Tech3 GasGas rider Pedro Acosta conceded that he gave away potential victories in his rookie MotoGP campaign by “f***cking up everything”.

Although Acosta managed to live up to the hype upon his graduation to the premier class this year, his season on the KTM RC16 has also been plagued by a series of mistakes and crashes from leading positions.

Most notably, the Spanish rider qualified on pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi, only to crash out of both the sprint and the main race while in contention for victory.

Recapping his first year in MotoGP ahead of this weekend’s season finale in Barcelona, Acosta said that victories were an achievable target for him in 2024, but his unforced errors meant that he wasn’t able to improve on the second-place finishes he achieved in Austin and Mandalika.

“We were fighting for many wins in the season, the problem then [was] I f**k up everything,” he said.

“At the end, the target to fight for wins was there. The possibility was realistic, it was not something of dreaming. It’s true that it’s hard to see how many opportunities I put in the bin, but it’s part of the job also.

“With all the mistakes I do over the season it’s unbelievable I’m still P5 [in the championship. It’s important enough for sure but it’s more important to finish the year in a good mood, with good results.”

Pedro Acosta, Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing

Photo by: Rob Gray / Polarity Photo

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Despite admitting to making several mistakes over the year, Acosta is still the highest-placed non-Ducati rider in the championship in fifth place, having outscored even KTM stablemate Brad Binder on the factory-entered bike.

The 2023 Moto2 champion burst into the scene at the start of the year, scoring a podium in only his second grand prix appearance at Portimao before finishing second at the next round in Austin.

Although his results then began to tail off, he was able to bounce back after the summer break, adding three more rostrum finishes to his tally.

Acosta gave himself a 6/10 rating ahead of the Barcelona finale, having previously thought his performances at the mid-point of the year were only good enough for a score of 4.5.

Asked to grade his first year in MotoGP, he said: “Six [out of 10]. Six maybe because putting everything together, all the mistakes I made, all the points I put in the bin, all the stupid crashes that I was having, all the things I needed to try [six is fair].

“In the last couple of races, I was trying things and then in the race I was racing with other things, and I was not really having time to work on a weekend.

“I will put a 6 because I said in the beginning we will go like this [pointing upwards] and then we drop. And from my point of view maybe it was not like this in the last couple of races but not bad.”

Paul seems to enjoy ruffling feathers, prioritising clicks over what people think of him.

“My brand has become the comments section, which is full of hate, accusations, lies. It has become all of these things but they don’t see the underlying genius in it all, which is that I’m just an entertainer having a blast,” he says.

But dig a little further and you will find a more complex individual.

Paul says he extracted “super powers” from trauma suffered by a tough upbringing. His father, Greg, denies ever hitting his sons.

“The super power is the resilience, the hard work, the ambition and all of that stuff,” he explains.

“When your parents are hard on you it can create a lack of self love and insecurities. You just have to squash the bad parts and then keep the good parts of trauma.”

When Paul says “it’s all a game and I’m playing the game better”, you get the feeling he is not just referring to boxing.

But controversy follows him just as closely as his vast fanbase.

Paul was dropped from Bizaardvark after neighbours complained of the “living hell” caused by parties and noise at his Californian mansion in 2017.

In June 2020, Paul was arrested during protests following the death of George Floyd, with charges of criminal trespass and unlawful assembly later dropped. Two months later, the FBI were seen carrying firearms out of his house.

There were also allegations of sexual assault in 2021 made by fellow TikTok star Justine Paradise, which Paul denied.

Dustin Poirier only had to point at the scoreboard to win his latest dispute.

It’s no secret that Poirier and fellow lightweight contender Michael Chandler have long disliked each other, with their feud culminating at UFC 281 in November 2022 when Poirier defeated Chandler by second-round submission in a “Fight of the Night”-winning duel.

Despite the respect was shown in the cage that night, there’s still plenty of animosity between Poirier and Chandler, and Chandler used a word association segment with ESPN to take a shot at “The Diamond.”

Watch the clip below, in which Chandler called Poirier “salty.”

It didn’t take Poirier long to respond and he didn’t have to say much, simply posting the finish from their fight on Instagram Stories (h/t Championship Rounds):

Chandler has other fish to fry this Saturday as he takes on another past opponent in Charles Oliveira in the co-main event of UFC 309 in New York. Let’s hope Chandler is recovered from Poirier’s burn by the time fight night rolls around.

Redemption. Eryk Anders reflects on how beating a drug habit changed his life—and what could have been.

Trial. Conor McGregor testifies in a civil suit stemming from a 2018 sexual assault allegation.

Laughable. Stipe Miocic doesn’t know what’s up with Jon Jones ahead of their UFC 309 main event fight.

Truth. Tom Aspinall knows whoever wins between Jones and Miocic won’t be the “undisputed” anything.

Jones.

Miocic.

Oliveira.

Nickal.

And the rest.

Tyson and Paul face off.

Embedded.

Break it down.

No Bets Barred. Jed Meshew brings you the wildest wagers for Paul vs. Tyson and UFC 309.

*chuckle*

Ngannou and Reug Reug.

FORTY. FIVE.

NERRRRRRRRD.

David Onama (12-2) vs. Roberto Romero (8-3-1); UFC 309, Nov. 16

The top-2 fights at UFC 309 are intriguing, but as far as narratives go they have zero juice. Jones has spent 90 percent of his media time being asked about Tom Aspinall, not Stipe Miocic, and Michael Chandler’s rematch with Charles Oliveira came out of nowhere.

That’s not to say these fights won’t deliver because they definitely could. It’s just that the lack of enthusiasm surrounding the final UFC pay-per-view of 2024 is understandable.

If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKlee or @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and like us on Facebook.

UEFA have opened an investigation into suspended Premier League referee David Coote after he was filmed snorting white powder in a shocking video taken while he was on duty at Euro 2024.

In the eight second Whatsapp film the under-fire VAR specialist is wide-eyed as he uses a rolled up US bank note to snort a four inch line of what appears to be cocaine.

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Coote, 42, was suspended by the PGMOL, governing body for professional referees, this week after a separate video emerged of him, again wide-eyed,  calling former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp a “German c**t”.

The Sun’s exclusive new video was taken on July 6 – a day after the Euro 2024 quarter final clash between France and Portugal, where he acted  as a support VAR official.

UEFA confirmed in a statement today they have now opened an investigation into the ref for a potential violation of its regulations.

It read: “A UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector has been appointed to evaluate a potential violation of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations by the referee, Mr. David Coote.

“Further information regarding this matter will be made available in due course.”

UEFA have already taken action against the Prem ref by removing him from their list of officials for the upcoming international fixtures.

In the viral video, the bedside table alongside the white powder are seen scattered with packets of prescription drugs, a credit card, and the Terry Hayes novel The Year of The Locust.

He sent the clip to a pal and it’s believed he filmed himself in his Uefa-funded hotel room he used during the tournament.

The ref sent another photo from Frankfurt on July 1.  It showed his credit cards on a saucer either side of six chopped-up lines of suspicious white powder. He was staying in hotel rooms appointed by tournament organiser UEFA.

The pal, who wishes to remain anonymous, also reveals that the referee made other derogatory remarks about Everton football club and Liverpool player Andy Robertson.

Coote’s previous comments about Klopp are now at the centre of both a PGMOL and FA investigation into his conduct.

As the scandal grew this week, Uefa also took him off their roster for games during this weekend’s international break.

Other videos were sent over the summer from France, where Coote officiated at three football matches at the Paris Olympics.

They included the Israel versus Japan clash on July 30, where he was in charge of VAR.

A PGMOL spokesperson told The Sun: “We aware of the allegations and are taking them very seriously. David Coote remains suspended pending a full investigation.

“David’s welfare continues to be of utmost importance to us and we are committed to providing him with the ongoing necessary support he needs through this period.

“We are not in a position to comment further at this stage.”

Coote was suspended by PGMOL bosses earlier this week after a leaked video showed the ref abusing Liverpool and their ex manager Jurgen Klopp.

The footage was said to have been taken during the Covid-19 pandemic.

An investigation is now taking place and the FA are also initiating their own probe, as Coote could be charged with an aggravated breach of FA rules after mentioning Klopp’s nationality in the initial leaked video.

NEW YORK – The UFC 309 pre-fight press conference takes place Thursday, and you can watch a live stream of the event in the video above.

The press conference takes place at The Theatre at MSG, attached to Madison Square Garden, which hosts Saturday’s fight card (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+).

UFC 309 is built around the return of two of the most decorated fighters in UFC history. Heavyweight champion Jon Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) makes history comeback for the first time in 20 months, while former titleholder Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) sees action following a nearly 44-month layoff. And in the co-main event, former lightweight champ Charles Oliveira (34-10 MMA, 22-10 UFC) rematches Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC).

Here’s what you need to know about the UFC 309 press conference.

What time does the UFC 309 press conference start?

The UFC 309 press conference starts at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.

Who’s taking part in the UFC 309 press conference?

Six of the the 10 fighters scheduled in main card bouts are slated to participate in the UFC 309 press conference: Jones, Miocic, Oliveira, Chandler, Bo Nickal and Paul Craig.

UFC CEO Dana White will oversee the UFC 309 pre-fight press conference.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.