LAS VEGAS – Grant Dawson is the biggest betting favorite at UFC Fight Night 244 on Saturday.

And while that typically might be a badge of honor heading into a fight for a fighter, Dawson (12-2-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC) wishes the MMA collective would pump the brakes a bit on his roughly 4-1 favorite status against Rafa Garcia (16-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) at the UFC Apex.

“I think he’s a very, very tough opponent, and not to put myself down or anything like that – I think the betting line is absolutely insane,” Dawson said at Wednesday’s media day. “I think he’s a lot better than the betting line is showing, which kind of sucks. If I go out there and dominate him, it doesn’t look good for me. And if I go out there and have a close fight, I just beat a really, really good guy – and I don’t even get the credit for beating a really good guy that way (because of the odds).”

And while Dawson surmised Garcia’s 18-month layoff, which included a knee surgery, is playing a part in making him the card’s biggest underdog, he also knows his own major success is a big factor.

“I think people know how good I am. I think people are underestimating how good he is,” he said.

Dawson is fighting just a year past what stands as his only UFC loss – a 33-second knockout against Bobby Green. It was one of 2023’s biggest stunners and his first loss in more than seven years.

The lightweight thinks that put a big crimp in his plans to become a UFC champion, but he’s left with no choice but to work his way back to contention, where he was knocking on the door when Green stunned him.

“I want to be a world champion, and I totally get that exciting guys get to skip that line,” Dawson said. “But there’s a lot of really exciting guys that never got the belt because they lose fights they shouldn’t. It’s a game of inches in this sport. It is a game of inches, and if you make one mistake … We saw it against Bobby Green. I made one mistake and he made me pay for it. It set my career back probably two, three years, and I’ve got to fight my way back now.”

After his loss to Green, he bounced back in June this year with a decision win over Joe Solecki. He thought the next name might be someone he could use to make his claim for spot in the rankings, but he hopes he might find himself in the top 15 next week, anyway.

“I was thinking that my next fight was going to be in the top 15, but I definitely think that this is a segue into the top 15,” Dawson said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if on Monday I was ranked after beating Garcia. I think he’s top-15 worthy.”

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

Northern Ireland winger Caragh Hamilton will miss October’s Euro 2025 play-off with Croatia because of a “significant” hamstring injury.

Nottingham Forest manager Carly Davies said that Hamilton, 27, will be on the sidelines “for a prolonged period of time”.

Davies said:, external “She’ll be working closely with the medical team with the support of the Northern Ireland national team as well.

“We’ll just be hoping to get her back on the pitch as soon as possible.”

Hamilton joined Forest, who are unbeaten in eight matches in the FA Women’s National League Premier Division North – in the third tier of English women’s football – from Lewes in the summer.

She has won 46 Northern Ireland caps and scored six goals.

Tanya Oxtoby’s side travel to Croatia on Friday, 25 October before the return fixture at Windsor Park on Tuesday, 29 October.

Northern Ireland qualified for the play-off by finishing second in Group B3, with three wins from six matches.

Croatia were third in Group B4, behind Wales and Ukrainez, and if Northern Ireland progress they will face Norway or Albania for a place at the Euro 2025 finals.

Anderson Silva was proud of his “friend” Alex Pereira and “little brother” Khalil Rountree after UFC 307.

“The Spider” saw himself involved in the light heavyweight title bout after a 2015 clip went viral of Silva predicting his teammate Rountree, 2-0 in the sport at the time, would one day become middleweight champion. His title shot came this past weekend in Salt Lake City as a light heavyweight, facing another former training partner of Silva in “Poatan”, and the Brazilian ultimately won by fourth-round knockout.

Silva, who reigned as UFC’s best 185-pounder for years — and even had Pereira in his corner for his clash with Israel Adesanya —, used his social media to give props to both fighters after the “Fight of the Night” war in Utah.

“I could say countless things about this incredible battle between these two giants,” Silva wrote. “In my opinion, the perfect world would be not seeing my brother and my friend fighting. But on the other hand, that’s how the sport is. Alex, you were impeccable, on an incredible rise. Congratulations, my friend.

“As for my little brother Khalil, I am so proud of you, my brother. Thank you so much for being part of my life. Those who know your story know who you truly are: you are a giant. You walk away from this battle as a winner because you showed that fighting at a high level is not for just anyone. Congratulations to both of you. May God bless you both.

“Khalil, don’t forget that only a few like us have the courage to fight the good fight. Strength and honor today and always!”

LAS VEGAS – It’s been a minute since the UFC has been to Japan, but Tatsuro Taira would like to have something to say about that.

Taira (16-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) on Saturday fights in a UFC main event for the second time when he headlines UFC fight Night 244 against recent flyweight title challenger Brandon Royval (16-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC). And he’s got a lot going for him when it comes to being a rising star.

At just 24, he’s still young by MMA standards. But he’s proven to be well-rounded with five knockouts and seven submissions in his 16 wins. He has back-to-back finishes, stoppages in four of his past five, and bonuses in three of those fights.

In a wild coincidence, the last time the UFC was in Japan was the night after Taira’s final amateur fight. The night before, he won an amateur Shooto tournament a couple hours down the road from UFC Fight Night 117.

Taira thinks a big win against Royval in Saturday’s main event, could be just the thing that helps make the push to get back to his home country. And who knows – maybe there, he could get a shot against flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja. Or one step better, maybe he could headline a Japan return as champion.

“I definitely want to show a big impact. I definitely want to show my strength. That’s something I want to show in this fight,” Taira said at Wednesday’s media day at the UFC Apex. “I’m definitely focused on this one, but thinking of title fights, I’ve always dreamed and thought about the title fights. It’s something that I always have in mind.

“I’d love to have UFC back in Japan, and if I’m the star, I want to be that star to bring that back to Japan.”

Check out Taira’s full interview above.

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

A number of veterans have been removed from the UFC roster including one-time interim title challenger Ovince Saint Preux.

The full list of names removed from the roster also includes Brian Kelleher, Ricky Glenn, Victor Altamirano, Da Woon Jung, Kaynan Kruschewsky, Brianna Fortino, Victoria Leonardo, Karl Williams, Danyelle Wolf and Jarno Errens,

The fighters removed from the roster were either released or their contracts came to an end and the UFC opted not to re-sign them to a new promotional contract at this time. The changes were first noted by the UFC Roster Tracker on Twitter.

For Saint Preux, his UFC run comes to an end after he spent the past 11 plus years with the UFC after he first made a name for himself in Strikeforce. The former University of Tennessee football player faced a laundry list of top fighters over the years and scored victories over many of them including a head kick knockout over current Bellator champion Corey Anderson and a pair of wins against UFC Hall of Famer Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

In 2016, Saint Preux welcomed Jon Jones back to the octagon following more than a year long layoff in an interim light heavyweight title fight but he ultimately lost a unanimous decision after five rounds.

In his most recent fight, Saint Pruex suffeed a submission loss to Ryan Spann in the final bout on his contract, which precipitated his exit from the UFC.

Meanwhile, Kelleher is another notable name on the list after he spent the past seven years in the UFC while competing in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions. Always willing to take on whatever challenge thrown his way, Kelleher took on many top fighters during his run with the UFC but his time with the organization came to a close after four straight losses including fights against Umar Nurmagomedov and former champion Cody Garbrandt.

The fighters removed from the roster are now free to sign with any organization.

There was an element of Carsley giving the public what they wanted with this potential thrill-ride of a teamsheet. They did not want it by the final whistle, judging by thousands of empty seats and the resounding boos.

Carsley’s courage in attempting it was commendable but from the first whistle it was exposed as folly.

The general feeling was that this was Carsley’s England job to lose, the Football Association preferring another graduation from the Under-21 production line that delivered Southgate, one also used to great effect by countries such as Spain, with coach Luis de la Fuente taking that same path to success with the seniors at Euro 2024.

This may not be the night Carsley lost the England job but the shoddy show that so disappointed Wembley will do nothing to help him win it.

Carsley, in the aftermath, made it clear he has never taken it for granted that the role would be his, even appearing to suggest he would be glad to have a job to return to with the Under-21s.

“I was quite surprised after the last camp [that there was talk] in terms of ‘the job is mine’ and ‘it’s mine to lose’ and all the rest of it,” he said.

“My remit has been clear from the start – I’m doing three camps. There are three games left and then hopefully I’ll be going back to the Under-21s. It has almost no impact.”

Carsley added: “I never at any point thought that I have got it cracked. It was a case of let’s try something different and I’m happy to take blame for that. It was totally my idea.

“I thought about it long and hard, in terms how it might look, how it might build and how it might feel. It is something that didn’t come off but I don’t think we should rule out having that opportunity to try something different.”

He added: “We tried something different and tried to overload the midfield. We tried it for 20 minutes yesterday [Wednesday], we experimented and we’re disappointed it didn’t come off. It’s unrealistic to expect too much and we will have to try again. It’s definitely an option going forward.

“We tried something different. It doesn’t change anything. My remit is to do three camps.”

If there was a system, it almost impossible to detect what it was.

“Release the handbrake” was the cry for much of Southgate’s reign – on this night, the doors fell off and the engine exploded.

Jude Bellingham was in the false nine role but too often there were too many bodies around, with Phil Foden struggling to find any room to operate, while Cole Palmer could not make any impact in a deeper role. Gordon and Saka were ineffective on the flanks.

It left Declan Rice running around outnumbered trying to plug gaps, England’s vulnerable defence wide open time after time as possession was turned over, Greece scenting their chance.

The signs were bad from the opening minute when Bellingham was robbed, Greece broke and Pavlidis should have done much better than curl a shot wide. He was to make up for it later.

It all made for a night of confusion, from England’s chaotic game plan to Carsley’s messaging about his future in his current post.

England and Carsley will at least have the chance to deliver something approaching clarity when they travel to Helsinki to face Finland on Sunday.

Carsley’s ill-fated gamble means the stakes have just got higher. He is unlike to play such a high-risk game again any time soon.