Continue reading with advertising …

… or with a subscription

Visit motorsport.com as usual with advertising and tracking. You can revoke your consent at any time via the data protection page.¹

Use motorsport.com without any advertising banners, personalized tracking and commercials for a small fee.

Accept and continue

More information about advertising and tracking in our Data protection notice, the List of our partners and in Data protection information center.

Already a subscriber?

Log in here

The Valencia MotoGP has been cancelled following the devastating flash floods in Spain.

The season finale was scheduled to be held at Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo circuit from 15 November.

At least 202 people have died in the Valencia region after torrential rains.

“In lieu of racing in Valencia, MotoGP will instead race for Valencia,” said MotoGP, who are yet to name a new venue and date for the race.

“The championship will put our collective efforts behind backing the relief funds already in place to ensure our positive impact can connect with the area in the way it best serves the people and communities we have been part of for so long.”

Several events have been called off because of the floods, including La Liga champions Real Madrid’s visit to Valencia.

Former Valencia youth team player, Jose Castillejo, died as result of the floods.

The 28-year-old played for the club up to under-19 level and went on to feature for several other teams including Paterna, Eldense and Vilamarxant.

“We extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends. Rest in peace,” said Segunda division side Eldense, who Castillejo played for during the 2015-16 season.

Khamzat Chimaev returned in emphatic fashion at UFC 308.

Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) ran through former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker for a first-round submission in this past Saturday’s co-main event in Abu Dhabi. He acquired the help of Dr. Matteo Capodaglio, who works with the likes of No. 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan and former title challenger Marvin Vettori. Chimaev has experienced a slew of health issues in the past year, which saw the cancellation of his first scheduled bout against Whittaker at UFC on ABC 6 in June.

Capodaglio discussed how Chimaev avoided overtraining for this camp while also maintaining his usual intensity.

“I can do as much as I want when it comes to nutrition, but if the training volume is overwhelming, it doesn’t matter. The body is going to break down at one point,” Capodaglio told MMA Junkie. “You can have the best nutrition, but if you train eight hours a day say, the likelihood of having an injury is increased. I think the rest of the team did a great job, and Khamzat did a great job of understanding this. Not just macronutrient periodization but also training periodization.

“The training sessions were intense, but they were not never ending. So, the reduction of training volume, I guess compared to his previous camp, I wasn’t there, so I can’t say for certain, but from what I heard, also played a huge role. … I was impressed with the output that he put in the training sessions. That was intense. Like, very intense. He was hammering people. I was going into the fight with a lot of good feelings.”

Leading up to UFC 308, Chimaev mentioned the possibility of returning to welterweight. Capodaglio thinks middleweight is optimal but doesn’t see a drop back down as an impossible feat. Capodaglio helped former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt make flyweight with no issues.

“He recently moved up to 185, and he’s feeling that weight class,” Capodaglio said. “Meaning that he’s probably also gaining lean mass, he’s getting bigger. To go back to 170, and this is not just for Khamzat, I think there should be a buffer period where he works on decreasing his lean mass because of course lean mass is important for performance.

“But the thing is, if your lean mass is so big that you cannot possibly make the weight, even if you’re super lean, then the only way to make weight will be to decrease that. So, it will be something that requires time, requires work, but theoretically, with the right preparation, it could be doable.”

Northern Ireland will play the first leg of their Euro 2025 second round play-off against Norway at Inver Park.

The game will take place at the home of Irish Premiership champions Larne on Friday, 29 November (19:00 GMT kick-off).

Tanya Oxtoby’s side have played four of their five home games this year at Windsor Park, with the other taking place at Mourneview Park.

Both those venues are unavailable however due to Irish Premiership games on the Saturday.

Linfield host Portadown at Windsor whilst Glenavon welcome Coleraine to Mourneview.

Northern Ireland last played at Inver Park, which has a 3G surface, in September 2021 when they beat Luxembourg 4-0 in a World Cup qualifier.

They reached the second round of the play-offs after Lauren Wade’s extra -time goal helped them past Croatia in the second leg at Windsor on Tuesday night.

The second leg against the two-time European Championship winners will be played on 3 December at the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo (17:00 GMT kick-off).

ERIK TEN HAG said his “dream has come to an end” as he broke his silence after being sacked by Manchester United.

Ten Hag, 54, was dismissed on Monday morning after a dismal start to the season which sees The Red Devils languishing in 14th in the Premier League table.

2

The Dutchman, who has been replaced by Sporting Lisbon head coach Ruben Amorim, won the League Cup and FA Cup during his two years at Old Trafford.

And he graciously thanked both the fans and staff at the club in a lengthy farewell statement.

In a letter to the Man Utd fans, he said: “Dear fans, Let me start by thanking you. Thank you for always being there for the club. Whether it was at a game far away or a tough match at Old Trafford, your support has been unshakeable.

“The atmosphere at Old Trafford has always been electrifying, thanks to you. I felt it many times.

“Also in away games, it gave the team and me an incredible feeling to hear the United chants taking over the opponents’ stadiums, whether the game was in England, Europe or during the summer tours.

“I always enjoyed meeting Manchester United fans throughout the world.

“Walking the streets and being able to chat with fans in England, Europe, Asia, Australia, the USA – you inspired me and radiated a strong sense of unity. That’s what makes United supporters so special.

“I want to thank you for giving me this feeling and for your support.

CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS

2

“I also want to thank the staff in every department of the club for their unwavering support in good times and bad.”

Ten Hag then turned his attention towards the successes and failures on the pitch.

He added: “We won two trophies – achievements that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

“Of course, my dream was to bring more trophies to the cabinet. Unfortunately, that dream has come to an end.

“I wish all Manchester United fans nothing but success, trophies and glory. Your support and the warmth I received from everyone at the club helped me feel at home.

“Thank you for this chapter in my life. Erik.”

Ten Hag arrived in 2022 and won the Carabao Cup in his first season, while he also guided Man Utd to a third-place finish in the Premier League.

Despite finishing eighth last season, he was handed a one-year contract extension in July after Man Utd beat Man City to win the FA Cup. 

He subsequently spent almost £200million in the transfer market to strengthen his squad – only to endure the club’s worst start to a Premier League campaign.

THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..

The Sun is your go to destination for the best football, boxing and MMA news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheSunFootball and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunFootball.

Losing at the U.S. Olympic trials back in April just didn’t leave a good taste in David Taylor’s mouth so the 2020 Olympic gold medalist returned for one last tournament.

While he fell in the opening round in a highly anticipated showdown against Russian mauler Abdulrashid Sadulaev, who went onto capture gold, Taylor stormed back to win bronze at 92kgs and become a five-time medalist at the wrestling World Championships.

With the win, Taylor called it a career as he prepares to resume coaching the Oklahoma State wrestling team with the collegiate season kicking off in just two weeks.

“It’s a tough decision to wrestle but I just didn’t want to end the way I did in April,” Taylor told FloWrestling after his win. “It didn’t necessarily mean I wanted to be here either. I want to have the chance to finish on my terms.

“Coming into this knowing this is it, I was hyper focused on wrestling Sadulaev and the game script of what I thought and how the match went different, I should have wrestled it like that match. I felt like this was a chance at redemption.”

To win bronze, Taylor took out two-time World champion Kamran Ghasempour from Iran.

After going down 2-0 in the opening period, Taylor increased his activity and immediately put the Iranian on the defensive after scoring a pair of takedowns. Taylor wrapped up the victory with a final takedown with just three seconds left on the clock to go up 6-2 and secure the bronze medal.

It was an impressive rebound for Taylor, who had to wait until opening round matchups played out to know if he would get pulled back into repechage but once he got there, the former Penn State standout dominated the competition. He won 3-1 over Abubakr Abakarov of Azerbaijan and then delivered an 11-1 tech fall over Lars Schaefle from Germany.

Taylor retires as one of the most accomplished wrestlers from the United States with two NCAA championships to go along with his Olympic gold medal and three golds at the World Championships.

After falling to fellow Penn State alum Aaron Brooks at the Olympic trials, Taylor said his competitive career was over after he accepted the head coaching job at Oklahoma State where he took over for fellow legend John Smith. But Taylor just couldn’t let his career end on a loss like that so he returned for one last run at the World Championships where he won the bronze medal in what is now his final match.