UFC fighter Irina Alekseeva won’t have to wait long to be cleared to fight again after the saga surrounding a failed drug test finally came to a conclusion on Tuesday.
During a monthly meeting with the Nevada Athletic Commission, Alekseeva received a one-year suspension after she tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone “consistent with the administration of testosterone of exogenous origin” from a sample collected all the way back on June 21, 2023.
The commission made the one-year suspension retroactive to Oct. 14, 2023 based on the date she was first notified about the test failure. Alekseeva’s one-year suspension ends on Oct. 14 so she’ll be cleared to fight again as early as Oct. 15.
She was also fined $157.04 by the commission for prosecution fees.
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The strange timing surrounding Alekseeva’s suspension comes after the Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) — the in-house governing body overseeing the UFC’s anti-doping policy — placed blame on the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for delays in reporting the initial results that actually allowed the bantamweight fighter to compete after a failed drug test.
“Alekseeva tested positive for values consistent with the administration of testosterone of exogenous origin in a urine sample collected by the United States Anti-Doping Agency on June 21, 2023, while USADA was still the independent administrator of the UFC’s Anti-Doping Program (UFC ADP),” CSAD officials said back in June. “However, USADA failed to report the results of this sample to her and to UFC until Oct. 31, 2023, more than four months after the sample was collected and after Alekseeva was allowed to compete in a UFC event in Las Vegas, NV, on Oct. 14, 2023.
“USADA collected two additional samples from Alekseeva before her Oct. 14, 2023, fight, (Aug. 8, 2023, and Sept. 13, 2023) that were both negative. It should be noted that when CSAD took over the independent administrator role of UFC ADP from USADA on Dec. 31, 2023, it requested additional, more specific testing of those two samples that USADA had not. The results of this additional testing facilitated by CSAD were negative. Alekseeva was also tested by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) on October 14, 2023, the date of her last UFC fight, and was negative. All three of these subsequent negative samples were collected from Alekseeva before she was informed of her June 21, 2023, positive sample.”
In the end, CSAD suspended Alekseeva for one year, which was also made retroactive to the day after her last fight in the UFC, which meant she would be eligible to return on or after Oct. 15.
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Now the Nevada Athletic Commission has matched that same punishment with Alekseeva cleared to return once her suspension is lifted on Oct. 15.
The result in Alekseeva’s fight remains the same because she ultimately lost a decision to Melissa Mullins, which dropped her UFC record to 1-1 overall.
At the same meeting on Tuesday, Bellator fighter JayJay Wilson was also handed a nine-month suspension after testing positive for metenolone — an anabolic steroid — from out-of-competition drug test. His suspension is set to end on Jan. 1, 2025 and he was also handed a $157.04 fine by the commission for prosecution fees.
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.
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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.
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.
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“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:
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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.”
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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.”
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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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.
NEW YORK — This is why the Yankees are paying Carlos Rodón $162 million over six years: to have a top-notch poker face.
Rodon’s biggest challenge taking the mound for Game 1 of the American League Championship Series wasn’t navigating Cleveland’s dangerous lineup. Rodón’s greatest enemy was actually himself.
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When the veteran allows his emotions to take control over his outing, things can quickly get out of whack. It’s what happened in his first start this postseason against the Royals; he was amped too early and too often — sticking his tongue out and gaping after a first-inning strikeout — and allowed his focus to slip away from the task at hand. He was pulled after coughing up four earned runs in just 3.2 innings against Kansas City.
But he learned a lot in the week between his next playoff start. He studied Gerrit Cole, received advice from Andy Pettitte, and said he would be better his next time out. Even so, it’s one thing to do all the prep, but it’s another to actually execute on the mound — no less in a playoff start.
Finally, in his team’s 5-2 win over the Guardians on Monday night at Yankee Stadium, the fiery left-hander put his career 11.37 postseason ERA in the rearview and pitched with authority.
“The goal was to stay in control,” Rodón said. “Stay in control of what I can do, physically and emotionally. I thought I executed that well tonight.”
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He was being modest. Rodón struck out nine batters and allowed just one run on three hits across six innings, and kept his emotions in check every time. But it was easy to tell this was a battle for Rodón. Being nonreactive isn’t exactly second nature for him. He seemed to be putting as much effort into controlling his emotions as he was into his pitch diet of fastballs, sliders, curveballs and changeups. Rather than acknowledge the crowd’s raucous energy with some of his own, Rodón rolled his shoulders back and kept his head down on the mound. The southpaw proceeded to register 25 swings and misses.
He was locked in, and it manifested.
Rodón’s only blemish of the night came on a Brayan Rocchio home run to lead off the sixth inning. But there was no ensuing meltdown. There was no look of befuddlement as he watched Rocchio’s long ball sail over the left-field wall. He retired the next three batters and finished his outing by pointing his glove at Aaron Judge, who ran down a rocket off José Ramírez’s bat for the final out of the sixth. Rodón sent down the Guardians slugger all three times he faced him.
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“I think he was very aware of what the last outing ended up being and just how the emotions got away from him early,” Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake said. “That was going to be a focus for him throughout the game. Each inning you could tell he was trying to stay steady and be neutral about it and just keep collecting outs.”
While Rodón went to work, the Yankees piled on. Juan Soto slammed his first postseason home run as a Yankee in the third inning, putting New York on the board with a 1-0 lead. Giancarlo Stanton added insurance in the seventh with his second home run of the postseason, which was his 13th career playoff jack since 2018. Stanton has a 1.244 OPS in five postseason games this October. But while Soto, Stanton and Aaron Judge all collected RBIs in the Game 1 victory, it was Rodón who stood out as the game changer.
“He was the driver tonight,” Stanton said of Rodón. “Juan got us going on the offensive side, but Carlos was holding them down and giving us a chance to score and add to it.”
Rodón didn’t achieve this picture of poise on his own.
Days after the Royals detected that his emotions were running high and sent him packing in the fourth inning, Rodón sought out advice from Pettitte, the former Yankees southpaw and five-time World Series champion, on how to keep a good poker face on the mound. Pettitte, currently in an advisor role with the Yankees, won 63.3% of his postseason decisions in part by refusing to allow the opponent in on what he was thinking and feeling. Rodón said Pettitte’s advice left an impression.
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Then, while Cole dominated the Royals in Kansas City last Thursday, Rodón leaned on the dugout railing and closely watched his every reaction. Captivated, Rodón kept his eyes focused on Cole even as drama unfolded between Anthony Volpe and Maikel Garcia at second base. Rodón watched as Cole became agitated without letting the situation ruin what had been a strong outing.
“You can tell he gets a little pissed off,” Rodón said of Cole. “But he kind of just keeps it in frame and gets back on the mound. They do end up scoring a run, but he keeps them to one run. The biggest thing I saw from him in the seventh, he didn’t react every inning. If you watched him come out, it’s just like a robot walking to the dugout. Then at the end of the seventh, it’s a big roar because he knows, I did my job. I think that’s one thing that resonated with me from that start.”
Rodón tried to be like Cole the robot against Cleveland and, for the most part, he was. His six innings of one-run ball weren’t just important for the Yankees, who took a 1-0 series lead over the Guardians to begin the ALCS, but an enormous response to the criticism manager Aaron Boone received for going with Rodón in the first place. With Cole slotted for Game 2 on four days’ rest, Boone was choosing between right-hander Clarke Schmidt or Rodón for the series opener. Cleveland was the third-best offensive team in the AL against left-handers in the regular season, so no one would’ve blamed Boone if he opted to start Schmidt in Game 1.
But Rodón was signed by the Yankees for moments like Monday; a packed house of 47,264 in the Bronx, doing his part as the rotation’s lethal 1-2 punch alongside Cole, all while being accountable in front of the zoo that is the New York media.
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The mental and physical flow Rodón realized in Game 1 was the elixir to the ghastly postseason ERA he brought into Monday night’s outing. This was exactly what the Yankees expected from Rodón when they made him the highest-paid pitcher in the 2023 free-agent class. After being limited to just 14 starts because of injuries last year, and posting a dreadful 6.85 ERA in the process, this was Rodón’s year to start earning his contract. He showed up to spring training noticeably slimmer, then stayed out of the trainer’s room all season, and bounced back with a 3.96 ERA across a career-high 32 healthy starts and 175 innings.
Rodón’s 26-week stretch of being a workhorse in the regular season helped the Yankees get to this point, particularly when Cole missed the first two-plus months with an elbow injury. But Rodón can give the Yankees a bigger, more important lift by replicating this routine his next time out.
The Yankees are three wins from advancing to the World Series. Rodón can count on one hand how many more times he will need his poker face.
Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
MMA Fighting has DWCS results for all the action from season 8, week 10 of UFC’s Contender Series on Tuesday night at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nev.
In the main event, Nick Klein and Heraldo Souza will clash in a middleweight contest. Klein, who is 5-1 in his career, has picked up two straight wins. Souza, who is 9-1-1, has won has past three fights via finishes.
Undefeated flyweights Luis Gurule and Nick Piccininni will clash in the co-main event.
Check out the DWCS results for season 8, week 10 below.
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