Brendan Schaub fired back at Nate Diaz with a fiery promo.

Last week on his podcast, Schaub emotionally opened up about his friend Shane Carwin, a former UFC interim champion, and his financial and physical struggles following an open letter written by Carwin as part of the UFC antitrust lawsuit. Schaub was in tears as he was giving more insight to the situation. Hours later, Diaz reacted by taking a personal shot at Schaub.

This week on The Schaub Show, the former UFC heavyweight, turned comedian and podcaster, delivered his response.

“This is just internet gossip,” Schaub said. “This is getting him trending, he doesn’t have a lot going on, didn’t get paid for the Masvidal fight, probably doesn’t know what he’s going to do next. Conor, he’s probably waiting on that. Conor’s tied up with the TV [rights] deal, so he’s probably banking on that. He fought Masvidal, lost to Jake Paul — that’s a big blow to his ego. So I guess he needs to do this to stay current.

“I retired 15 years ago, man. That being said, that’s social media. This isn’t real, because here’s what’s real: I will f*ck you up. That’s real. I’m not asking for this. I don’t want to f*ck him up, I’m not trying to f*ck him up. End of the day, if he walked in here right now, … only one of us is going to walk out unscathed, and it’s me. Every f*cking day of the week, 365 days a year, I will snap his f*cking neck.”

Diaz is looking for his next fight after defeating Jorge Masvidal in a boxing match earlier this year. Diaz filed a lawsuit against Fanmio, the promoter of the event, saying he’s allegedly owed $9 million.

As far as Schaub goes, he respects what Diaz has done as a fighter, but in his eyes, that wouldn’t matter in this situation.

“He’s had some great fights, tough dude, I don’t give a f*ck,” Schaub explained. “I’m 245 pounds, trained black belt, top-10 UFC heavyweight in the world at one point, I’m not out of shape. I’m a f*cking beast when it comes down to it. I know, I tell jokes, I do crazy shit, I made some mistakes, ‘Oh, he got knocked out by Nogueira, … silly dude, I get all that. At the end of the day, the way this works, I’m not a civilian like the rest of his goons around him. I’m not this fake gangster, I don’t go looking for fights. I know I’m tough.

“I don’t have to get on Twitter and blast it out, and prove it every day because I’m insecure, because of whatever shit he has going on with his childhood trauma. I don’t have to do that. At the end of the day, I will twist your f*cking neck off. …

“The difference between you and I is if your brother — Shane’s a brother to me — but if your actual f*cking brother came out and started getting emotional, or if you started getting emotional about your brother’s issues with CTE and fighting and all this shit — because we know he has his issues — I would support you,” Schaub continues. “Even though you’ve been a dick to me the entire time.

“That’s what I do. That’s what men do, bud. I wouldn’t bash you, and this whole narrative, this entire narrative, ‘Oh, f*ck the man,’ bud, you’ve been paid more than 99 percent of the fighters. Cut the bullshit. You’re no different than Colby Covington with his MAGA shit. It’s all fake, bud. You’re not fooling anybody. I’ve seen how the sausage is made. You’re not tough to me. I know tough guys. Tough guys don’t get on the internet and tweet at another grown f*cking man, who’d beat the shit out of him when they’re crying, or getting emotional because their friend of 20 f*cking years is having major issues, suicidal thoughts. That’s p*ssy.”

Schaub ended up retiring from the sport in 2014 following a first-round TKO loss to Travis Browne at UFC 181, a moment that led to friend and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan having a real moment where he urged Schaub to retire.

The fighter is still inside of Schaub, as he says, and while he’s not seeking a fight, if Diaz wants one, Schaub will be happy to oblige.

“What are you going to do Nate? What are you going to do? You going to volume punch me, motherf*cker?” Schaub said. “That’s what you’re going to do? What are you going to do, out grapple me? In what f*cking sense? What world are you living in? This is the real world.

“Now, if you’re doing this because you fancy yourself [some] fisticuffs, if you fancy yourself [and] you want to actually grapple me, I’m not hard to get a hold of. Pull the f*ck up. And you can show up with all your boys, do all that stuff, but what a real man will do is pull up one-on-one. I don’t have a posse, I don’t need one, bud. I’ll drop my kid off at f*cking practice, roll over, twist your f*cking neck off, and then pick him up just in time unscathed with a Diet Coke. And that’s how this goes for the rest of your f*cking life, bud.”

Of course, Diaz was made aware of Schaub’s comments, and reacted to them on Twitter — using one of Schaub’s infamous quotes in the process.

“I think you’d be surprised,” Diaz wrote.

Tottenham, West Ham United and Hammers midfielder Mohammed Kudus have been charged by the Football Association following Saturday’s Premier League match.

Ghana winger Kudus was sent off during his side’s 4-1 defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for kicking Spurs defender Micky van de Ven and pushing both the Dutchman and midfielder Pape Matar Sarr in the face.

But the FA have charged the former Ajax player with violent conduct and acting in an improper manner for an incident “after the offence he was sent off for”.

Additionally, both clubs have been charged with failing to ensure their players “didn’t behave in an improper and/or provocative and/or violent way” at the time of Kudus’ sending off.

Kudus, 24, was initially shown a yellow card for his push on Van de Ven but it was upgraded to a red following a VAR review, which showed referee Andrew Madley the pushes on Van de Ven and Sarr.

Both sets of players gathered around Kudus, who had put West Ham ahead in the game, following the incident.

If found guilty, he could serve an extra punishment on top of the three-game ban he will serve for his violent conduct dismissal.

The three parties have until Thursday to provide their responses.

The light heavyweight division might crown a new No. 1 contender at UFC 308 when Magomed Ankalaev faces Aleksandar Rakic, but recently retired UFC veteran Matt Brown believes 205-pound champion Alex Pereira should hold out hope for another option instead.

As much as Ankalaev appears to be the rightful challenger with a 12-fight unbeaten streak, Pereira has options available to him after defending his belt three times in 2024, which included stepping up when the UFC needed him on a couple different occasions. Because Pereira likely has enough sway right now to call his shot for what comes next, Brown says the Brazilian champion should just wait a few weeks to see if Jon Jones gets through Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 and find out of that’s a fight that could be available for him.

“You wait,” Brown said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “Everybody’s correct. The person that loses in all of this unfortunately is Ankalaev. He’s done all the right things, especially if he goes out and beats Rakic, does all the right things and he gets f*cked and it’s not even a big name or anything. But yeah, if you’re Alex Pereira, you don’t need to give a f*ck about Ankalaev’s life. You’re dealing with your own shit.

“You absolutely go up to heavyweight, 100 percent. There’s never been a three-weight champion so be the first or shoot for those stars. You can always come back and fight Ankalaev later. Absolutely go for it.”

Having already conquered the light heavyweight and middleweight divisions, Pereira has teased his interest in potentially moving to heavyweight but admitted after his most recent win over Khalil Rountree Jr. that the process would take some time.

Despite his height and large frame, Pereira still needs to add some more size and muscle to deal with much bigger opponents but a chance to tangle with arguably the greatest fighter of all-time might be too tempting to resist.

On the flipside, Jones has teased that his fight against Miocic could be the final appearance of his career. Still, Brown can’t help but wonder if the potential for a matchup against Pereira might just be exactly the kind of opportunity that keeps the reigning UFC heavyweight champion around for a little while longer.

“I don’t doubt this could be as big as any Conor [McGregor] fight,” Brown said. “This could be promoted to the max. They could do it [International] Fight Week or one of the gigantic cards maybe at the Sphere, something crazy. This could be enormous. Jon’s a smart guy. He’s here for the money now, I think. Legacy and money and Alex is going to bring that. It could be promoted as much as you want to promote. This could be the money fight. It’s heavyweight, too. Heavyweight fights always bring a stigma to them that those lighter fights just don’t bring. Like Conor obviously brought the trash talk and all the antics, the funny stuff and the cool stuff, there’s a certain aura when Conor comes into the cage.

“But there’s a different aura that can be sold here when Jon Jones, the greatest of all-time, who just beat the greatest heavyweight of all-time — assuming that happens — fighting another guy trying to do the biggest thing of all-time, [become] a three-weight world champion. I can’t think of a bigger fight outside of Conor, but I think it could be as big as any Conor fight.”

With Jones scheduled to fight Miocic in November, Brown pitched the idea that Pereira should be front and center for that matchup to start building towards an eventual showdown next year.

Pereira staring a hole through Jones might not materialize into a fight but Brown feels like it’s too enticing of an opportunity to pass on given the current landscape in the UFC.

“Be there at [Madison Square Garden] and whatever happens, happens. As long as Jon wins, we can set this up,” Brown said. “Usually when the main event ends, we all turn it off or people start leaving the stadium. Alex Pereira walks in there, people might turn around and go back to their seat.

“If Jon goes out there and wins, the stars have f*cking aligned perfectly to have a super explosion. Again, I think it could be the biggest fight since Conor. I think it could match Conor’s [fights]. How much fun could you have with the promoting of this? So many routes you could take. So many angles you could take. What two perfect guys to be promoting, too. I love listening to Jon Jones talk shit. He’s so stoic with it, serious and Alex is the perfect rival to it. The perfect guy to talk back. The press conferences, everything about this just says money in the bag.”

That said, Brown heavily favors Jones to win should that fight actually happen but perhaps an even bigger obstacle to that potential matchup awaits at UFC 309.

“Realistically though, it’s hard to think that Jon Jones make this a pretty easy fight [with Alex Pereira],” Brown said. “Take him down, elbow his face, get your money, go home, probably not a scratch on you. It’s hard to believe that’s not how this ends.

“Jon Jones has got to get through Stipe first. Let’s not forget that. Stipe is not a walkover. Stipe is not an easy fight. He’s got to get through him first. [Jon Jones] hasn’t been tested like that at heavyweight. Don’t discount Stipe shocking everybody and being like “f*ck your Jon Jones-Alex Pereira fight.’”

Listen to new episodes of The Fighter vs. The Writer every Tuesday with audio only versions of the podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and iHeartRadio

Head-kick knockouts are generally amazing, but it’s not cool when they end boxing matches!

That’s what happened over the weekend as ONE Championship prospect Idris Abdurashitov unloaded a vicious kick to the face of his opponent, 1-3 boxer Bagher Faraji, at the end of a wild exchange of punches. As you would expect, Faraji never saw the kick coming. Once it landed flush, he was out cold, hunched over and crashed to the canvas. Abdurashitov was disqualified.

You can watch the wild scene in the video below (via X user caposa):

Undefeated ONE featherweight Idris Abdurashitov was disqualified yesterday for knocking out his opponent (Bagher Faraji) with a head kick during a boxing match. pic.twitter.com/vxBbRPJXi9

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) October 21, 2024

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Throwing a head kick in a boxing match isn’t exactly something to be proud of, but Abdurashitov isn’t shying away from his despicable actions. He also posted the clip himself on his Instagram account with a translated caption that reads:

So he debuted in professional boxing,
And disqualification for life, that kick with the leg I threw away with a machine gun!

Not cool, man. Not cool at all.

By Richie Zyontz
FOX NFL Lead Producer

Editor’s Note: Richie Zyontz has been an NFL producer for FOX since 1994 and is in his 23rd season as the lead producer. He has more than 40 years of experience covering the league and has produced seven Super Bowls. Throughout the 2024 NFL season, he is providing an inside look as FOX’s new No. 1 NFL team, including NFL legend Tom Brady, makes its journey toward Super Bowl LIX. Read more behind-the-scenes stories from Richie Zyontz here.

Upon entering our television truck, one’s eyes can go off in many directions.

Monitors blanket the front wall. Work stations are set throughout in a fashion logical only to those who man them. And there are so many dials and switches that it reminds one of what the inside of a spaceship might look like.

Well, the Captain Kirk of our operation is technical director Colby Bourgeois and our “Starship Enterprise” can’t flourish without his deft mind and nimble hands. Controlling a board with 1,100 button options, this job is not for the faint of heart or for the fat of finger. It also requires a special temperament. Any producer or director will cite the TD as the true brains of the outfit. With Colby, that goes double.

[Related: More from Tom Brady | More from Richie Zyontz]

The front row in a production truck consists of producer, director and technical director. The TD listens to the cues from the director and hits the appropriate key in response to every command. Nothing appears on your screen without the TD punching the right button. Amid the occasional organized chaos of live television, the TD must float above the fray and methodically keep the show afloat.

We’ve all taken different paths to occupy our current seats. Colby was a tinkerer as a kid, and used that curiosity to study math and electrical engineering at Arizona State. That led to work at a local station in Phoenix, and ultimately a jump into network sports in 1998. For the last 18 seasons, Colby has sat at the elbow of director Rich Russo, having switched six Super Bowls.

Utilizing youthful piano skills, he lords over his massive control board while keeping his eyes on dozens of monitors.

Now things can go awry in this age of computerization. At Super Bowl 48 in New Jersey between the Seahawks and Broncos, Colby’s station suffered a glitch and temporarily failed. Without missing a beat, he calmly went to the emergency plan, which required him switching the show while standing up at a different panel. The 110 million viewers were never the wiser. And now I know if I see Colby standing up during the game it’s not a good thing.

Technical director Colby Bourgeois is the Captain Kirk of the Starship Enterprise that is our weekly FOX NFL production. (Photo courtesy of Richie Zyontz)

What also hasn’t been a good thing is the non-competitive nature of virtually all the games our crew has witnessed so far this season.

Week 7 was sure to be different, though, with two legendary franchises meeting up for the first time since their Super Bowl showdown in February, and the league’s best quarterback taking center stage.

Brady and Mahomes cross paths … again

When the NFL schedule was released in May, the title-game rematch between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers became FOX’s most anticipated game of the season. Patrick Mahomes would be on the field, and Tom Brady would be in the booth. It sure seemed like a dream Sunday.

The fun started on Saturday, when Brady was tasked with interviewing Mahomes for the FOX pregame show. The image of the all-time greatest quarterback sitting side-by-side with the NFL’s current greatest quarterback was simply iconic.

The mutual respect between Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes was clear during their interview ahead of Sunday’s Chiefs-49ers game. (Photo courtesy of Richie Zyontz)

The mutual respect was evident in the interview. As a player, Brady’s competitive fire prevented him from becoming pals with his fellow QBs. Now in retirement, he sees a kindred spirit in Mahomes, dedicated to winning in any way possible.

This was not the first face-to-face interaction between Brady and Mahomes, as they crossed paths after the 2019 AFC Championship Game when Tom’s New England Patriots beat Patrick’s Chiefs 37-31. For the only time in his career, Brady made it a point of stopping by the opposing locker room after the game to console and give props to the rising young star.

During this weekend’s interview, Mahomes looked back on that moment and what it meant to him.

“For me, the biggest thing was obviously you’re Tom. You’ve done this for a long time, and you had that thought-process in that moment to come into the locker room, and you looked at me, and you said ‘you’re doing it the right way. Keep doing it like that, and you’ll have success,’” Mahomes said.

Tom Brady on meeting Patrick Mahomes for the first time

Brady knew what kind of game Chiefs-49ers would turn out to be

Our Saturday meetings have been fascinating. The crew of about 14 will listen raptly as Brady shares the results of his research and his take on the upcoming game.

This week, he predicted a game that would be decided by the defenses. Not what you’d expect in a game matching offensive gurus Andy Reid and Kyle Shanahan. Yet it was the blitzing and tight man coverage by Kansas City that played a large factor in its 28-18 victory.

Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes discuss Super Bowls, family & more

With injuries depleting the offense, Mahomes had been forced to play with many backups. He needed to adjust his game to suit the depleted talent around him. Gone was the exciting downfield passing, replaced by a tough running game that punished San Francisco.

Of course, Mahomes did manage one eye-popping moment on a career long 33-yard run, juking and jiving his way past defenders and reminding everyone of his enormous talent.

Tom Brady on Mahomes’ BIG run: ‘Plays to win’

Next week we have an interesting matchup between the Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks. This will be a chance for Brady to watch quarterback Josh Allen sling it around in the NFL’s loudest outdoor venue.

Richie Zyontz has been an NFL producer for FOX since 1994 and is in his 23rd season as lead producer. He boasts more than 40 years of experience covering the NFL.

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