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Watch Francis Ngannou, Renan Ferreira go forehead-to-forehead during heated final staredown

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Watch Francis Ngannou, Renan Ferreira go forehead-to-forehead during heated final staredown

Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferreira are ready to throw down in Saudi Arabia.

The former UFC heavyweight champion makes his MMA return in the main event of the PFL’s Battle of the Giants pay-per-view card this Saturday, facing the fellow knockout artist Ferreira.

After both made weight early Friday morning, Ngannou and Ferreira took part in the ceremonial weigh-ins, where things heated up quickly with an intense forehead-to-forehead staredown that needed to be separated. Check out the video below.

The intensity continued on as Dan Hardy spoke to both competitors. Ngannou looked Ferreira in the eyes and planned out his prediction.

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“I’ll let him know who is the king,” Ngannou said.

Ngannou then asked Ferreira who the king was as he continued to stare down his opponent. Ferreira responded with “Problema,”

It will be the first mixed martial arts bout in nearly three years for Ngannou, who made the choice to leave the UFC and vacate the heavyweight title after becoming a free agent following his UFC 270 title defense against Ciryl Gane in January 2022.

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Matheus Nicolau wants to honor late Guilherme ‘Bomba’ with UFC Vegas 99 win: ‘He’s inspired a lot of people’

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October 18, 2024

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Matheus Nicolau wants to honor late Guilherme ‘Bomba’ with UFC Vegas 99 win: ‘He’s inspired a lot of people’

The MMA community mourned the death of UFC and Bellator veteran Guilherme “Bomba” Vasconcelos on Tuesday, and UFC flyweight Matheus Nicolau wants to honor him at this weekend’s UFC Vegas 99 in Las Vegas, when he faces Asu Almabayev.

Nicolau was born and raised in Belo Horizonte, just like Vasconcelos, and hearing the news of his “devastating” passing while checking in at the host hotel in Las Vegas was a crushing blow.

“He’s not someone I talked to regularly every day or every week, but I liked him very much,” Nicolau said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “He’s a bit older than me and got his [jiu-jitsu] black belt before I did, but we had our roads in MMA at the same time. He was always so nice to me. We have so many friends in common — everybody knows each other in the jiu-jitsu community in Belo Horizonte, and I saw him a month ago at the Worlds Master.

“The news hit me and I was crushed, man. I liked him very much, you know? He was a nice person that helped a lot of people in Belo Horizonte, even unintentionally, just by fighting and being who he is. He’s inspired a lot of people. I’m sure I was not the only one. He will be missed. That news was quite devastating.”

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The cause of death has not yet been revealed, but Nicolau felt it was important to highlight the debating around mental health — especially among men.

“This is an alert of how important mental health is,” Nicolau said. “We have to open up with our friends. I even texted a friend of mine, ‘Life is crazy and we don’t talk as much as we’d like but I’m always here, and I love you.’ It’s important that we say that to people we care, just like him. If I had the opportunity to go back and have a word with him I would, you know?

“We can’t neglect that because we all have someone that love us badly, we have someone by our side and someone we can trust, someone we can ask for help. We don’t do that as much, especially men. Sometimes it’s hard for us to open up and ask for help and show our weaknesses. You’re only strong if you can be weak, too. That news was devastating, and it’s an alert for us. And may he rest in peace.”

Nicolau promised to “do my best to honor his work and the friendship we had” by defeating Almabayev at UFC Vegas 99. Nicolau said the match was originally offered for Aug. 24, but ultimately signed for Oct. 19, which gave him plenty of time to adapt to a new life in the United States, training at Team Oyama in Irvine, Calif.

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“I don’t like to say I left a comfort zone, because it sounds like I was in a comfort zone before and wasn’t training that hard, but I think it put me in difficulties in every aspect,” Nicolau said. “There’s always a risk in change, and I feel like I’m getting the best out of myself here. I’m taking everything I have to this fight.”

Nicolau was approaching the top of the division after collecting four wins in a row under the UFC banner, including a decision over Manel Kape and a second-round stoppage over Matt Schnell. However, losing back-to-back fights to Brandon Royval and Alex Perez slowed his championship aspirations.

Almabayev, on the other hand, is 3-0 under the UFC banner and 20-2 overall in the sport.

“I’ll beat Asu the way I have to beat him,” Nicolau said. “By submission, by knockout, by points. Grappling him, standing and trading with him, kicking and kneeing him. No matter how, I’ll go after this win at all times — and I’m ready for this. I know I gave my best day after day, and I’m very confident.”

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Watch the goals as Falkirk ease past Hamilton to go five clear

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18 mins ago

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October 18, 2024

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Watch the goals as Falkirk ease past Hamilton to go five clear



Watch highlights as Falkirk score three first-half goals to ease past Hamilton Academical and move five points clear at the top of the Scottish Championship.



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Photos: UFC Fight Night 245 weigh-ins, faceoffs

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October 18, 2024

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Photos: UFC Fight Night 245 weigh-ins, faceoffs

Check out these photos of the UFC Fight Night 245 official weigh-ins and faceoffs at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. (Photos by Ken Hathaway, MMA Junkie)

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Cyborg vs. Pacheco pick, prediction, time: PFL Super Fights

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53 mins ago

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October 18, 2024

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Cyborg vs. Pacheco pick, prediction, time: PFL Super Fights

Cris Cyborg and Larissa Pacheco meet Saturday in the co-main event of PFL: Battle of the Giants at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.

Cris Cyborg vs. Larissa Pacheco PFL Super Fights preview

Cyborg, the reigning Bellator women’s champion at 145 pounds, is competing for the first time in a year, when she defeated Cat Zingano by first-round TKO at Bellator 300. Cyborg, 39, is a former UFC, Strikeforce and Invicta FC champion. She enters on a seven-fight winning streak, which includes five consecutive defenses of her Bellator title. Cyborg hasn’t lost since a December 2018 first-round knockout against Amanda Nunes at UFC 232. … Pacheco, 30, is coming off back-to-back PFL championship seasons at lightweight and featherweight. She brings a 10-fight winning streak into the matchup with Cyborg, which includes her 2022 lightweight title win over Kayla Harrison.

Cris Cyborg vs. Larissa Pacheco expert pick, prediction

2024 PFL Superfights PPV: Battle of the Giants at the Mayadeen Theater in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (Alvaro Martinez / PFL)

Both fighters have continued to find success since their stints with the UFC, particularly Pachecho – who was able to end her series with Kayla Harrison with a win.

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Given that there is so much at stake for each woman’s legacies, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a more measured approach from both parties.

Cyborg, of course, most notably lost an important fight to Amanda Nunes due to getting over-aggressive, so don’t be shocked to see the former Strikeforce champion continue her subsequent trend of grappling-friendly approaches (especially when looking at Pacheco’s willingness to work from her back in previous fights).

Although Cyborg has also had success striking in recent professional boxing bouts, I’m not sure how eager she’ll be to exchange considering Pacheco’s counter-striking acumen. In fact, I believe that countering – akin to the main event – will be the major dynamic at play while this fight is on the feet.

For that reason, I’ll semi-reluctantly take the more experienced and tactically flexible fighter despite the age differential at hand.

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Pacheco’s damaging style will be potent early, but the official pick is for Cyborg to win a competitive decision (with a strong potential for earning a stoppage down the stretch) by being the more effective grappler.

Cris Cyborg vs. Larissa Pacheco odds

Despite the oddsmakers opening this as a pick’em fight, public money has pushed the younger fighter to favorite odds, listing Pacheco (-130) and Cyborg (+102) via FanDuel.

Cris Cyborg vs. Larissa Pacheco start time, how to watch

As the co-main event, Cyborg and Pacheco are expected to walk out to the cage at approximately 6:15 p.m. ET. The fight will stream on ESPN+ pay-per-view in the U.S. and DAZN pay-per-view internationally.

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

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Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.

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AJ McKee reveals Khabib Nurmagomedov already told him fight against Usman Nurmagomedov is next

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October 18, 2024

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AJ McKee reveals Khabib Nurmagomedov already told him fight against Usman Nurmagomedov is next

A.J. McKee has some business to handle on Saturday but if all goes well it looks like he’ll finally get the fight he’s been chasing for over a year.

At the upcoming PFL: Battle of the Giants event, McKee faces fast-rising prospect Paul Hughes in the first bout on the pay-per-view main card but it seemed like a showdown against Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov was inevitable. An injury knocked McKee out of the Bellator Lightweight Grand Prix, which prevented him from chasing the fight back then, but a recent encounter with Usman’s cousin and coach Khabib Nurmagomedov gave him the news he’s been waiting to hear.

“That’s the fight everyone wants is Usman and McKee,” McKee told MMA Fighting. “I think that’s what’s on the roster next. That’s what everybody wants and I don’t think there’s any other fights to make.

“I was down at [Usman’s] fight in San Diego and Khabib [Nurmagomedov] walks by and says ‘see you in Dubai.’ I’m like I’ll see you in Dubai so it looks like they’re pushing for it and I’m pushing for it. So it looks like we’re going to make it happen. There’s really no other fight to make happen.”

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Since moving to lightweight, McKee has gone undefeated with a perfect 4-0 record including a lightning quick finish over PFL favorite Clay Collard back in February.

This time around he’s facing an up and comer in Hughes, who just signed with PFL as a free agent earlier this year and only has one fight under his belt with the promotion. Going from a win over a journeyman like Bobby King to a fight against arguably the No. 1 contender in the lightweight division might seem like an almost unrealistic step up in competition.

McKee can’t get inside Hughes’ head to know what he’s thinking but he plans on showing him there are levels to this game when they meet on Saturday.

“He really hasn’t dealt with any pressure,” McKee said. “He’s just been kind of walking through guys. How’s he going to react when things get a little nitty gritty and sticky? I’m not one to back down. So I’m going to be in his face the entire time. That’s what we’re going to have to see. How does Paul Hughes react when things aren’t going his way? What is he going to be capable of in those moments?

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“I remember wanting to be neck and neck with the best. But it’s like Fast and the Furious — too soon Junior. That’s the quote I’m looking to drop in this one.”

Truth be told, McKee didn’t even really knows Hughes before he got offered the fight because he leaves scouting up to his father and trainer, Antonio McKee.

Maybe Hughes really is the next big thing but McKee promises he’s not going to be the stepping stone on his ascension to stardom.

“I don’t really pay attention [to my opponents],” McKee said. “My dad’s the one who watches video and footage and puts together the game plan. For me, a name is a name. The hit list is the hit list and I’m just going to continue to go in there and take out people one at a time. Paul Hughes, he’s a tough cat. I can’t take anything away from him. He’s been in there, he’s been fighting and I’m just going to go in there and show him I’m a different breed.

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“I’ve been in his position so I know that young, hungry feeling. I remember the first time I fought a vet. My first vet was Pat Curran. So I remember that hungry feeling. I remember wanting that moment. I’m older but I ain’t that old. I’m still holding my ground. I’m going to do what I do best and that’s come out victorious by any means.

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Football

USMNT star Tyler Adams is ready for Bournemouth return, says coach

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October 18, 2024

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USMNT star Tyler Adams is ready for Bournemouth return, says coach


Bournemouth midfielder Tyler Adams remains on track to make his season debut against Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday.

“He lacks some game time, but that is normal,” Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola said Friday. “He is feeling very well, doing well, has good sensations and has trained very well this (international) break with us. He is ready.”

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Adams, the U.S. captain at the 2022 World Cup, had back surgery in early July.

Adams was limited to three EPL games last season because of a hamstring injury that sidelined him from Sept. 27 until March 13. He returned for two matches, then didn’t play for Bournemouth after March 30 because of back spasms.

The 25-year-old Adams played a full game for the U.S. when it was eliminated from the Copa América with a 1-0 group stage loss to Uruguay on July 1 and had back surgery days later.

Adams was not included in newly hired U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino’s squad for friendlies against Panama and Mexico during the past week. The U.S. beat Panama 2-0 before losing by the same score to Mexico on Tuesday night.

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USMNT vs Panama recap & El Tri matchup preview | SOTU

USMNT vs Panama recap & El Tri matchup preview | SOTU

He could return to the national team for a two-leg CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Jamaica next month.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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