This past Saturday, Topuria secured the first defense of his featherweight title, stopping former champion Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 308. Topuria is now the first person to finish Holloway with strikes and given his second-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski earlier this year, “El Matador” has established himself as one of the most devastating strikers in the sport currently, so much so that even his possible future opponent was impressed.
“I ain’t standing with that guy. I would never stand and trade with that guy!” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “I saw comments from the reaction, ‘You should change weight classes.’ I thought that was so funny… I made a joke, ‘I want to go back to 135.’ [Laughs] …
“I’ll point to the ground but I’ll do my running man dance instead.”
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All kidding aside, Sterling may soon be in a position to face Topuria.
Volkanovski appears to be next up for Topuria, with Diego Lopes waiting in the wings, but the former bantamweight champion faces Movsar Evloev at UFC 310 and the winner could also be in the mix for a shot at the champion. And should that happen, “The Funkmaster” believes he can give Topuria a run for his money.
“If I were to fight him, god willing, I beat Movsar and I do get the crack, I do think I have a great style to neutralize his offense,” Sterling said. “Bro, most of these guys are striking with him. I ain’t doing that, bro! I ain’t doing that. We’re sitting there looking for a takedown. I have to make it a grappling match. I’m trying to the the W, I’m not trying to get my brain and my head sent to the next dimension again. I’m cool on that.”
Sterling notably lost his UFC bantamweight when he was knocked out by Sean O’Malley last year at UFC 292. Following that loss, Sterling moved up to featherweight where he defeated Calvin Kattar in his debut.
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After he left bantamweight, his longtime friend and teammate Merab Dvalishvili dethroned O’Malley to become the 135-pound champion. And for Sterling, that might be the only downside to a matchup with Topuria: making Merab choose sides.
“Merab and I are boys. Merab is also boys with Ilia, so I don’t know what that turns into,” Sterling said. “… Thankfully I don’t have to worry about that anytime soon. I’ve got one other tough opponent in front of me and then we kind of go from there.”
UFC 310 takes place on on Dec. 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Dallas Cowboys defensive end Sam Williams was suspended for three games by the NFL on Monday for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
Williams has been on injured reserve all season after tearing the ACL in his left knee during special teams drills at training camp in August. He then had season-ending surgery. The suspension means he will not be paid for the next three weeks, but will be eligible for reinstatement Nov. 11 and won’t have to miss any games when he returns from the injury.
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Williams was arrested twice in 2023 because of traffic-related incidents.
After being pulled over in the Dallas suburb of Frisco in August 2023, right after the team had come home after training camp in California, Williams faced charges of possession of a controlled substance and unlawful carrying of a weapon.
That was seven months after Williams was charged with reckless driving after an accident a few days before Christmas 2022 when he was traveling nearly 100 mph and weaving through traffic before colliding with a vehicle driven by a 71-year-old woman. Neither driver was seriously injured.
Before getting hurt in camp this year, the 6-foot-4, 261-pound Williams had been expected to have a bigger role as an edge rusher. Defensive end Dorance Armstrong and outside linebacker Dante Fowler left the Cowboys in free agency during the offseason.
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A second-round draft pick out of Mississippi in 2022, Williams played in 32 regular-season games over the past two seasons, including all 17 last year. He has 8.5 career sacks.
Bruno Silva plans to take a break from fighting after coming up short at UFC 308.
“Blindado” revealed on a long video posted on his social media, hours after the loss in Abu Dhabi, that he has dealt with severe anxiety for over four years. The Brazilian middleweight won his first three UFC fights before going on a 1-6 slump inside the octagon.
“I’m a man that always dedicates hard to his professional and personal life,” Silva said in Portuguese. “I’m very happy in my personal life and fulfilled as a man, but there’s been a few years that I have dealt with strong anxiety crisis inside the octagon. Those who don’t know, you feel like drowning. You’re tired and powerless, and all you want is not to be in that octagon. When the first round ended [at UFC 308], the crisis came, and I was very tired. It felt like my heart would come out of my mouth, and I feel bad. I lost my focus entirely. In my mind, I just want to get out of there, you know?”
Silva said he began experiencing these oppressive thoughts four years ago, and they became worse when he fought Gerald Meerschaert. Silva was coming off his first UFC defeat, a decision to future champion Alex Pereira, when he tapped in just 99 seconds against Meerschaert. He bounced back with a first-round knockout over Brad Tavares eight months later, but then lots his next four to Brendan Allen, Shara Magomedov, Chris Weidman and Naurdiev.
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“I went to a psychiatrist and started taking medication, did heart exams and there was nothing,” Silva said. “And now, I was doing great. I did all the work, did yoga to calm down and everything, but there are fights that are hard. Some fights are harder than those in the octagon. Fights with our body, our mind, our heart.”
Silva said he will now focus on taking care of himself as a person, leave the fighter aside for a bit, and put his career on pause.
“I have a life ahead of me and won’t fight again like this,” Silva said. “I don’t know how my situation will be in the UFC, if I’m going to be released or not. In case I’m not, I’ll ask for a break. I need some time. I need to check on my body, I need time for myself. I had 10 fights [in three years], I’m one of the most active fighters in the UFC, so I need to take care of myself.”
“To those who like me, and those who are embarrassed, ask for help,” he continued. “Don’t be embarrassed. People will criticize no matter what, so get help. This is my message to you that is going through problems. Ask for help, talk about it. Thank God I don’t have depression, but this is affecting my career, my work, and I’ll only fight again, you’ll only see me in the octagon again, when I’m healed, when I’m well. Fighting like this is too much, it makes me feel bad as a man. I’m devastated to go back home like this. But this is part of life, right?
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“I’ve had a victorious career, and now I’m going through a delicate moment. I think I need patience and faith to move forward because life isn’t only about fighting. I have a life as a person, I’m a family man and I need to be well to go back home and put food on the table for my family and people I love. You may think all you want, that I need to change teams and everything, it’s your right. The work was done, but I am the problem. I can go anywhere in the world, the problem is inside me, so I need to get help now. It’s God, myself and a professional to help me now.”
Carlo Ancelotti and Emma Hayes have won the inaugural Johan Cruyff Awards, given to the best coaches in the men’s and women’s games at the 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony.
Ancelotti guided Real Madrid to a record-extending 15th Champions League crown last season as well as the La Liga title.
Hayes guided Chelsea to a fifth consecutive Women’s Super League (WSL) title last season, as well as the final of the Women’s League Cup and the semi-finals of the Women’s Champions League and Women’s FA Cup.
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At the end of last season Hayes left Chelsea to become head coach of the United States Women’s National Team.
Neither were in Paris to collect their awards as Hayes is in the United States before a game against Argentina, and Real Madrid did not send any representatives the ceremony.
Jasmine Jasudavicius may not have hit her peak yet, but she’s looking to get to the top as soon as possible.
Although she’s only seven fights into her UFC career with a total of 14 pro bouts, Jasudavicius (11-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) is 35 and knows she can’t fight forever. A few stumbles could set her back into an impossible timeline.
“This is my time. I understand my window is short. I’m older,” she told MMA Junkie Radio. “I know I’m not going to have a long career, a 10-year, 20-year career in the UFC. So I know my window is short and I’m here to make the best of it.”
Jasudavicius returns Saturday at UFC Fight Night 246 as she battles fellow promotion-ranked flyweight Ariane da Silva (17-9 MMA, 6-6 UFC). The event takes place at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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While she thinks her skills are already title challenger-ready, it’s just a matter of getting repetitions in and proving herself to the UFC. Saturday’s bout is the next step in doing that.
“I know my skill set is there, but it’s just the opportunities,” Jasudavicius said. “I’ve got to wait for them to line up. Hopefully soon. … A title shot is a title shot, but also any loss that I’ve ever had, I’d love to obviously avenge that. If one of them ever owned a title, then I’d love to take it from them. It’d be kind of the dream. But other than that, whoever has a title, that’s who I want to get matched up with.”
A proud Ontarian, Jasudavicius is excited to represent Canada three provinces away. She’s one of eight home country fighters competing on the card.
“I can see martial arts growing just around,” Jasudavicius said. “There are so many more people just in the gym than there was even a year ago. It’s growing exponentially. I understand that I’m one of the people kind of putting themselves out there in front of everyone, presenting martial arts. I am grateful that people can get inspired and I can be part of the growth of martial arts.
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“It’s a wonderful journey and everyone should at least try martial arts for a little bit regardless of if they fight or not. But I think it’s so good it’s growing and it’s growing exponentially in Canada.”
A new episode of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is released every Monday and Thursday. You can stream or download all episodes over at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, OmnyStudio, and more.
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Show up or get shown out. That’s the motto heading into November.
With more than half of the 2024 college football season in the books, programs that have not proven to be perennial powers are flexing their resilience.
Iowa State is 7-0 for the first time since 1938. Indiana is 8-0 for just the second time since 1967. BYU is 8-0 for just the second time since 1990. Army is 8-0 for the first time since 1996. All four programs could end this season undefeated, and that includes the Hoosiers, who will play Ohio State on Nov. 23 in the Shoe.
And all of that is happening while Vanderbilt has earned its first top 25 ranking since 2013 and Boise State boasts a tailback who might come close to breaking Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing total (2,628). Normally, these programs would simply make for good stories — like UCF running the table in 2017 or TCU running the table in 2010. Each ended their seasons undefeated with wins in a New Year’s Six Bowl, but neither had the opportunity to play for the national title in the Bowl Championship Series or College Football Playoff era.
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This season, that comes to an end.
At least one of these programs – Iowa State, Indiana, BYU and Army – will earn entry into the 12-team CFP if they finish the regular season unbeaten. Odds are that it will be either BYU or Iowa State, who could meet for the first time this season in the Big 12 title game and be one of the four highest-ranked champions. Not bad in a season where Alabama has faltered, Florida State has been abysmal and Oklahoma and USC have simply been mediocre.
With that said, let’s get to my updated CFP projections:
1. Oregon: Bye (would then play the winner of 8. Clemson vs. 9. BYU)
2. Georgia: Bye (would then play the winner of 7. Texas vs. 10. Texas A&M)
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3. Miami: Bye (would then play the winner of 6. Penn State vs. 11. Tennessee)
4. Iowa State: Bye (would then play the winner of 5. Ohio State vs. 12. Boise State)
5. Ohio State (Big Ten championship runner-up) vs. 12. Boise State (highest-ranked Group of 5 champion)
This matchup involves the most prolific tailback in the sport in Ashton Jeanty and perhaps the most talented set of tailbacks on one team in TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins. Jeanty rushed for 192 yards against an Oregon team that is the consensus No. 1 team in the country. Going up against the Buckeyes would make for an exciting matchup.
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Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty leads the country with 1,376 rushing yards this sason. (Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images)
6. Penn State (one of the top-12 teams) vs. 11. Tennessee (one of the top-12 teams)
If Ohio State has the best set of tailbacks in the sport, then Penn State has the second in Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. The tandem has helped lead Penn State to a 7-0 start to the season, while Tennessee possesses the best tailback in the SEC in Dylan Sampson, who rushed for over 100 yards in the Vols’ win against Alabama.
Backup Penn State QB Beau Pribula threw for 98 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 28 yards in place of an injured Drew Allar against Wisconsin. (Photo by Dan Sanger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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7. Texas (one of the top-12 teams) vs. 10. Texas A&M (one of the top-12 teams)
This matchup might be the most anticipated of this projected CFP field with the Longhorns and Aggies meeting for the first time this November since 2011. That game could also decide which team earns entry into the SEC Championship Game. Mike Elko’s Aggies remain undefeated in SEC play as the season enters November.
Texas QB Quinn Ewers completed 17 straight passes in its win over Vanderbilt.(Photo by Carly Mackler/Getty Images)
After a devastating loss to Georgia to open this season, the Tigers have rampaged through their schedule. Meanwhile, the Cougars are off to an 8-0 start for just the second time since 1990. Between quarterbacks Cade Klubnik and Jake Retzlaff, this CFP matchup could come down to who scores 40.
Cade Klubnik has led Clemson to a 6-1 record this season. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast “The Number One College Football Show.” Follow him at @RJ_Young.
Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Thursday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).
Those reader consensus picks will be part of the main card staff predictions we release ahead of UFC Fight Night 246 (ESPN+), which takes place Saturday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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