. Barnett was slated to fight on Saturday’s event at the UFC APEX but was unable to compete due to reasons associated with Hurricane Milton.

Barnett returns to the octagon for the first time in over two years, a second-round TKO win over Jake Collier at UFC 279 in September 2022. “Beastboy” is 2-2 in his UFC run, including a memorable stoppage of Gian Villante at UFC 268 in November 2021 at Madison Square Garden.

Nzechukwu looks to snap a two-fight losing streak as he competes at heavyweight for the first time in his UFC career.

UFC 308 is headlined by Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway for the featherweight title.

LAS VEGAS – Grant Dawson wants to get back in the UFC official rankings, and he hopes to do so by beating someone on that list.

Dawson (13-2-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) was briefly ranked prior to his quick KO loss to Bobby Green in October 2023, but since has picked up two consecutive wins. Saturday, Dawson became the first to stop Rafa Garcia (16-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) and put him away in a violent TKO on the main card of UFC Fight Night 244.

The American Top Team product hopes to get a ranked opponent next or a bout against Drakkar Klose.

“In the top 15, I’m actually not sure because the guys that make sense are booked and the guys that don’t make sense are apparently fighting for a world title in other weight classes for some reason,” Dawson said at the UFC Fight Night 244 post-fight press conference. “You’ve got (Rafael Dos Anjos) in there – and nobody is a bigger fan of RDA than me, I’ve been watching that dude since I was a child. I’m a big fan of his. He should not be in the rankings at 155. He’s fighting at 170, he’s fought at 170, and he’s openly said he’s not fighting at 155 anymore. Get him out of there and put me in.

“If I don’t get a top-15 fight next, the guy that makes most sense to me would be Drakkar Klose. I have two losses in my professional career, and he’s beaten both of them. That would be a fight that would really prove to people how much better I’ve gotten.”

As far as the performance on Saturday, Dawson was happy with what he was able to display. He thought he would have a much tougher time dealing with Garcia, but that wasn’t the case.

“That was the game plan, but through the entire fight camp everyone that had trained with him or seen him, I had people messaging me, ‘This guy has really good takedown defense. This guy is strong. This guy is so hard to take down. He is so difficult to get down,’” Dawson said. “Even the UFC was saying that this guy has really good takedown defense and Grant might get pushed here. I come in with the mindset that I might not be able to take this guy down. I think what separates me from the rest of the division is that I don’t get discouraged. I’m a problem solver.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 244.

Former France captain Amandine Henry has retired from international football with immediate effect.

The 35-year-old midfielder won 109 caps, scoring 14 goals, and was recently in the France side who reached the quarter-finals at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

“After many years of passion, challenges and unforgettable memories, it is time for me to turn the page,” she said on a post on X., external

Henry was France’s captain from 2017 to 2020 when she was dropped by then manager Corinne Diacre.

She was selected in France’s 2023 World Cup squad before withdrawing with a calf injury.

Henry finally returned to the France team in September 2023, after three years away, and often stood in for current Les Blues captain Wendie Renard.

Now with Mexican side Toluca, Henry won seven Champions League titles and 13 French league titles with Lyon, who she played for across two long spells between 2007 and 2023.

“Wearing the colours of my country these past years has been the honour of my life and has allowed me to experience extraordinary emotions,” Henry said.