Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway did a heated virtual face-to-face interview ahead of their highly anticipated featherweight championship main event of UFC 308 later this month.

UFC play-by-play announced Brendan Fitzgerald served as the mediator for the two headliners for the Oct. 26 pay-per-view card in Abu Dhabi. Topuria captured the title with a sensational knockout of longtime champ Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 in February. “El Matador predicts a similar fate for Holloway.

“You will be lights out for the first time,” Topuria told Holloway via ESPN MMA. “Trust me. You’ll become an instant fan. An instant fan you will become.

“And you already know how feels when you have to bounce back. You already have seven professional defeats. I have zero. So you’re going to do it once again, really well. I don’t have any doubts about that. You are a great example of that.”

Holloway spent a lot of time laughing at Topuria’s confidence, and as the current BMF champion following his knockout of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 in April, “Blessed” had his own promise for Topuria.

“I took a lot of people’s donuts, bro,” Holloway responded. “I hope you like churros, because you’re about to get on Oct. 26, buddy.”

Topuria’s overwhelming confidence heading into his fight with Volkanovski became one of the biggest storylines for UFC 298. The undefeated steamroller delivered on his promise of stopping Volkanovski and bringing UFC gold back to Spain.

The confidence hasn’t wavered for Topuria, as he called Holloway “old,” and plans to put Holloway in the same place he put his previous opponent.

“I already opened a home for old people,” Topuria said. “Volk already has his room, I have another one for you. So I’m going to put you right there after Oct. 26.”

One thing Topuria said that got Holloway’s attention was that the former featherweight champ was “forced” to take the fight with him. Holloway took exception to that, telling Topuria he was the first name he brought up to the UFC brass.

“You were the first guy I asked for,” Holloway said. “I wanted the easiest fight. I want Ilia Topuria. That’s what I said.”

Topuria and Holloway are ready to go for their blockbuster battle for featherweight gold. The current champion doubled down on his promise to stop Holloway, and hopes that the BMF champ shows up in Abu Dhabi.

“Oct. 26, the only thing I’m going to do is take your lights out, and then party with all my people, with all of my team,” Topuria said. “That’s what I’m going to do. And still. … I don’t have any doubts that I will be the first to knock you out, and I don’t even want you to trust in that, because if you’re starting to trust in what I’m saying, you’re not going to show up. And I need you to show up [for] the fight.”

“I’ll show up, bro, I show up every single time,” Holloway said. “You’ve been a fan for a long time, I show up every single damn time.”

England and Greece players will wear black armbands and hold a period of silence in tribute to George Baldock before Thursday night’s Nations League fixture at Wembley.

The England-born Greece international drowned in a swimming pool at his home in Glyfada, southern Athens, on Wednesday night.

Baldock, who joined Greek side Panathinaikos last summer after seven years with Sheffield United, was capped 12 times by Greece.

Sources inside the Greece camp told BBC Sport that the players are “devastated” by Baldock’s sudden death.

Greece sources told the BBC that the Greek FA asked about a possible postponement of Thursday’s game, which kicks off at 19:45 BST, but were told by Uefa that there was no room in the busy calendar.

BBC Sport has approached Uefa for comment.

In a joint statement, the Greece players said: “It is impossible to believe that our dear friend and team-mate, George, is no longer with us. Our pain is indescribable.

“Tonight, we will try to reach the strength of his soul, which is a bright example for us all. Our thoughts are with his family. We will never forget you friend.”

Greece sources said the team found out about their team-mate’s death when returning from training at Wembley on Wednesday night and had “barely slept”.

Many of the players were good friends with Baldock, including Greece captain Anastasios Bakasetas, who also plays for Panathinaikos.

Baldock’s body was found at 22:30 local time (20:30 BST) on Wednesday.

A police spokesperson said there was no evidence of criminal activity.

Toxicology test results are expected in the coming days while police will also examine CCTV footage.

Baldock started his career at MK Dons in 2009 and played more than 100 times for them.

He had loan spells with several clubs including Northampton and Oxford United, before joining Sheffield United in 2017.

He made 219 appearances in all competitions for the club, helping them to promotion to the Premier League in 2019 and again in 2023.

Baldock was born in Buckingham but qualified for Greece through his maternal grandmother and was called up for the first time by manager Gus Poyet in May 2022.

He made his debut for the country the following month in a 1-0 win over Northern Ireland at Windsor Park in Belfast.

After watching Alex Pereira finish Khalil Rountree, Jake Paul is even more confident that he could beat him in boxing.

Paul called out light heavyweight champion Pereira for a boxing match after he scored a TKO finish of Mike Perry in July. “Poatan” responded and was game for a fight.

Pereira is fresh off a violent Round 4 TKO of Rountree to retain his light heavyweight title in Saturday’s UFC 307 headliner. He lost the first two rounds, before finding his groove and battering Rountree.

Paul thinks Rountree exposed Pereira in that fight.

”One thousand percent I would beat him,” Paul told Adin Ross on boxing Pereira. “That’s the thing is, Rountree actually kind of exposed that he doesn’t have a high volume output. He doesn’t like body shots. In MMA, Pereira would rip my head off. But boxing is a completely different sport, and the pace of it, and the style of it.”

Paul (10-1) takes on 58-year-old boxing legend Mike Tyson (50-6-2) on Nov. 15 at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. With Pereira currently under UFC contract, a fight with Paul is highly unlikely.

”He has holes,” Paul said. “I mean, Rountree rocked him, hurt him a couple of times to the body, but didn’t follow up on it. So if anything, this fight showed me, yes, Alex Pereira is great. But I know I would beat him in a boxing match, and I still would love to make that happen. Pressure is on him. If he can find his way out of the UFC contract like Nate Diaz did, then eventually him and I can talk.”

Pereira, a former two-weight division Glory Kickboxing champion, boxed once professionally – a TKO win over Marcelo de Souza Cruz 2017 in Brazil.

Almost a year after saying he had the itch to fight again, but would stay retired, Glover Teixeira now leaves the door open for a potential return to the octagon.

The former UFC light heavyweight champion told MMA Fighting in November 2023 that he was “very comfortable where I’m at right now” as MMA coach and retired fighter, but being around so many great athletes — and sharing the mat with the likes of UFC champion Alex Pereira on a daily basis — has him once again eager for competition.

“There’s nothing [booked], but I’ll definitely go back to competition,” Teixeira said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “I keep going after challenges. It’s hard to stay [training] with no reason why, so I’ll definitely do something. I want to compete.”

Teixeira retired from the sport in January of 2023 after losing back to back UFC title fights to Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill, and won a grappling match against Anthony Smith in June of 2023.

There were discussions of maybe returning to the mat earlier this year against Rafael Lovato Jr., at one of the UFC Fight Pass Invitational grappling shows, but that didn’t materialize.

Teixeira was crucial part of three Pereira training camps this year for successful title defenses against Hill, Prochazka and most recently Khalil Rountree at UFC 307, and the Brazilian veteran, who turns 45 lates this month, is open to offers in multiple sports — even the UFC.

“I’ll do some jiu-jitsu, I wanna do… I don’t know, maybe boxing. Or even go back for some fights in the UFC,” Teixeira said. “That’s got to be it because it’s hard, man. I’m feeling great, fighting hard with the guys in the gym. I’ve rolled with some wrestlers, training with Sean Strickland and ‘Poatan’. I was doing some light sparring with ‘Poatan’ the other day, and he’s like, ‘F*ck, Glover, you have to come back!’

“I’m training well, I’m feeling well. I love this. I’m not saying I want to fight, but I want to compete. If it’s jiu-jitsu, Lovato, guys like that. I wanna do some matches, that’s for sure.”

Teixeira fought professionally 42 times between 2002 and 2023, racking up a record of 33-9 with key UFC wins over the likes of Jan Blachowicz, Rashad Evans, Ryan Bader, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Anthony Smith and Jared Cannonier. Teixeira came up short in his first UFC title fight in 2014, losing a decision to Jon Jones, before finally conquering gold seven years later to become the oldest first-time champion in promotion history at age 42.