UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones was already a big favorite to defeat Stipe Miocic. Now he’s a massive one.

When the odds were released for the UFC 309 main event after it was officially booked last month, Jones (27-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) opened as a -410 favorite and Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) a +320 underdog via DraftKings on Sept. 16, but those odds have drastically changed in the past month to make Jones a massive favorite, with DraftKings currently listing Jones -550 and Miocic +410.

Those odds are even wider at two other prominent online sportsbooks, FanDuel and BetMGM. FanDuel lists Jones -620 and Miocic +400; BetMGM has Jones as a whopping -700 favorite and Miocic +500. The major shift in Jones’ favor indicates that public money has come in heavy on the champ.

Perhaps Miocic’s age and inactivity are the reasons why. The former UFC heavyweight champion, now 42, hasn’t competed since March 2021 when he lost the title to Francis Ngannou by vicious second-round knockout.

Jones, 37, has competed just once since February 2020. The former longtime light heavyweight champion debuted at heavyweight and submitted Ciryl Gane to win the title vacated by Ngannou in March 2023. Jones is returning from a torn pectoral that canceled the originally scheduled fight with Miocic last November at UFC 295.

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

Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills overcame a Hail Mary touchdown throw by Aaron Rodgers as the first half ended to outlast the New York Jets 23-20 on Monday night and take control of the AFC East.

Allen threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score and Tyler Bass made up for an earlier miss by kicking a go-ahead 22-yard field goal with 3:43 left to help the Bills (4-2) snap a two-game skid. They have never lost three straight with Allen starting at quarterback.

The loss was the third in a row for the Jets (2-4), who capped a tumultuous week during which coach Robert Saleh was fired, defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich replaced him as the interim coach and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett was demoted from play-calling duties in favor of Todd Downing.

Normally reliable kicker Greg Zuerlein missed two potential go-ahead field goals for the Jets, hitting the left upright on both.

The game was filled with yellow penalty flags all night — both teams had 11 penalties.

Allen finished 19-of-25 for 215 yards. Rookie Ray Davis, filling in for the injured James Cook, ran for 97 yards on 20 carries and caught three passes for 55 yards.

With the Jets trailing 23-20, Rodgers threw deep for Mike Williams but the pass was short and Taron Johnson — back after breaking his right forearm in the season opener — came up with the interception.

Allen and the Bills were able to then run out the clock and seal the win. They are the only team in the division with a winning record.

Rodgers was 23-of-35 for 294 yards with two touchdowns and the INT, and Breece Hall had 113 yards rushing and 56 receiving.

Rodgers’ deep throw on the final play of the opening half had the Jets, their fans — and social media — buzzing.

With the Jets at their own 48 and perhaps hoping to get into field goal range before halftime, Rodgers took a few steps back and danced around a bit before launching the ball toward the end zone. Allen Lazard reached up in front of two Bills defenders and fell on his back.

After a quick huddle, officials ruled it a touchdown.

The Jets got in an early rhythm on offense with Downing calling the plays as Rodgers got New York into the red zone. A drop by Hall on third down made the Jets settle for a 34-yard field goal by Zuerlein — New York’s first points on an opening drive this season.

Buffalo bounced back by running all over New York’s defense, gashing Ulbrich’s unit for 61 yards rushing — including 48 on six carries by Davis — and capping the Bills’ opening drive with a 1-yard keeper by Allen to make it 7-3.

Allen’s 56th career TD run put him one behind O.J. Simpson for second in franchise history.

Garrett Wilson gave the Jets back the lead on their next drive, capping things by catching a 5-yard pass from Rodgers in the back of the end zone and getting both feet down on a play that was initially ruled incomplete but reversed on video replay before Ulbrich needed to challenge.

Allen led the Bills on a 90-yard drive to give Buffalo back the lead, capped by an 8-yard TD pass to Mack Hollins. Quinnen Williams got his hand on Bass’ extra point try that sailed wide left.

Allen sparked the drive when he danced out of the end zone, scrambled to his right and threw across his body down the middle of the field where Davis got his hands on the ball, bobbled it and came down with it for a 42-yard catch.

Allen’s second touchdown pass was a 12-yard throw to Dawson Knox with 21 seconds remaining before halftime to put Buffalo up 20-10.

Bass missed another kick on Buffalo’s opening drive of the second half, pushing a 47-yarder wide right.

Zuerlein tied it at 20 with a 22-yarder midway through the third quarter.

The Jets appeared to take the lead late on their next possession when Braelon Allen ran up the middle from 4 yards out, but left tackle Tyron Smith was called for holding. Rodgers connected with Wilson in the back of the end zone on the next play, but the wide receiver couldn’t hold onto the ball after being walloped by Damar Hamlin and Taylor Rapp.

Zuerlein then hit the left upright on a 32-yard attempt to keep the game tied. He also missed a potential go-ahead 43-yarder with 9:44 left in the fourth quarter, hitting the upright again.

Injuries

Jets S Chuck Clark was ruled out in the second quarter with an ankle injury. … CB D.J. Reed left in the third quarter with an injured groin.

Up next

Bills: Host Tennessee on Sunday.

Jets: Play at Pittsburgh on Sunday night.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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In England, futsal is an amateur sport so players do not earn salaries for competing.

Across Europe, a futsal player’s earning potential varies greatly. In Spain and Portugal, clubs such as Barcelona, Sporting CP and Benfica are directly attached to their football counterparts and are able to pay lucrative salaries, with elite players thought to have had contracts upwards of £400,000 per year with Barcelona.

While not all clubs are professional, many other players in these leagues earn comfortable full-time salaries.

In England’s top flight, FA National Futsal Series Tier 1, only a couple of clubs have ever been professional – and for short periods. The current extent of financial support offered to players is through expenses.

Manchester Futsal Club covers costs such as travel, kit and overnight accommodation for its squad, but for the vast majority of players in England, futsal is a hobby and an expensive one.

Between kit, monthly subs and nationwide travel, players often look to commercial sponsorship for help covering the costs.

Patrick Everson

FOX Sports Betting Analyst

Casual bettors tend to bet on favorites and also love to include them in parlays. But the NFL is one of the most unpredictable professional sports leagues in the world, and this lends itself to several surprising results every week.

Not this week.

Entering the Sunday night matchup between the Bengals and Giants, bookmakers were begging for Giants wagers due to the amount of losses they’d already taken from the earlier games. Week 6 favorites entered that game 11-1 straight up (SU) and 9-2-1 against the spread (ATS), resulting in a massive day for the public.

Joe Brennan Jr., Prime Sports executive chair stated, “What a s— day today in the NFL. If you know anyone who likes the Giants tonight, we have an account ready and waiting for them.” He wasn’t the only one to have those sentiments. 

“It’s the worst day of the season so far. This could get really ugly if the Bengals win and cover,” said Zachary Lucas, director of retail sports for TwinSpires Sportsbook.

To his and many others dismay, the Giants did not win or cover, which meant two things: favorites were now 12-1 SU and 10-2-1 ATS, and sportsbooks desperately needed a Jets win against the Bills on Monday night. 

Jeff Benson, Circa Sports director of operations, posted this on X, summarizing Sunday/Monday in the NFL:

Enter Monday Night Football.

The Jets trailed 20-10 with just eight seconds left in the second quarter before Aaron Rodgers unloaded a 52-yard touchdown pass to make it 20-17 at the conclusion of the first half. 

New York would kick a field goal in the third quarter to tie it up 20-20 headed into the fourth. Field goals were ultimately a huge factor in the outcome of the game, as Greg Zuerlein went two-of-four. After his miss in the fourth quarter, the Bills drove 64 yards down the field in 11 plays and kicked a field goal to take a 23-20 lead. 

Rodgers had just under four minutes to get it done for the sportsbooks, but was intercepted on a deep throw after Mike Williams fell just before he was about to snag the ball. Favorites finished the week 13-1 SU and 11-2-1 ATS. BetMGM senior trader Tristan Davis stated, “Bettors got the entire sundae this week, and they deserved it. It had been a rough start to the season for them.” 

Buffalo’s win also completed several parlays for the public. BetMGM Nevada’s Scott Shelton is quoted saying, “There are some parlays as long as my arm that will cash on Bills -1.5.” 

For perspective, this is just the third time in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) that only one favorite lost SU in Week 6 of the season (1975 and 2005). I’ll leave you with a final quote from Lucas, who was dreading a Buffalo win as mentioned earlier:

“With the Bills’ win, it’s like we have PIN-less ATMs at our sportsbooks. Everyone is cashing out.” 

Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_Vegas.

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A host of former players would return, including defender Cedric Yambere and midfielder Younes Kaabouni. Such was the club’s desperate need to register names that former France international Rio Mavuba – a Bordeaux youth graduate who now coaches at the club – briefly came out of retirement to play for the reserves, as did ex-defender Paul Baysse.

Bordeaux were eventually able to field a team, albeit with just 14 players on the squad sheet. Played behind closed doors at the Stade Sainte-Germaine, a nondescript 3,000-seater in the outskirts of the city, the match ended with goalkeeper Lassana Diabate heading in a last-minute equaliser.

Another goalkeeper in Over Mandanda (the younger brother of former international keeper Steve) was brought on to play in midfield to see out a Coupe de France tie last month, which prompted an unsuccessful appeal against the 5-0 result from their ninth-tier opponents.

Endearingly eccentric as the Bordeaux story might be, the six-time French champions’ nosedive into amateur football has been a dramatic one.

A conflict between the two main groups of fans has meant many of the matches at lower-league grounds are played behind closed doors for security reasons.

The North Gate fans notably accuse the Ultramarines of being overly complacent with owner Gerard Lopez, the much-contested Spanish-Luxembourgish businessman who took over in 2021.

The 52-year-old would provide the funds to keep the club running, but has nevertheless overseen a three-tier drop all the while scarcely remedying what was already a critical financial situation.

Protests against his ownership have intensified, with fans gathering at the club’s old stadium last month for a day-long demonstration which was supported by former players and included mayor Pierre Hurmic among its speakers.

While many are relieved that the worst-case scenario was avoided this summer, the ire towards Lopez – who presided over financial debacles at Lille and the Lotus F1 team as well – does not look like letting up anytime soon.

One group of fans has sought to carve out some control in the club’s fate by setting up a Socios project – a fan ownership initiative inspired by Spanish and German football. With close to 3,000 members signing up and nearly a quarter of a million euros raised since August, the group hopes to act as a fan-led voice and a safeguard against future mismanagement.

“We want the club to be united,” explains Donatien Rodriguez, one of the co-founders. “But everything needs to go through a vote among the Socios. If I were one of the members, I don’t see why I’d be voting in favour of helping Lopez.”

The Girondins Socios have now turned their attention towards saving the women’s team, which has been left by the wayside.

The Girondines – who were playing in the Women’s Champions League only a few years ago – have paid the price for the mismanagement of the men’s team, and were excluded from the national-level leagues this summer.