LAS VEGAS – Junior Tafa beat Sean Sharaf with a second-round TKO Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 244 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Tafa, who struggled in the first, but came on in the second to spoil Sharaf’s short-notice UFC debut.

Junior Tafa def. Sean Sharaf

Junior Tafa

Result: Junior Tafa def. Sean Sharaf via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:15
Updated records: Tafa (6-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC), Sharaf (4-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC)
Key stats: Tafa stuffed seven of Sharaf’s eight takedown attempts.

Tafa on the fight’s key moment

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 12: (R-L) Junior Tafa of Australia punches Sean Sharaf in a heavyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 12, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

“I was really quite excited to have someone who’s going to trade off standing up – we can entertain the fans and get a better chance of winning that bonus, so it was quite freaking annoying when he started shooting on me.”

Tafa on two late changes

“I only got called up for this fight as a replacement fighter. I was actually on vacation with my family and my kids when I got told about this fight, and I ended up having like a week’s worth of training to coming in here. We had a game plan for Chris Barnett, and then they switched up fight week for a new opponent – which then, the game plan switches again. It just became fight whatever is in front of you. The game plan switched that quick. ”

Tafa on what he wants next

Junior Tafa def. Sean Sharaf, UFC Fight Night 244

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“My name is ‘Mr. Anytime.’ Give me a call and I’m there. This is my second late-notice fight this year. I took a fight in Anaheim (Calif.) in March on less than 24 hours’ notice. I’m here less than a week’s notice (opponent), so it’s like you can call me ‘Mr. Anytime’ now … ‘Mr. Anytime, Anywhere.’”

To hear more from Tafa, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 244.

Wales manager Craig Bellamy was full of praise for Harry Wilson, whose penalty gave Wales a 1-0 win over Montenegro in the Nations League.

It was the third game in a row in which Wilson scored for Wales.

Read more: Nations League can boost World Cup hopes – Bellamy

Raufeon Stots expects his fight with Marcos Breno to serve as an appetizer for the PFL: Battle of the Giants main event.

Bantamweights Stots (20-2) and Breno (15-3) throw down in Saturday’s featured prelim at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with the main card on ESPN+/DAZN pay-per-view.

Having fought the likes of Patchy Mix, Danny Sabatello, and Juan Archuleta, Breno is a far less notable name for Stots. However, the 35-year-old is fully aware of the scenario that could play out, so he won’t underestimate him.

“I think he sees this as a big opportunity to make a name for himself right away and to erase that stink from his last performance off,” Stots told MMA Junkie Radio on Breno. “I think the trash talk kind of got the best of him this last fight, so I think he’s going to come in guns blazing. He’s got power in his hands. He’s a Brazilian (jiu-jitsu) black belt. He’s just a guy that hasn’t been around as long.”

Stots thinks his fight with Breno is the featured prelim for a reason. He plans on getting the fans excited for the main card, and give them a small preview of the night’s main event between Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferreira.

“If you look at the fight, the fight is kind of a Temu version of the main event fight with Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferreira,” Stots said. “I’m a veteran African like Francis, and he’s a young, powerhouse Brazilian.

“So I think that’s why they wanted me on that featured prelim. They wanted me to showcase and get the people interested and be like, ‘It’s going to be a big barnburner.’ They’re the big giants, we’re the little giants.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL: Battle of the Giants.

THE HERD WITH COLIN COWHERD

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We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 245 event in Las Vegas.

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 245 (ESPN+), which takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex.

Make your picks below.

Robelis Despaigne vs. Austen Lane

Records: Despaigne (5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), Lane (12-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC)
Past five: Despaigne 4-1, Lane 3-2
Division: Heavyweight
Rankings: None
Odds (as of 10.14.24): Despaigne -450, Lane +325

Alice Ardelean vs. Melissa Martinez

Records: Ardelean (9-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC), Martinez (7-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC)
Past five: Ardelean 4-1, Martinez 4-1
Division: Women’s strawweight
Rankings: None
Odds (as of 10.14.24): Ardelean +125, Martinez -150

Jessica Penne vs. Elise Reed

Records: Penne (14-8 MMA, 3-5 UFC), Reed (7-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC)
Past five: Penne 2-3, Reed 2-3
Division: Women’s strawweight
Rankings: None
Odds (as of 10.14.24): Penne +130, Reed -155

Joselyne Edwards vs. Tamires Vidal

Records: Edwards (13-6 MMA, 4-4 UFC), Vidal (7-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC)
Past five: Edwards 3-2, Vidal 3-2
Division: Women’s bantamweight
Rankings: None
Odds (as of 10.14.24): Edwards -235, Vidal +190

Brad Katona vs. Jean Matsumoto

Records: Katona (16-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC), Matsumoto (15-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC)
Past five: Katona 4-1, Matsumoto 5-0
Division: Bantamweight
Rankings: None
Odds (as of 10.14.24): Katona +220, Matsumoto -270

Asu Almabayev vs. Matheus Nicolau

Records: Almabayev (20-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC), Nicolau (19-5-1 MMA, 7-3 UFC)
Past five: Almabayev 5-0, Nicolau 5-0
Division: Flyweight
Rankings: Almabayev honorable mention
Odds (as of 10.14.24): Almabayev -170, Nicolau +140

Darren Elkins vs. Daniel Pineda

Records: Elkins (28-11 MMA, 18-10 UFC), Pineda (28-16 MMA, 5-7 UFC)
Past five: Elkins 3-2, Pineda 1-2-2
Division: Featherweight
Rankings: None
Odds (as of 10.14.24): Elkins +105, Pineda -125

Jake Hadley vs. Brady Hiestand

Records: Hadley (11-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC), Hiestand (9-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC)
Past five: Hadley 3-2, Hiestand 4-1
Division: Bantamweight
Rankings: None
Odds (as of 10.14.24): Hadley +125, Hiestand -150

Charles Johnson vs. Su Mudaerji

Records: Johnson (16-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC), Mudaerji (16-6 MMA, 3-3 UFC)
Past five: Johnson 3-2, Mudaerji 3-2
Division: Flyweight
Rankings: Johnson honorable mention
Odds (as of 10.14.24): Johnson -235, Mudaerji +190

Rob Font vs. Kyler Phillips

Records: Font (20-8 MMA, 10-7 UFC), Kyler (12-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC)
Past five: Font 1-4, Phillips 4-1
Division: Bantamweight
Rankings: Phillips honorable mention
Odds (as of 10.14.24): Font +300, Phillips -400

Anthony Hernandez vs. Michel Pereira

Records: Hernandez (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC), Pereira (31-11 MMA, 9-2 UFC)
Past five: Hernandez 5-0, Pereira 5-0
Division: Middleweight
Rankings: Hernandez honorable mention
Odds (as of 10.14.24): Hernandez -150, Pereira +125

UFC Fight Night 245 fight card (as of Oct. 14, 3 p.m. ET)

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)

• Anthony Hernandez vs. Michel Pereira
• Rob Font vs. Kyler Phillips
• Charles Johnson vs. Su Mudaerji
• Jake Hadley vs. Brady Hiestand
• Darren Elkins vs. Daniel Pineda

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET)

• Asu Almabayev vs. Matheus Nicolau
• Brad Katona vs. Jean Matsumoto
• Joselyne Edwards vs. Tamires Vidal
• Jessica Penne vs. Elise Reed
• Alice Ardelean vs. Melissa Martinez
• Robelis Despaigne vs. Austen Lane

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 245.

Former Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy says he was lent money by his then team-mates Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez when the club stopped paying him after he was charged with rape and sexual assault, an employment tribunal has heard.

The France defender is claiming £11.5m in unpaid wages from when he was charged in August 2021 and suspended without pay by City.

Mendy, 30, was cleared in 2023 of a series of rape and attempted rape charges made against him.

The club continued paying Mendy after his first arrest in November 2020, but argued they did not have to after he was charged as his bail conditions – one of which prevented him from going near the club’s stadium or training ground – and a Football Association suspension meant he was not able to perform his contractual duties.

Court documents said Mendy “very quickly ran out of money” and had to sell his Cheshire mansion to cover legal fees, bills and child support payments after his wages were withheld.

“Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez all lent me money to help me try and pay my legal fees and support my family,” Mendy said in his witness statement.

In November 2022, Mendy sent a Whatsapp message to Omar Berrada, who was City’s Chief Football Operations’ Officer from September 2020 to July 2024, to ask when he would receive his outstanding salaries but received no reply.

Mendy’s agent Meissa N’Diaye, who also spoke at the hearing, said on 20 September 2021 he spoke to Berrada and was told “once the trial was over Benjamin would be paid back all the salary that had been suspended”.

Berrada, who is now Manchester United’s chief executive, denied giving assurances when asked about this at the hearing.

The hearing also addressed how on 15 separate occasions Mendy either held or attended parties in breach of Covid-19 or bail conditions, or both.

Under questioning from City’s counsel Sean Jones, Mendy admitted his behaviour in continuing to hold parties represented “a risk”.

When Jones said to Mendy: “The truth is you couldn’t care less it exposed you to risk,” the full-back replied via videolink: “At the time, yes.”

In statements submitted to the court, Mendy said he felt he had been singled out by City as “several first-team players, including the club captain, had attended the parties I had attended and hosted” without repercussions.

Mendy said he rejected an offer to cancel his contract because he “wanted to go back and train with his team”.

In his witness statement, he added: “I believe that it is fair and just for me to be paid the wages that I would have earned but for being falsely arrested for crimes that I did not commit.”

Mendy joined City from Monaco in a £52m deal in 2017 and won Premier League titles in 2018, 2019 and 2021.

His final appearance for the club was in the Premier League on 15 August 2021.

Mendy left City when his contract expired in June 2023 and currently plays for French side Lorient.

Mendy was remanded in custody for five months before he was released on bail in January 2022. The case went to trial for the first time in August 2022.

In January 2023 he was cleared of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.

He was then cleared of raping a woman and attempting to rape another in July 2023 at a retrial.

The tribunal hearing is expected to last two days.