Ireland: Hugo Keenan; Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, James Lowe; Jack Crowley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher, Finlay Bealham; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).

Replacements: Rob Herring, Cian Healy, Thomas Clarkson, Ryan Baird, Peter O’Mahony, Craig Casey, Sam Prendergast, Jamie Osborne.

Argentina: Juan Cruz Mallia; Rodrigo Isgro, Lucio Cinti, Matias Moroni, Bautista Delguy; Tomas Albornoz, Gonzalo Bertranou; Thomas Gallo, Julian Montoya (capt), Joel Sclavi; Guido Petti, Pedro Rubiolo; Pablo Matera, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Joaquin Oviedo

Replacements: Ignacio Ruiz, Ignacio Calles, Francisco Gomez Kodela, Franco Molina, Santiago Grondona, Gonzalo Garcia, Santiago Carreras, Justo Piccardo.

Referee: Paul Williams (NZ)

Eryk Anders believes he ultimately had more to offer during his MMA career, and quite frankly, the past nearly two decades of his life.

The UFC middleweight makes his 18th walk to the octagon when he meets former champ Chris Weidman this Saturday at UFC 309. On Sept. 1, Anders — a 2009 national champion college football player for The University of Alabama — revealed that he had stopped abusing drugs for over a year, which has led to gaining custody of his son, and incredible growth in and out of the octagon.

“It’s not like I was living under a bridge shooting heroin and smoking crack or anything like that, I was just like out partying doing God knows what at whatever time in the morning, with whoever and I’ve just always kind of been like that — even since high school,” Anders told MMA Fighting.

“I would even be doing all of this in high school, and I just always felt that as long as I made the workouts, and didn’t miss practice and performed relatively well, that it wasn’t an issue. I’m not the only one doing that, but obviously I’m a little bit older. I started to ask myself, ‘How much better could I have been?’

“Especially in college, like if I wasn’t up all night chasing women, drinking, doing whatever, because I never sleep. I just kind of rationalize, ‘Well, I’m not asleep anyways so I might as well go out and find something to do. And then I had court coming up for custody of my kids, so obviously, we stopped doing everything, but it was still going out and drinking or whatever. But then I just kind of had this moment of clarity after like three or four months: I was like, ‘Damn, this is what it feels like to not be hungover. This feels great.’

For the 37-year-old, the choice to change his life and his habits were clear. And once that clarity hit him, it became simple and easy.

“I’m not like a therapist or nothing, but for me it’s an easy choice and I just feel so much better,” Anders said. “Right now, I’m driving around looking for places to put a gym, something that I probably would have never done a year ago, actually like thinking about what’s next, so to speak.”

After winning his first eight fights as a pro, Anders signed to the UFC and knocked out Rafael Natal in his UFC debut in July 2017. then went on to defeate Markus Perez i at UFC Fight Night 123 in December 2017. From there, Anders would compete in his first headliner against former light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida, losing a decision at UFC Fight Night 125 in February 2018.

Fourteen UFC fights later, Anders gets ready to make the octagon walk in the World’s Most Famous Arena — and he’ll do so with a clear head, a sober mind, and on the heels of a decision victory against Jamie Pickett in March, which was his first fight on his new path.

“It was just smoking, coke, pills, you name it, dude,” Anders explained. “You name it. Anything other than — like I said, wasn’t like smoking crack or heroin but kind of, you know, pill form heroin, like opiates and uppers downers left, right, whichever way you want to go. I’m not even asking. You offer me some, it’s down the hatch, and we’ll play it by ear, you know.

“I think that a lot of people tell themselves that lie, and it was actually kind of glorified, especially in college. It’s like, ‘Oh, dude, Eric was out until five in the morning and didn’t even go to sleep and now he’s here at workouts, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,’ but in the grand scheme of things, it’s really not that cool because you’re just playing yourself. There’s just no way that you could perform at your highest level if you’re hungover, or if you’re actually even like, high during the workout or whatever.

“You just lie to yourself and everybody thinks it’s cool. But at the end of the day, it’s not really because I could have been better. There are some close fights that I’ve lost that had I been… I’m not Jon Jones, I wasn’t doing it the week of, but, if I wasn’t doing it at all, maybe, like in the last minute of the last round I can push more or, maybe I’ll just go into training with a clearer mind and get more rest, get more out of training so I can go harder in the fight or whatever the case may be. I know that you can expect to see the best version of myself on Nov. 16.”

Of course, when you’re as interesting as Anders is, people want to hang out with you. As most would, Anders liked the attention he was getting. But as he looked deeper at those who were surrounding him, and knowing he had gained custody of his son, Anders realized what was truly important.

“I just kind of topped answering the phone and distancing myself because at the end of the day, they probably just want to hang out with the UFC fighter,” Anders said. “They don’t really necessarily care about me or what I got going on. They just want to hang out with somebody they think is cool and do stuff that they think is fun.

“It is what it is. I’m just not really trying to go down that road anymore.”

At 37 years of age, and a fresh perspective on who he is as a father, a fighter, an aspiring business man, and human being, Anders is a realist. He currently has three fights left on his current contract, and has prepared himself for it to be the final three fights of his career.

But as it always is in this crazy sport of mixed martial arts, things can change in an instant.

“I mean, everything has a price, you know what I’m saying?,” Anders said. “If I go out there, and I starch the next three dudes, and they come with me with a new contract and I mean, money talks. I like money.

“So let’s see what happens man, to be honest, I still feel young. I feel like I could fight for 100 years but I’m just getting tired of having surgeries and that kind of thing. And I really love the life that this has afforded. In between fights, I can go and take my kid wherever on planet earth. So obviously, if I open up a business that’s going to tie up a lot of my time, but it’s OK, because as much as I want to fight forever, I know you can’t fight forever.

So three more fights, that puts me at 20 UFC fights. I think that’s a great milestone to have and a lot of fighters don’t get there, and that’s just kind of where my mind is at right now.”

With 14 months clean of drugs, and with the positive changes he has made coming to light, Anders felt blessed when the UFC approached him about competing at Madison Square Garden. The opponent did not matter at all.

Now that he has the chance to face a former world champion, and one of the most recognizable names in the history of the division, everything appears to be coming up Anders.

“It’s Madison Square Garden, that’s one of the most prestigious fighting arenas in America, if not the world,” Anders said. “They could’ve asked me to fight anyone in there, and I would have said yes. I’ve always wanted to fight there. It’s definitely on the bucket list for me.

“The name is just the icing on the cake — former champion, guy who knocked out Anderson Silva. So yeah, of course. How could you say no?”

There is unlikely to be a trilogy of Formula 1 sprint races in the United States in the near future as Las Vegas organisers have distanced themselves from introducing the format.

Two of the six sprint races of the 2024 F1 season have taken place in America, with reigning champion Max Verstappen winning in both Miami and Austin to help build a lead at the top of the drivers’ standings.

F1 returned to Las Vegas last year for the first time since the 1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix, and following the first race last year that incorporates the city’s famous strip, the event has added a Ferrari Challenge support event for 2024.

The Las Vegas GP has a unique status on the calendar as the only race directly organised by F1 itself, which in theory would make it a simple process to give the event sprint status if the desire was there.

But, with track time at a premium on the Las Vegas Strip circuit, making the required alterations to a weekend to accommodate a sprint race means it is not something on the agenda for the organisers.

“I think we’re quite comfortable letting Austin and Miami keep the sprint, because we’ve got so much more happening anyway and we’re in a really good place,” said Chief Operating Officer Emily Prazer of Formula 1, which directly promotes the event.

“We’re adding support races and hope to continue doing that over the next few years. I don’t think people understand the complexity of this race versus other street races, either, and I do think that the reality is that we are opening and closing that track.

“We have around 46 track openings that people don’t realise the complexity of that versus any other grand prix. I think adding a sprint would also create a nervousness of ‘can we fix the track if something was to happen fast enough?’

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W14

Photo by: Erik Junius

“The complexity of Vegas versus even Singapore – I was in Singapore at the race and chatting to the promoter and they were like, ‘we don’t understand how you open and close the track the way you do’.

“They keep the roads closed for seven days. Can you imagine us and the council keeping the roads closed for seven days? It would just literally never happen, ever.”

Sprints were introduced to the F1 calendar in 2021, promoting more overtaking and closer contests in races over much shorter distances than a traditional grand prix.

But Prazer believes the on-track action during the Las Vegas Grand Prix – which saw 99 overtakes in 2023, the most in any F1 race since 2016 – also means they do not need to concern themselves with pitching for a sprint race

“The race in itself essentially feels like a sprint race,” she told Motorsport.com.

“So if you think about the speed you’re going, from a safety standpoint, how fast is that to how quick the track is, there wouldn’t be too much difference between the actual race and the sprint based on the performance from last year, we did look at it.”

Morocco international Achraf Hakimi is unlikely to sign a new contract at Paris Saint Germain, reports said. The 26-year-old right-back, arguably the finest in the world, will become a free agent when his current deal at the French capital expires in 2026. The latest report contradicts what the like of L’Équipe had claimed earlier — that the 5ft-11 defender will extend his stay at Paris at least until 2029. 

Hakimi, who joined Real Madrid Academy as a child, arrived at PSG from Inter Milan in 2021. A mainstay for the French powerhouse ever since, Hakimi had recently vowed to help the team lift its first UEFA Champions League. However, he also hinted his thirst for winning trophies. 

ALSO READ | Erling Haaland to join Real Madrid if Manchester City agree to swap deal involving ace BRAZILIAN: Report

PSG is often mocked for being mere “home bullies” for their misfortunes in the European circuit. The star-studded side, funded by oil money from the Middle East, never tasted the ultimate glory of European football. 

Who will buy Achraf Hakimi? 

PSG’s lack of success in the UCL is said to be the reason behind national captain Kylian Mbappe’s move to Real Madrid. The scenario could be no different for Hakimi, a two-time African Youth Player of the Year winner, who is yet to win European silverware despite being a highly-rated footballer. 

While there was no immediate news on potential clubs that the former Borussia Dortmund star could go to, some reports, on the other hand, claimed to know PSG’s contingency plan. Luis Enrqiue’s side is likely to buy English right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold from Premier League’s Liverpool, reports said.

Trent Alexander-Arnold to leave Liverpool?

26-year-old Trent, whose current Liverpool contract runs out in the summer of 2025, is unlikely to continue at Anfield in the post-Jurgen Klopp era. TAA has been heavily linked with La Liga champions Real Madrid for sometime now, and injury blows to Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez may force the Los Blancos to make a move for him ASAP.

ALSO READ | Ancelotti, Real Madrid decide to sell these THREE players in January to strengthen squad amid injury blows: Report

Meanwhile, PSG is preparing to play spoilsport by taking Trent to Ligue 1 instead. The English defender is already in talks with PSG and it has entered into advanced stages, SportBible said in a report. If Hakimi leaves in 2026, Trent could automatically take his place. If the Moroccan decides to stay, then the versatile Englishman can be accommodated in the midfield. Under Gareth Southgate, TAA has operated as a midfielder for the England national team. 

However, Trent Alexander-Arnold has not made his intentions clear yet and has kept his cards close to his chest. It needs to be seen if he would choose the super-rich French champions over proven trophy winners from the Spanish capital. 

Step by step, or in her case, fight by fight. That’s how Veronica Hardy is approaching things now that she’s in the best moment of her  career.

Hardy rides a three-fight winning streak heading into her return to the octagon Saturday at UFC 309 from Madison Square Garden in New York. The Venezuelan women’s flyweight takes on Eduarda Moura in the opening bout of the card.

A potential four-fight winning streak is no joke in the women’s 125-pound division. Yet, Hardy (9-4-1 MMA, 4-4 UFC) doesn’t want to get too far ahead and start projecting herself into the rankings or the UFC title picture.

“I think if you look too ahead, the road just seems so long like, ‘Wow, I’m not even ranked,’” Hardy told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “So for me, I’m just taking it fight by fight and focused on improving.

“It’d be a waste to get to the title and not be ready because I needed something in my game. Imagine getting so far just to come up short. So for me, if I’m ready, then yes. Right now I just want to get tough fights, keep climbing up the rankings and keep improving as a martial artist.”

Hardy doesn’t think a win alone on Saturday will get her a spot in the official UFC rankings for her division. She thinks it can get her a future fight to compete for a spot, but given the right performance, maybe she can squeeze in the world’s best.

“I don’t think I will enter the rankings, but maybe I’ll get a fight to enter the rankings,” Hardy said. “I think the fighters in the rankings are all very skilled and have picked up big wins, so I don’t think me winning will get someone out. I also think it comes down to whether or not they like your fights because you might just need more to enter the rankings. So I think the performance itself is very important.”

Taking things back to her fight-by-fight approach, Hardy can’t wait to compete Saturday. She likes the matchup with Moura (10-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), but more importantly she’s fighting in a legendary arena.

“I’m so excited, so excited, especially because I asked for this fight so much,” Hardy said. “I asked for it last year to fight at this (MSG) event, and they said no. I was more persistent in asking for this one.

“I train here in New York, so it makes it more special. Going to training every day and seeing the arena right there, because it’s a giant monster, it’s something that’s helped me because it’s such an impactful city, and I feel right at home. I think it will help me a ton.”

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

The sudden departure of Formula 1’s race director Niels Wittich has caught the entire paddock by surprise and is leaving the beleaguered governing body with more questions than answers, some more uncomfortable than others.

Was Wittich pushed or did he jump?

The FIA announced on Tuesday Wittich was “stepping down” after less than three seasons as F1’s race director, two of which by himself after initially splitting duties with FIA WEC race director Eduardo Freitas. And while thanking the 52-year-old German for his services, the phrase that Wittich left to “pursue other interests” is the oldest trick in the book to suggest someone has been dismissed rather than stepped back voluntarily. And indeed it soon emerged that the decision did not come from Wittich, who appeared to confirm to the German outlet Motorsport Magazin that he was only told hours before the FIA statement that his services were no longer required.

Funnily enough, Wittich is not even the first FIA race director to be said to “pursue other interests”, with Roger Lane-Nott’s departure in 1996 described in the same terms. After a tough single season as F1’s race director, former submarine commander Lane-Nott was replaced by FIA president Max Mosley by the much missed Charlie Whiting.

Why did Wittich go now?

The most puzzling aspect of Wittich’s replacement by F2 and F3 director Rui Marques is the timing, with three races left to run in the 2024 campaign and one week before F1 travels to Las Vegas. While there had been rumours about FIA president Mohamed Ben Sulayem looking at making a change, the shock timing of the announcement has appeared to taken many people in the paddock by surprise, not least people within the FIA itself.

Race control had caught flack at the Brazilian Grand Prix, with Red Bull unhappy with the timing of a red flag in qualifying that it felt cost Max Verstappen, and with questions raised over the late virtual safety car call in the sprint race for a stricken Nico Hulkenberg. But generally Wittich has been well regarded and uncontroversial, and acknowledged by many as doing a very difficult job relatively well under challenging circumstances, returning some stability to the role after Michael Masi’s fraught spell at the helm.

There has also been unease over the consistency of judging incidents and handing out penalties, but it must be pointed out that this does not fall under race control, which can only refer incidents to the stewards for them to evaluate further.

Niels Wittich, FIA

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Wittich’s replacement will now be dropped into the hotseat ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which is operationally one of the most challenging circuits to manage. It is far from an ideal scenario for someone new to the role, with controlling an F1 race a big step up from other FIA series.

The race around the famed Las Vegas Strip eventually made a successful debut last year, but not before several teething issues in practice, the most spectacular being Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz suffering a heavy crash after dislodging a water valve cover at full speed.

The iconic boulevard itself is also re-opened to the public before and after the on-track action, adding to the complexity of the event.

Who is Wittich’s replacement?

Wittich’s replacement Rui Marques is another well regarded figure within the FIA, who joined the governing body in 2014. Following a spell as the deputy race director in the FIA’s World Touring Car Cup, the Portuguese moved across to single-seaters and became the race director for F2 and F3 in 2022. Marques also has previous experience as an international steward and circuit inspector, giving him a solid all-round perspective of all the moving parts involved in FIA sanctioned racing. In F2 and F3 Marques will be replaced until the end of the year by his Singaporean deputy Jannette Tan.

What does this say about the FIA?

Whatever the ulterior motives behind Wittich’s removal, his shock exit comes off the back of a string of high-profile departures from the governing body under president Ben Sulayem, whose heavy-handed approach has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

In October the FIA parted ways with its director of communications Luke Skipper and secretary general of mobility Jacob Bangsgaard. Late last year both sporting director Steve Nielsen and single-seater technical director Tim Goss resigned, while head of the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission Deborah Mayer also left. The FIA’s first CEO Natalie Robyn also quit the organisation in May after less than two years in the role.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem

Photo by: Dom Romney / Motorsport Images

Following the latest departures in October, the FIA was keen to announce the appointment of Alberto Villarreal as general manager and new Senior HR Director Alessandra Malhame.

Ben Sulayem has also alienated F1’s driver corps through clampdowns on the use of jewellery and swearing, the latter netting Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc punishments in recent races. Last week the drivers union GPDA called on Ben Sulayem to treat drivers as adults and reconsider his approach.

In an interview with Motorsport.com in September, Ben Sulayem acknowledged that it was hard for the FIA to find qualified race directors, announcing a new department to train officials from grassroots level.

“We have an issue and the issue is that we don’t have [enough] race directors. You cannot order them on Amazon or Google. No, you have to train them,” he said. “If we take what we are doing today in Formula 1, you cannot rely on one. God forbid something happens to him. So, we have to be able to meet the level of demand and have a pathway that’s good.

“We have departments for many things, but we [didn’t] have a department for one thing which is like a spinal cord for us, which is the stewarding and race direction. So, now we have a proper department.”

The latest high-profile departure, in a department which Ben Sulayem has admitted is a pinch point for the organisation, will not ease calls from F1 teams clamouring for more stability. Therefore the FIA, which has been tight-lipped about it all, will have some explaining to do.