Chad Johnson and James Harrison have some unique Super Bowl plans.

According to their chatter on social media, the former NFL stars expect to meet in an exhibition fight under MMA rules sometime prior to the upcoming Super Bowl LIX, which takes place at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Feb. 9.

Johnson, the flashy wide receiver who built his reputation with the Cincinnati Bengals, was first to tease the bout via a tweet on Wednesday.

“I’m fighting James Harrison in a exhibition MMA format three-round bout in New Orleans before Super Bowl, I’m so excited,” Johnson wrote.

Rather than shoot down the rumor, Harrison appeared to confirm Johnson’s announcement, replaying in a quote tweet, “It’s five rounds, [Johnson.]”

That reply led to a back-and-forth between the retired football players, with Johnson saying the number of rounds won’t matter because he’s predicting a first-round finish, and Harrison saying that Johnson won’t be able to stand when the fight is over.

Johnson, 46, went on to tout his MMA skills, boasting that he will submit Harrison with a guillotine choke using “a collection of grappling techniques and strategies where his strength won’t matter.” A one-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Harrison (also 46) would likely enter any contest against Johnson with a considerable size advantage.

Should the bout come to fruition, it would mark Johnson’s second foray into combat sports. He competed in an exhibition boxing bout against Brian Maxwell on June 6, 2021, on the Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul undercard. Though Johnson fared well for the most part, he was knocked down in closing moments of the four-round exhibition bout. Due to the fight being an exhibition, no official winner was announced.

Harrison was a fearsome linebacker during his 15-year pro career and a key member of the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl champion teams in 2006 and 2009. In 2023, Harrison was inducted into the franchise’s Hall of Honor.

No date has been announced for Johnson vs. Harrison and it sounds like the athletes themselves are still sorting out the details.

In related news, current Las Vegas Raiders star and diehard UFC fan Maxx Crosby, 27, also expressed an interest in mixing the martial arts in an interview with TMZ.

“All my guys, all my teammates are like, 100 percent, they already expect me to do it,” Crosby said. “I’m like, shit, I haven’t even thought about it that much. I love fighting. I box damn near every single day, so we’ll see.

“I love it. I truly love it, so we’ll see. If my heart desires it and I want to go in there, shit, I might. I’m not ever putting anything out the window. You live one life, so I’m going to do everything I put my heart to.”

MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom goes in-depth to break down the biggest fights in the UFC. Today, he takes a closer look at the UFC 307 co-main event: Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Pena (ESPN+).

Raquel Pennington UFC 307 preview

Raquel Pennington

Staple info:

• Record: 16-9 MMA, 13-5 UFC
• Height: 5’7″ Age: 36 Weight: 135 lbs. Reach: 67.5″
• Last fight: Decision win over Mayra Bueno Silva (Jan. 24, 2024)
• Camp: Altitude MMA (Denver)
• Stance/striking style: Orthodox/kickboxing
• Risk management: Good

Supplemental info:
+ UFC women’s bantamweight champion
+ “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 18 alum
+ Regional MMA title
+ Ammateur MMA accolades
+ 1 KO victory
+ 4 submission wins
+ 2 first-round finishes
+ Consistent pace and pressure
+ Puts together punches well
^ Often punctuates exchanges
+ Accurate jab
+ Stays busy inside of the clinch
^ Improved defensive fundamentals
+ Underrated grappling game

Julianna Peña UFC 307 preview

Julianna Peña

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Staple info:

• Record: 12-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC
• Height: 5’6″ Age: 35 Weight: 135 lbs. Reach: 69″
• Last fight: Decision loss to Amanda Nunes (July 30, 2022)
• Camp: Sikjitsu/VFS Academy (Chicago)
• Stance/striking style: Orthodox/kickboxing
• Risk management: Fair

Supplemental info:
+ Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion
+ “The Ultimate Fighter” season 18 winner
+ Regional MMA title
+ 3 KO victories
+ 6 submission wins
+ 4 first-round finishes
+ Aggressive pace and pressure
^ Puts together punches when feeling in stride
+ Well-conditioned athlete
+ Strong inside of the clinch
^ Favors inside and outside trips
+ Solid transitional grappler
^ Works well toward the back
+ Effective ground striker

Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Peña point of interest: Bad blood

Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Peña

The co-main event in Salt Lake City features a women’s bantamweight title fight with some bad blood attached.

Although Raquel Pennington and Juliana Peña’s tenuous relationship dates back to their time on season 18 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” these two have never officially crossed paths inside of the octagon – which is kind of crazy.

Coming off their season of the show, there was certainly a lot of respect given to Peña, who came out on top as the winner for Team Tate. Peña would suffer some setbacks along the way, but her determination appears to be the ultimate force driving her fighting ability.

Sure, there may not be a lot to write home about as far as her skills on the feet go, but Peña has clearly been working hard with Mike Valle and others to improve upon the rawness that we’ve seen since the “TUF” house.

Now, it is uncommon to see Peña being much more measured in her form, occasionally feinting or throwing away a right hand in order to finish with the left. Peña will still blitz forward in combination when feeling in stride, but she displayed some decent improvements to her jabbing ability in her series with Amanda Nunes.

Nevertheless, Peña will still need to be respectful of what’s coming back her way when exchanging with Pennington.

Despite her submission victories, many associate Pennington with her striking abilities after her performance against Jessamyn Duke on “The Ultimate Fighter.”

A smart but scrappy fighter by nature, Pennington will come forward without hesitation, leaning on her feints, footwork and the occasional Superman punch to enter space. Though the champion’s teep kicks can often initiate exchanges, it is Pennington’s jab that often pays her bills on the feet.

Varying her timing and tempo, Pennington will utilize her jab in multiple ways.

Whether Pennington is using her jab to set up combinations or applying it in a checking fashion as she exits exchanges, the 36-year-old champion maintains a solid sense of herself when operating inside the pocket. From counter right hands to her patent uppercut-hook returns, Pennington also does a decent job of punctuating exchanges.

Whenever inside of clinch space, Pennington demonstrates improved defensive fundamentals that help fuel her sensibilities to stay busy with dirty boxing in close. That said, I am not sure how long she will want to stay in that space given the prowess of Peña in closed quarters.

Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Peña breakdown: Potential grappling threats

Jan 20, 2024; Toronto, Canada, USA; Raquel Pennington (red glove) fights Mayra Bueno Silva (blue gloves) during UFC 297 at ScotiaBank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Considering that both fighters have traditionally been comfortable operating in closed quarters, I suspect that the clinch with be a key junction in this fight.

Although Peña is not shy about getting in on a shot, she secures a vast majority of takedowns via the clinch. Whether she is attempting inside or outside trips, Peña is ultra-aggressive whenever she can get her hands locked around her opponent.

When able to get the fight to the floor on her terms, Peña is a blanketing top player who uses both strikes and pressure to encourage opposition into giving their backs. But if Peña fails and her aggression earns her a spot on bottom, then she will need to be just as urgent if she means to get back to her feet.

Even though Pennington primarily applies her grappling in clinch phases, the Colorado native has quietly improved her wrestling in the later stages of her career – both defensively and offensively.

Pennington may not be the superior grappler on paper, but she’s far from a fish out of water when it comes to ground fighting.

Aside from her durability and composure, Pennington is a solid transitional grappler who seems to be both competent and comfortable in many positions. She can stay active off her back while protecting herself and can float positions nicely when on top.

Pennington is also good about taking the back in transit, but I’m not so sure how much she’ll be looking to grapple with a fighter whose primary win conditions rely upon that realm.

Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Peña odds

The oddsmakers and the public are favoring the sitting champion, listing Pennington -180 and Peña +140 via FanDuel.

Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Peña prediction, pick

Raquel Pennington

Despite being installed as the odds-on favorite, you could argue that Pennington is still one of the more underrated fighters in the division – even as champion.

Aside from not being the most popular fighter in the world, Pennington’s boxing style of bodywork and counters don’t seem to score well with judges or fans alike. That said, Pennington has proven that she also has skills in the submission department – which should serve her well this Saturday.

Peña may thrive when making fights ugly, but Pennington – aside from being a solid clinch fighter – is one of the few women in this weight class who can hold a candle to the grittiness of “The Venezuelan Vixen.”

Couple that with the fact that Peña, who is 0-2 when fighting at high altitude (losing to Valentina Shevchenko in the UFC and to DeAnna Bennett in the regional circuit), opted to not come out to Salt Lake City early, and I can’t help but like Pennington’s chances even more in this spot.

Not only does Pennington live and train at elevation in Colorado, but the current champ is also the more active and advancing fighter between the two. I’ll pick Pennington to pick up a front-choke submission in Round 3.

Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Peña start time, where to watch

As the co-main event in Utah, Pennington and Peña are expected to make their walks to the octagon at approximately 11:45 p.m. ET. The main card airs on pay-per-view via ESPN+ following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.

Paul Pogba’s four-year ban for a doping offence has been reduced to 18 months after winning his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).

Sources close to the 31-year-old Juventus midfielder told BBC Sport he can resume training in January 2025 and will be eligible to play again from March.

France international Pogba was suspended by Italy’s national anti-doping tribunal (Nado) in February after a drugs test found elevated levels of testosterone – a hormone that increases endurance – in his system.

Cas director general Matthieu Reeb confirmed to Reuters the ban had been reduced to 18 months from 11 September, 2023.

Former Manchester United midfielder Pogba took his case to Cas and gave evidence in person at a hearing earlier this summer.

He previously said he would “never knowingly or deliberately” dope and believed the verdict was “incorrect”.

Had the original ban stood, 2018 World Cup winner Pogba would have been unable to play until 2027, when he will be 34.

SALT LAKE CITY – Unlike a lot of sports retirements, particularly ones in MMA it seems, Carla Esparza said she thinks hers will stick.

Nearly 10 years ago, Esparza became an integral part of the UFC history books when she became the inaugural women’s strawweight champion with a submission of future champ Rose Namajunas. Their fight closed out the first women’s season of “The Ultimate Fighter.

And though Esparza lost the belt to Joanna Jedrzejczyk in her first attempted defense in early 2015, she went 8-3 over a six-year stretch and improbably, given the distance from her first title, she won the belt again with an upset of Namajunas. Her time between belts remains the longest in UFC history.

Saturday, Esparza (20-7 MMA, 10-5 UFC) is back in action for the first time since she lost the 115-pound belt to Zhang Weili. She’ll take on fellow “TUF 20” alum Tecia Pennington (13-7 MMA, 9-7 UFC) on the early prelims at UFC 307 (pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+) at Delta Center.

But for real: This will be it, she said.

“Most definitely – no matter the outcome, (even if it’s a) one-minute finish, I think this is it for me,” Esparza said at Wednesday’s media day. “I’m kind of ready to move on to that next chapter in life, just staying home with my son, maybe growing a bigger family. It’s going to be a little bit hard to get back in the octagon, big belly like that.”

Esparza lost the title to Weili in November 2022. She gave birth to her first child in September 2023. This layoff represents the longest lull in activity of her career.

But it’s possible the throes of being a newlywed and having a newborn around have made Esparza, who will turn 37 next week, look at things differently knowing it’s her swan song.

“I’m really just trying to enjoy the moment and kind of have a more carefree attitude and just have fun with everyone,” she said. “Normally, I would just be a hermit in my room and super focused, but now I’m just enjoying every aspect of it, trying to take more pictures, document a little bit more. I’m doing an after-party and having all my friends that are coming out for lunch after weigh-ins – just having fun and appreciating the people and the experience of fight week.”

She also knows that time when things weren’t great, or when she was building back from title losses, can be a motivator for people around her.

“I would say the biggest thing I want people to remember from my story is never count yourself out. You can fall, but you can always build your way back up, and if you put enough work in and you want it enough, you can always come back better.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

Raquel Pennington always had a feeling her first title defense would come against Julianna Peña whether she deserved it or not.

Absent for over two years, the former UFC bantamweight champion hasn’t been seen since she lost a one-sided decision to Amanda Nunes back in 2022. While she was expected to face Nunes in a trilogy and then fight for the vacant title after “The Lioness” retired, Peña dealt with injuries that continuously kept her sidelined while the rest of the division moved on without her.

Pennington understands the argument against Peña getting a title shot but in reality, this is the fight she wanted before she ever became champion.

“In my mind, I knew just because Julianna had one of the biggest upsets in UFC women’s bantamweight history beating Amanda, I knew that it was going to come down to Julianna,” Pennington told MMA Fighting before UFC 307. “So it’s like honestly, I’m excited for this fight. I’m excited for my own personal reasons. On paper, does it make sense? No, I’m right there with you, I don’t agree with it.

“When they called [to offer me the fight for the vacant title] and they’re like, ‘Hey, Julianna’s injured, all this stuff, it’s going to be Mayra [Bueno Silva],’ it was just like I felt disappointment. I was disappointed. Just given the way everything happens for a reason it plays out and that’s not taking anything away from Mayra. I told her after the fight and we talked, she’s going to do some great things, she has to continue to push but she’s very green still. She’s young and very green with it all. With this one, I think part of it makes it easier to put the world title behind in the back of my mind with it all. It’s like this is taking me back to The Ultimate Fighter days. Let’s settle this once and for all.”

Over 11 years ago, Pennington and Peña were both members of Team Miesha Tate during The Ultimate Fighter 18. After making it into the house, Pennington and Peña were early favorites to potentially meet in the finals, but that’s not how things played out.

Peña ended up as the TUF 18 champion while Pennington was eliminated by Jessica Rakoczy in the semifinals after suffering a hand injury during a win over Jessamyn Duke in the opening round. While she’s not exactly holding onto a grudge all these years later, Pennington admits that she didn’t get along with Peña and that’s seemingly put them at odds ever since.

“When we got in there, everybody was bullying Julianna,” Pennington explained. “Like I honestly felt bad for her. It was just like things play out, they pick the teams, we’re roommates and now we’re teammates.

“For me, I personally tried to take her under my wing. Nobody wanted anything to do with her, she was lonely and it was like damn, this show is just starting. We’re going to be in here for seven weeks. I tried. Needless to say, I learned really quick our personalities are very different. It’s like you stick to your side and I’m going to stick to my side. There was little things they just added up. Over time living with somebody and seeing the different personality types, she just got under my skin. Just her personality. I’m not going to sit here and bash her and cut her down because there’s so much more to all of us as people but she’s just not somebody that I want around me.”

It turns out Pennington might not be the only one who Peña rubs the wrong way.

When she first got the call to offer her the fight, Pennington claims people inside the UFC told her some of the motivation behind this matchmaking comes down to relishing in Peña’s potential demise.

“She has a freaking Master’s degree in yapology,” Pennington said. “She talks and she keeps herself relevant that way. At the end of the day, I don’t understand how this girl can stay injured and then she comes back and all of a sudden, she’s getting a big fight and then she’s injured and she comes back and she’s getting something else. Who’s managing you? What are you doing here? Whatever you’re doing, great, it’s working for you. Congratulations. You’ve had whatever for yourself but it doesn’t make sense to me.

“At the end of the day, UFC’s going to do what UFC does. I won’t say a name but some people in UFC have said, ‘Everybody loves watching Julianna get her ass beat for five rounds so why not?’”

The bad blood between the fighters makes for emotionally charged promotion leading up to the co-main event, but Pennington is just happy to finally have the chance to vanquish Peña from her life once and for all.

Dating back to The Ultimate Fighter all the way to her title fight win back in January, Pennington has heard plenty from Peña and she anxiously awaits the opportunity to shut her up.

“This is not a thing where we’re going to have this ongoing battle,” Pennington said. “I’m going to go out there, I’m going to beat your ass. I’m very confident the fighter that I am, just everywhere I’m at in life at this point being 36 years old. My mind has just shifted so much. I’ve unlocked a different part of me and that’s what I was excited for my world title fight. I have yet to impress myself and now that camp, I impressed myself. This camp, I just blew myself out of the water. I have my own expectations. I’m excited.

“I just want to go out there and I feel with the emotions that I have towards Julianna, the history that Julianna and I have, it’s just going to bring out the best in me and that’s my stamp. Like I’m done. 11 years ago, Ultimate Fighter, the question of everything, the animosity I had towards you, that annoyance I had towards you, we’re done. It’s said and done. We’ll shake hands and that’s what it is or I’ll shake hands.”

Two lengthy welterweight strikers with 78-inch reaches have agreed to fight each other at UFC 309 this fall as Randy Brown and Carlos Prates will face off in a three-round bout Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden.

A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Ag. Fight first reported the news, and Brown confirmed it on his Instagram account.

A New York native, Brown (19-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) fights at home once again. Since a 3-3 start to his UFC career, Brown has gone 7-1 in his most recent eight. Brown most recently competed in June when he extended his winning streak to three when he defeated Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos by unanimous decision at UFC 302 in June.

Prates (20-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has exploded onto the international scene in 2024. He’s won all three of his fights by performance bonus-earning knockouts, including a violent dismantling of Li Jingliang at UFC 305 in August.

With the addition, the UFC 309 lineup includes:

• Champion Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic – for heavyweight title
• Michael Chandler vs. Charles Oliveira
• Paul Craig vs. Bo Nickal
• Randy Brown vs. Carlos Prates
• Eryk Anders vs. Chris Weidman
• Viviane Araujo vs. Karine Silva
• Nikita Krylov vs. Azamat Murzakanov
• Veronica Hardy vs. Eduarda Moura
• Jonathan Martinez vs. Marcus McGhee
• Ramiz Brahimaj vs. Mickey Gall
• Bassil Haffez vs. Oban Elliot

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