ABU DHABI – Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev is one step closer to finally coming to fruition after both made weight on Friday ahead of the UFC 308 co-main event.

After unbeaten sensation Chimaev (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC) pulled out of the original date in June, all signs point to him returning to the octagon after he hit the middleweight mark for his matchup against former champion Whittaker (26-7 MMA, 17-5 UFC) during official weigh-ins at the UFC host hotel ahead of Saturday’s event, which goes down at Etihad Arena on Yas Island (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN+).

Whittaker stepped on the scale at 185.5 pounds, while Chimaev registered at 186 pounds for the five-round showdown, which could serve as a title eliminator the for expected Dricus Du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland championship rematch.

Check out the video above to see Whittaker and Chimaev make weight for the UFC 308 co-headliner.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.

Augusto Cesar Lendoiro took charge in 1988 and was the president who oversaw Depor’s glory years, but it was also under his stewardship the club racked up debts that by 2013 totalled more than 160m euros. Administrators insisted Lendoiro resign, or the club face insolvency. He did, but the economic burden remained.

In 2020, Spanish bank Abanca became the club’s majority shareholder. This summer, with head of Abanca Juan Carlos Escotet also becoming club president, Deportivo announced they were finally debt free, 24 years ahead of schedule.

The club also declared a strategic plan based on the pillars of financial consolidation, strengthening the academy, innovation and infrastructure and a “love for this city and its values”.

Benassi says the goal is to be “competitive in the present, but also ensure long-term success and viability”. There is work to do, Deportivo sit 19th in the 22-team second tier after 11 games, but they will not rush the process.

The club are working with Populous, architects of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, to build a new, state-of-the-art training centre while also refurbishing the current complex for the women’s team.

The focus is very much on finding and nurturing the best young talent in the area, collaborating with local schools and academies.

“It is fundamental for us,” says Benassi. “At the moment, almost 25% of players in the first team come from our academy.”

Benassi hopes the facilities and support Depor can provide will help the club retain their best young players. The Riazor, their home by the beach, is on a list of potential stadiums for the 2030 World Cup in Spain.

But there is also the appeal of “Deportivismo”.

“From a young age, the boys learn that Depor is something more than a club,” he explains. “It is a philosophy, it is a family.

“They are born her. That’s why we don’t want to lose the connection with the city, the values of the city, because if we can maintain that, we are sure all the players from here and the academy will always be Depor fans.”

Laken Litman

College Football & Soccer Analyst

AUSTIN, Texas — The U.S. women’s national team may have looked a little rusty, but the squad won its first match since its remarkable gold medal run at the Paris Olympics, beating Iceland 3-1 on Thursday night at Q2 Stadium.

Alyssa Thompson, who was not part of the Olympics team this summer, opened the scoring with a banger in the 39th minute. This was the 19-year-old’s 10th cap, but her first-ever international goal, and it was a thing of beauty. Then Jaedyn Shaw, also 19, scored the winning goal when she nutmegged Iceland’s goalkeeper to give the U.S. a 2-1 edge late in the second half. Sophia Smith, part of the now famous Triple Espresso front line, added a third goal for good measure.

Before the scoring frenzy in the final minutes of the match, however, the U.S. struggled to be clinical in front of goal. There were many wasted opportunities in the box, and the group probably wasn’t as cohesive as manager Emma Hayes would have liked. But there are two more opportunities in this window, as the USWNT plays Iceland again on Sunday and then faces Argentina on Wednesday.

“We haven’t played together since the Olympics,” Hayes said. “I thought we looked like a team with players at the back end of a season. I liked our short passing game, I thought we did that well. But that final pass into the final third in the first half wasn’t big enough. And I think when the spaces were there on the outside, we didn’t switch the ball quick enough, but we addressed that at halftime. It’s up to us to inject that urgency into the game. And I thought the players that came from the bench did that.”

Hayes added that the “quality in front of goal” was different in the second half after she made substitutions, which included Shaw and Smith coming off the bench and quickly changing the game.

Additionally, as promised, there were multiple debuts. Hayes was able to sub on Gotham FC forward Yazmeen Ryan in the 66th minute, as well as midfielder Hal Hershfelt, who came on in the 72nd. Hershfelt had been in previous training camps and was an alternate at the Olympics, while this was Ryan’s first call up and first cap.

Here are takeaways from the match:

Play of the game:

The U.S. wasn’t efficient enough in the box for most of the first half. That was, until the 39th minute when Thompson unleashed a rocket shot into the upper netting to put her team up 1-0 before halftime. The teenager received the ball just outside the box, took her defender straight on, cut inside, and hit an unsavable shot. It was her first international goal.

It’s been awhile since Thompson has been with the national team. She made it onto the 2023 World Cup roster, but hasn’t been with the squad for the past 10 months due to form. She’s earned her way back, though, and entered this training camp having scored five goals in her last eight NWSL matches for Angel City. 

“I’ve been watching her since before the Olympics,” Hayes said of Thompson. “I know she’s committed to looking for the next level in her play. I think you see just how threatening she is. I mean, it’s not an easy goal to chop in from the left-hand side and move it into the top corner, but she’s someone who, her international career started at a very early stage, but that’s why I believe it does take time. Maybe she wasn’t ready before.

“But I could see from tonight’s performance, she offers a lot for us going forward and super pleased for her goal and performance.”

Immediately after scoring, Thompson found Smith, who she considers to be a big sister, and jumped into her arms on the sideline while the rest of the team swarmed in celebration. 

“I just froze because that has been a dream of mine for so long, and I couldn’t think of a better way to score,” Thompson said. “I’ve been working on that shot for a while, too. And in club I get to those positions a lot, so being able to have those reps and stuff has been nice.”

Turning point:

Iceland equalized in the 56th minute when Selma Magnúsdóttir’s shot from distance sailed past Alyssa Naeher. But that score line would not last.

In the 84th minute, Shaw received a pinpoint pass from Casey Krueger, took on her defender with some fancy footwork, and poked the game-winning goal through Iceland’s goalkeeper’s legs to put the USWNT up 2-1. Shaw didn’t have the Olympics she envisioned, sitting on the bench the entire Games with a lower body injury. Thursday, she got some redemption in her first match back with the national team, scoring her sixth USWNT goal this calendar year.

“Every single [person] in our locker room is over the moon for Jaedyn Shaw knowing what she experienced in the summer,” Hayes said. “Her ability to create and score goals is second to none in this country.”

Hayes added that the end of the NWSL season is coming at the wrong time for Shaw, who is getting back into form after the injury that derailed her summer plans.

“But she’s a unique talent,” Hayes said. “And her feet are special in those areas. I don’t know too many players who can do what she does. I think she just needs to keep working on her game and stay healthy and keep building on what has been largely a good year for Jaedyn. And at the international level, she’s showing how prolific she is. Wonderful for us to see the depth in our roster in the highest areas, which is fantastic.”

In the 89th minute, Smith put a third goal in from the top of the box to add some cushion.

“Soph is a top player,” Hayes said. “Instantly you see when she came into the game, the way she held the ball, the way she turned the defender, the way she can peel off out wide. 

“Soph is becoming the prolific striker I want her to become. And with the very few chances she got, she delivered into the bottom corner.”

Smith, who didn’t come on until the 72nd minute, has been dealing with an ankle injury since the Olympics and is building back minutes. Hayes said she will likely use Smith “sparingly” the next two games, maybe just off the bench. Usually that kind of thing would be tough for the uber-competitive forward, but she understands and admittedly even agrees with the decision.

“It’s just as important role to come off the bench and change the game,” Smith said. “And I took advantage of that.” 

Key stat:

One of the key messages that Hayes has discussed this week is wanting to broaden the player pool as the USWNT looks forward to the 2027 World Cup. She called up 26 players, six of whom were uncapped, 14 of whom have fewer than 20 caps, and 21 of whom are under the age of 30.

Thompson and Shaw are both 19 and are perfect examples of what the future of this team will look like.

What’s next for the USWNT?

It’s a tight turnaround for the USWNT. The team will play Iceland again on Sunday in Nashville and then travel to Louisville where it will face Argentina on Wednesday. Hayes is expected to roll out a different lineup for each of those games, with no player playing in more than two full matches, she said earlier this week. The purpose of this is so that Hayes and her staff can get quality looks at a larger group of players with the hope of expanding the talent pool as the team turns its focus toward the 2027 World Cup.

The U.S. will also continue celebrating its Olympics success over the next several days with fans, while also toasting Kelley O’Hara’s retirement, and honoring both Mallory Swanson and Rose Lavelle for reaching 100 caps.

Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her at @LakenLitman.

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