Emma Sanders, BBC Sport women’s football news reporter

Pressure has been building on Eidevall but the feeling from Arsenal last week was that they backed him, and the result against Chelsea was unlikely to sway their thinking – at least not immediately.

But Eidevall himself will have seen the reaction from the Arsenal fanbase and the media, with their poor start to the season reflected in results.

P45 signs – calling for his sacking – could be seen in some parts of Emirates Stadium during Saturday’s 2-1 defeat, while a picture of a wall displaying the words ‘Jonas Out’ in graffiti was later shared on social media.

Eidevall did not defend himself in the post-match media conference, instead pointing to the resilience shown by his players and pleading with supporters to keep belief.

It felt only a matter of time before he would need to step away, or the club would have to make that decision for him.

Eidevall returned to the training ground on Monday and informed the club of his intention to step down. He felt he was not the right person to take the club forward.

He has made changes during his time at the club, improving professionalism, but ultimately failed to meet the raised expectations he had set – and that has proved costly.

There are a few coaches available who would make strong candidates, none more so than former Manchester United manager Casey Stoney – who was invited by Arsenal to watch their defeat by Chelsea at the Emirates. However, she is not currently being considered.

Elsewhere, former Arsenal striker Kelly Smith is already working at the club and may throw her name in the hat, while ex-Netherlands manager Mark Parsons is also looking for a job.

Tony Ferguson isn’t hanging up the gloves just yet.

A former UFC interim lightweight champion, the past few years have been especially unkind to Ferguson. “El Cucuy” is currently on an eight-fight losing streak and has not won a bout since 2020. Most recently, Ferguson was submitted by Michael Chiesa at UFC Abu Dhabi back in August, after which he laid one glove down in the cage and teased a possible retirement. But that is no longer the case.

“I only put half the f*cking glove in there, and I got it back, so that just tells me I’ve got both pairs of gloves,” Ferguson said on Demetrious Johnson’s YouTube channel. “So yep. We’re going to probably take the rest of this season, figure things out hard, and we’re coming back either January or February. Stayed tuned.”

One of the more popular fighters in the sport, Ferguson’s calamitous run in recent years has led to increasing calls for his retirement from fans and fellow fighters. But despite his bad run, Ferguson is simply not ready to walk away from the sport he loves and has a plan to change things up moving forward.

“F*ck no I’m not retiring,” Ferguson said. “I’m too old to retire. I’m 40 years old. I’m halfway to 80, I’ve been competing since I was five years old in multiple sports. I wrestled in college, I’ve done all the other stuff, and you know what? It’s not like I don’t know anything else. I do. I’m still able to compete. When somebody is able to run or sprint faster than me then maybe I will start to consider it. But what I really need is to find that coaching, that discipline around other people, being uncomfortable in practice so that way you’re not miserable in the fight… That’s where we’re at right now.”

As for when he’ll return and who it might be again, Ferguson doesn’t have any specific plans at the moment. Instead, he plans to called up UFC CEO Dana White sometime next year and let him figure it out.

“I’m not in any rush for anything,” Ferguson said. “Usually I have little ailments or booboos, hurt, broken. I’m fully recovered from my surgeries. I had two surgeries in January and I fought — not saying I rushed it… The way I’m moving is pretty good. So instead of getting excited and jumping at anything I want, I make the phone call to Dana and tell him, ‘Look, I’m looking for a fight,’ and then they give me one.”

Roundtable. Is this the most important event in PFL history? The MMA Fighting team discusses.

New belts. PFL reveals some new special belts for its upcoming superfights this weekend.

Retirement. Charles Oliveira has some different ideas about retirement for Tony Ferguson.

Signing. ONE double champ Reinier de Ridder says signing with the UFC was a bigger deal than his world titles.

Not impressed? Jamahal Hill defends mock-yawning at Alex Pereira’s UFC 307 performance.

Reinier de Ridder interview.

Rampage backing Mike Tyson over Jake Paul.

One of the best fights you’ll ever see is now free to watch. Max Holloway vs. Justin Gaethje. Do it.

This is a really cool interview with Francis Ngannou.

Countdown.

Preparation.

We are all Megan Anderson.

Winner.

Training.

Kings.

Bryan Battle (11-2) vs. Randy Brown (19-5), UFC 310, Dec. 7.

Since AK, didn’t say it yesterday: hope everyone who got the day off for Indigenous People’s Day had a good one. Now it’s full tilt forward towards PFL Superfights: Ngannou vs. Ferreira. Should be fun.

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.

RORY MCILROY caught an outrageous stray during a discussion about the upcoming US Presidential election on ABC.

The PGA golfer found himself at the centre of a brutal swipe at Vice President Kamala Harris during the latest episode of This Week with George Stephanopoulos.

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Reince Priebus, a former White House Chief of Staff under Donald Trump was criticising Harris’ recent appearance on US talk show The View.

The former chairman of the Republican National Committee was picking holes in Trump’s rival when he dragged up McIlroy’s collapse at the US Open in June.

Priebus said: “She wanted to clarify the two most important issues that are facing these two candidates – the US economy and immigration.

“She bombed like Rory at the US Open and said that there would be nothing that she would do that would be different to Joe Biden.”

Missing out on the US Open title was undoubtedly one of the most disappointing days in McIlroy’s career.

McIlroy was left utterly devastated after his last hole implosion made him narrowly miss out on the US Open to Bryson DeChambeau.

Holding a two-shot lead during the final round, McIlroy carded three bogeys across the final five holes – missing two putts from a combined distance of seven feet.

The Northern Irishman called it the “toughest day in 17 years” after he came within two shots of ending his 10 year major drought.

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The former world No1 stepped back from golf course for a few weeks following his meltdown at Pinehurst and divorce U-turn drama.

He called off his separation less than a month after he initially filed paperwork to split with the mother of his three-year-old daughter.

Inside Rory McIlroy’s whirlwind love life

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RORY MCILROY enjoyed a high-profile romance with former tennis world number one Caroline Wozniacki before their split in 2014.

The following year, the golf ace began dating Erica Stoll, who he had first met on the PGA Tour in 2011.

Erica often interacted with players through her role as the PGA’s manager of championship volunteer operations.

She even prevented McIlroy from missing his tee time at the 2012 Ryder Cup after some confusion over the time zone.

The incident began a firm friendship between the pair, four years before their relationship turned romantic.

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McIlroy and Erica were spotted on a string of dates in Rochester, New York, in the early days of their relationship.

Just eight months later, the couple got engaged in Paris and walked down the aisle at Ashford Castle in Ireland in 2017.

The pair then welcomed daughter Poppy into the world three years later.

Throughout their time together, McIlroy and Erica have kept their relationship to themselves, with the golfer keen to protect his family from the cameras during filming of Netflix’s Full Swing documentary series.

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However, after seven years of marriage, McIlroy filed for divorce from Erica.

The reasons for the divorce were not disclosed, but the Northern Irishman submitted documents to a court in Florida.

However, a few weeks later, performed a U-turn on their decision to divorce.

McIlroy told the outlet: “Thankfully, we have resolved our differences and look forward to a new beginning.”

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Responding to the random gibe, one fan wrote on X: “McIlroy catching strays while political pundits talk about Kamala Harris.”

A second said: “Rory McIlroy just caught an unnecessary / awesome stray.”

A third added: “Damn! Why is poor McIlroy being dragged into this?”

While another replied “We’ve reached a point in the election cycle where even McIlroy is catching strays.”

Rory McIlroy’s career achievements

By Ian Tuckey

Rory McIlroy spent more than 100 weeks at World No1 – and has scooped four Majors and won 40 tournaments in all SO FAR.

Only all-time greats Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have matched his feat of winning one of the big four by the age of 25.

And after winning the 2011 US Open, the Northern Ireland ace added the PGA Championship the following year – adding the Open and PGA crowns in 2014.

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Here’s a rundown on the glittering career of the 35-year-old, five-time Ryder Cup winner, who was also a strong critic of the rival Saudi-backed LIV tour:

• 2007 – topped the world amateur rankings aged 17.

Turned professional in September.

Became the youngest Affiliate Member in the history of The European Tour to earn a tour card.

• 2009 – reached the world top 50.

• 2010 – won his first PGA Tour title via the Quail Hollow Championship.

Made a winning Ryder Cup debut.

Became the youngest player to reach $10m earnings on the PGA Tour.

• 2011 – Famously blew a four-stroke lead on the final day of the Masters in May.

But won his first major the following month – the US Open.

Named Sports Person of the year by RTE – Ireland’s main broadcaster.

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• 2012 – lifted the PGA Championship.

Named PGA Tour player of the year and picked up more Ryder Cup glory.

• 2013 – signed a huge sponsorship deal with Nike.

• 2014 – his best year to date, majors wise.

Won the Open at Royal Liverpool.

Then clinched back-to-back PGA crowns, beating Phil Mickelson by one stroke.

Named RTE Sports Person of the year for a second time.

Again helped Europe win the Ryder Cup.

• 2016 – Ended the season winning the Tour championship, putting him top of the FedEx Cup and landing him the $10m bonus pool.

Suffered Ryder Cup defeat.

• 2017 – failed to win all year.

But gained top 10 finishes at the Masters, The Open and 3 WGC events.

And with Nike largely withdrawing from the golf market, he landed an £80m endorsement deal with TaylorMade.

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• 2018 – More Ryder Cup joy.

• 2020 Overtook Brooks Koepka to become World No1

• 2021 – A Ryder Cup loser.

• 2022 – runners-up at the Masters and finished third at the Open.

• 2023 – helped Europe thrash the USA 16.5-11.5 in the Ryder Cup.

• 2024 – struggled early in the season, finishing just joint-22nd in the Masters.

But then won two tournaments – the Zurich Classic for his 25th PGA title and the Wells Fargo Championship.

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones was already a big favorite to defeat Stipe Miocic. Now he’s a massive one.

When the odds were released for the UFC 309 main event after it was officially booked last month, Jones (27-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) opened as a -410 favorite and Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) a +320 underdog via DraftKings on Sept. 16, but those odds have drastically changed in the past month to make Jones a massive favorite, with DraftKings currently listing Jones -550 and Miocic +410.

Those odds are even wider at two other prominent online sportsbooks, FanDuel and BetMGM. FanDuel lists Jones -620 and Miocic +400; BetMGM has Jones as a whopping -700 favorite and Miocic +500. The major shift in Jones’ favor indicates that public money has come in heavy on the champ.

Perhaps Miocic’s age and inactivity are the reasons why. The former UFC heavyweight champion, now 42, hasn’t competed since March 2021 when he lost the title to Francis Ngannou by vicious second-round knockout.

Jones, 37, has competed just once since February 2020. The former longtime light heavyweight champion debuted at heavyweight and submitted Ciryl Gane to win the title vacated by Ngannou in March 2023. Jones is returning from a torn pectoral that canceled the originally scheduled fight with Miocic last November at UFC 295.

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

Bristol Bears winger Gabriel Ibitoye said he has had no contact from England head coach Steve Borthwick ahead of November’s autumn internationals.

Ibitoye scored a show-stopping hat-trick in just nine minutes during Bristol’s comeback win against Exeter on Saturday to completely turn the game at Sandy Park around.

Borthwick names his 36-player squad for the four upcoming Autumn matches on Wednesday.

“No chat, hopefully one day soon,” Ibitoye told the Rugby Union Weekly podcast, regarding any conversations with Borthwick.

The 26-year-old topped many of the Premiership’s individual statistics last season, including most metres made, most offloads and most defenders beaten, by some distance.

His four tries so far this campaign put him joint second on the Premiership’s running tally, and he sits second to only Exeter’s Immanuel Feyi-Waboso for metres made (310) across the league’s opening four games.

“Looking at England, Steve definitely wants something from his wingers. I think I am different as a total package, I don’t know what the nuts and bolts are,” Ibitoye said.

“The wingers he’s got in there are obviously class but I know I might have to be less risky on the field and not take as risky decisions.

“The way I see it I’m just playing what I see in that moment, in that picture, so for me it’s not that risky because in the week I practice it a lot.

“When I first joined Quins I was doing it and it wasn’t come off but I stuck at it and now passes are starting to go to hand and my teammates know what I’m going to bring on the training field and matchday.”