LAS VEGAS – Yes, Neil Magny keeps getting matched up with the hottest rising prospects the UFC welterweight division has to offer – and yes, he loves it.

Ahead of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 247, Magny (29-12 MMA, 22-11 UFC) embraces the role he’s assumed, as the guy attempting to bump a hype train off the tracks.

At 37 years of age with 33 UFC fights under his belt, why does Magny do it?

“Notoriety. At this point, it’s all about letting it be known that you still stand to be a force in the division, so to speak,” Magny told MMA Junkie and other reporters Wednesday. “I don’t do that by fighting guys I know I can beat. I get it by going out there and challenging myself against whomever the UFC throws at me. This is yet again another example of that.

“I can easily be like, ‘Hey, do you guys have any 30-year-olds or 40-year-olds I can fight? I don’t want to fight another up-and-coming killer.’ But I know that’s not what’s going to make me happy at the end of the day. I want to challenge myself. Right now, being at the place I’m at physically, mentally, emotionally, I know I can still compete with the best guys in the world. I would honestly feel bad for myself if I were to sandbag and sell myself short by taking an opponent I know I’d beat easily.”

This time around, the challenge is Carlos Prates, a lanky sniper of a striker with massive knockout power built training with The Fighting Nerds. Prates (20-6 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has won his first three UFC fights by knockout. Saturday’s fight at the UFC Apex will be his fourth in 10 months.

“I’ve been impressed thus far,” Magny said. “He has some pretty good kickboxing matches that I’ve been able to see. He did pretty well in his MMA career. Though he’s a young guy in the UFC, the guy has 26 professional MMA fights under his belt. So he’s definitely a veteran in this sport in particular, as far as the skill sets he brings to the table. Knowing the camp that he trains at and his background, I know he’s know slouch. Though I know he’s predominantly a striker, I know he’s going to have pretty good wrestling defense, ground game, and things like that, as well. I know I have a tough test ahead of me and I can’t wait to go out there and deliver.”

In order to get the job done, Magny aims to remain level-headed. It’s as much of a mental game as it is physical.

“The biggest thing is being present,” Magny said. “I know these guys are very dangerous everywhere else. I can’t afford to be complacent at any moment in this fight. I know I’m going to be able to out there, out-strike, out-wrestle, out-grapple. I can do whatever it takes to get the job done. For me, it’s all about being present and executing at this point.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 247.

The broadcast team calling the fights for the upcoming Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson card has finally been revealed ahead of the event airing on Netflix on Nov. 15 from AT&T Stadium just outside Dallas.

Leading the commentary and handling play-by-play duties is veteran broadcaster Mauro Ranallo, who has called dozens of championship fights during his career dating back to his days working with PRIDE Fighting Championships.

Ranallo is joined in the broadcast booth by former multi-division boxing champion and former Tyson opponent Roy Jones Jr. The third person in the broadcast booth is actually actress Rosie Perez, who has often talked about her passion for boxing and now she’ll get to call one of the most talked about fights of the year.

Kate Scott, a veteran broadcaster from CBS, is set to host the event during the broadcast with retired boxing champion Andre Ward providing analysis from the booth before and after fights.

Sean Wheelock joins the broadcast as the rules and scoring expert with Sibley Scoles and Ariel Helwani reporting from inside the arena. Tyson’s son Amir Tyson is actually serving as the in-arena reporter alongside Scoles during the preliminary fights on the card.

Kody Mommaerts, who currently serves as the announcer for BOXXER and BYB Extreme Fighting, is handling the in-ring announcer duties for the card.

The broadcast team lineup was first revealed by Variety.

The main card airs exclusively on Netflix for no additional cost to subscribers with the broadcast starting at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 15. The preliminary card kicks off at 5:30 p.m. ET

Here’s the full card for Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson

MAIN CARD

MAIN EVENT: Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson

Amanda Serrano vs. Katie Taylor

Mario Barrios vs. Abel Ramos

Neeraj Goyat vs. Whindersson Nunes

PRELIMS

Shadasia Green vs. Melinda Watpool

Lucas Bahdi vs. Armando Casamonica

Bruce Carrington Jr. vs. Dana Coolwell

Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson hopes experienced defender Shane Duffy will bring “steel and leadership” after being recalled to the squad for the forthcoming Nations League matches against Finland and England.

The 32-year-old central defender has been included in a 23-man group for the Group B2 fixtures against the Finns at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on 14 November and the trip to Wembley three days later.

The Norwich City player’s only appearance for the Republic in the past 12 months came in a 2-1 friendly victory over Hungary in June under then interim head coach John O’Shea.

His impressive club form in the Championship has seen him regain a place in the squad and his international boss believes the 61-times capped defender can bring some qualities that the Irish side was missing in their win over Finland and defeat in Greece in the last international window in October.

“I wanted to see the upcoming exciting younger centre-backs so in the beginning we went for younger players but I felt – especially last camp and before – there were some areas we can improve,” said Hallgrimsson.

“For example, we lost a lot of duels, especially against Greece in the first half, and his leadership, his character will probably help us in that area.

“It’s good to see what he brings in and I hope they will be the attributes he will come in with, with leadership, a little bit more steel and winning duels, especially set-pieces, etc.

Daniel Cormier doesn’t rule out the possibility of Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou happening.

If you ask UFC CEO Dana White, he’ll tell you there’s zero chance of that becoming a reality. White recently went off Ngannou, and their relationship appears to be as soured as ever.

Heavyweight champion Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) makes his first title defense against Stipe Miocic in the UFC 309 headliner Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden. Both him and his coaches have hinted at retirement after the fight.

But Jones’ coach Greg Jackson said a big paycheck could make Jones stick around. A matchup with PFL heavyweight superfights champ Ngannou (17-3) could definitely deliver that, and if there’s one man that could make it happen, Cormier says it’s Turki Alalshikh.

“If Turki and Francis and Jon can make these dollars make sense, why wouldn’t they do it?” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “I’m not sitting up here saying it’s going to happen because Dana does not like Francis. That is a massive problem – massive problem.

“But hell, when in the world do you put that above business? I don’t know that he will. He’s one of the smartest, sharpest businessman you’ve ever met. If the dollars make sense, the fight could potentially happen.”

Ngannou and his team seem to think a fight with Jones could happen. Despite the UFC being heavily against cross promotion, Cormier says sharing the same broadcast partner definitely makes things easier.

“If Francis is to be believed, and Francis has had these conversations, we’re now entering a world where multiple partnerships already are established in this realm,” Cormier continued. “ESPN UFC, ESPN PFL, Riyadh Season UFC – ladies and gentleman, maybe, just maybe, we get that fight.”

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

After getting knocked out for the first time in his career in the main event of UFC 308 by Ilia Topuria, Max Holloway’s featherweight career appears to be over for good, as he recently confirmed he’ll be making the move to the UFC lightweight division. Is it the right move for the current “BMF” champion?

On an all-new edition of Between the Links, the panel reacts to Holloway’s full-time lightweight jump, discuss who he could face next at 155, and if a third meeting with Dustin Poirier is the fight to make. Additionally, topics include Brandon Moreno’s sensational performance at UFC Edmonton and what’s next for the former two-time champ, other standout moments from this past Saturday’s card, Rakhmonov wanting a fight with Kamaru Usman for the interim welterweight title at UFC 310, if the UFC should just wait for Belal Muhammad to heal up, UFC Vegas 100 this Saturday headlined by Neil Magny vs. Carlos Prates, and much more.

Host Mike Heck moderates the matchup between MMA Fighting’s Alexander K. Lee and Eurosport’s Marcel Dorff.

Watch the show live at 12:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. PT in the video above.

If you missed the show live, you can still watch above, or listen to the podcast version, which can be found below and on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your pods.

Will Hill

FOX Sports Betting Analyst

As the calendar flips to November, we come down the stretch for the back nine of the NFL season. 

Last week, we only saw one underdog win outright, as the Panthers beat the Saints. The chalk prevailed, after an early-season flurry of upsets. 

The signature performance of Week 9 was the Lions’ statement win in Green Bay. Detroit led the Packers 24-3 late in the game before a couple of late scores made it a 24-14 final — a score that did not reflect just how in control the Lions were from start to finish. 

With only one loss — a fluky, early-season defeat at home to the Bucs — the Lions not only look like the best team in the NFC but perhaps the best team in all the NFL. 

In the AFC, the Chiefs remained unbeaten, while the Ravens steamrolled a solid Broncos defense, as a rematch of last year’s AFC title game seems more and more possible every week. 

Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and Jared Goff all entered last week with single-digit odds to win the MVP. All four players led their teams to wins, leaving the odds fairly static, aside from a small tick up for Jackson (+250) and Goff (+600). 

While I don’t see a great bet in that market, there is another award bet that got my attention.

Joe Burrow To Win Offensive Player of the Year 100-1 (FanDuel)

Joe Burrow is quietly having an outstanding season, perhaps flying under the radar because of the team’s lackluster start to the year. 

But the team has played better as of late and is still around even money to make the playoffs. 

The MVP is typically reserved for quarterbacks who lead their team to 12 wins or more and capture a top-two seed. Burrow won’t fit that criteria in all likelihood, but is it possible he gets Offensive Player Of the Year? 

Does Joe Burrow or Lamar Jackson need a win more in Week 10?

This award has not gone to a quarterback in several years but did get handed out to a QB three times in a four-year stretch from 2105 to 2018. Burrow is heading into Thursday night’s game against the Ravens having already thrown 20 touchdowns and only four interceptions, giving him a realistic chance to throw for 40 touchdowns or more. 

To put that in perspective, Jackson won MVP last year with 24 TDs the entire season, Mahomes won it the year prior with 41, while Rodgers threw 37 TDs in his 2021 MVP season. 

Burrow might not have enough team success to win the MVP, but at 100-1, with his gaudy statistics, a long shot bet on him to win Offensive Player of the Year is an interesting and perhaps lucrative bet to make. 

Will Hill, a contributor on the Bears Bets Podcast, has been betting on sports for over a decade. He is a betting analyst who has been a host on VSiN, as well as the Goldboys Network.

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