Jurgen Klopp’s reputation among supporters in Germany is taking a hit after his appointment as head of global soccer at Red Bull.

The Austrian energy drinks producer has landed a public relations coup by hiring one of the most respected figures in German and European football.

Beginning in January, Klopp will oversee all footballing developments within the company.

In 2009, though, Red Bull caused controversy in German football when it took over fifth-division club SSV Markranstadt and turned it into RB Leipzig.

Currently, Red Bull owns Red Bull Salzburg, New York Red Bulls, Brazilian club Red Bull Bragantino and recently acquired a stake in Leeds United. It is also financing RB Leipzig while not technically owning the Bundesliga club.

Klopp, who left Liverpool at the end of last season after “running out of energy”, has received a lot of criticism for joining the Austrians – especially among fans of his former club Borussia Dortmund.

German Football Association (DFB) laws state German clubs must operate on a ’50+1′ rule, meaning members – essentially fans – own the majority of shares and can influence decisions such as ticket prices.

Rivals feel RB Leipzig exploited the system by having just 17 members with voting rights – most are directly linked to Red Bull – and got around a law stating teams must not be named after sponsors by officially calling the club RasenBallsport Leipzig, which translates as LawnBallsport Leipzig.

RB are often referred to as the “most hated club in Germany” and have faced regular protests by opposition fans, ranging from boycotting games to the arrest of 28 Borussia Dortmund fans for throwing cans and stones at rival supporters in 2017.

Borussia Dortmund have been critical of the rise of clubs such as Leipzig that have very little tradition and are accused of being used as marketing vehicles.

Klopp has also been critical of the multi-club model, saying in 2017: “I’m a football romantic and I like tradition in football and all that stuff. In Germany, only two clubs sing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ before the game – and that is Mainz and Dortmund.”

Given Klopp’s history with Dortmund, where he worked from 2008 to 2015, supporters of the club were particularly upset on social media with their long-time hero.

“How much can one squander their reputation within a second?” one user posted on X after the news of Klopp’s appointment on Wednesday morning.

Another wrote: “I have something positive from the Klopp message for you: In Dortmund, it is now finally possible to emotionally close the Jurgen Klopp era. No more nostalgic moaning that is hindering the current sporting process.”

Others have accused him of being a “hypocrite” and “selling out”.

Meanwhile, some made fun of Klopp’s statement in February when he announced he would leave Liverpool at the end of the 2023-24 season as he felt he was running out of energy, saying that he will not run out of energy anymore with enough Red Bull drinks.

Heavyweight Chris Barnett has been forced off Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 244 because of Hurricane Milton.

The UFC officially announced Barnett (23-8 MMA, 2-2 UFC) won’t be fighting Junior Tafa (5-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) at the UFC Apex because of “issues” related to the storm.

The promotion did not elaborate on the exact issues facing Barnett, who resides in the Tampa, Fla. area, which is in the path of Hurricane Milton, a Category 4 storm expected to hit Florida on Wednesday night local time.

Barnett will be replaced by newcomer Sean Sharaf (4-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC). That bout was first reported by Code Sports.

With the change, the UFC Fight Night 244 lineup includes:

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

• Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira
• JunYong Park vs. Brad Tavares
• Grant Dawson vs. Rafa Garcia
• Cory McKenna vs. Julia Polastri
• Alex Morono vs. Daniel Rodriguez
• Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Josh Fremd

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

• Jared Gooden vs. Chidi Njokuani
• Ramazonbek Temirov vs. CJ Vergara
• Jonathan Pearce vs. Pat Sabatini
• Themba Gorimbo vs. Niko Price
• Sean Sharaf vs. Junior Tafa
• Dan Argueta vs. Cody Haddon
• Clayton Carpenter vs. Lucas Rocha

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

A late change has been made to Saturday’s UFC Vegas 98 card after heavyweight Chris Barnett was knocked out of his fight against Junior Tafa.

Barnett was removed from the card due to issues related to Hurricane Milton, and he won’t be able to compete. UFC officials confirmed the change on Wednesday.

With Barnett unable to fight, Tafa now faces UFC newcomer Sean Sharaf, who accepts the fight on short notice with his UFC debut now just a few days away. The news was originally reported by Code Sports on Tuesday.

Sharaf joins the UFC roster with a 4-0 record with all four wins coming by way of first round knockout.

The 31-year-old heavyweight prospect trains out of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas so it’s close proximity to where he’ll fight on Saturday at the UFC APEX.

He’ll attempt to keep his undefeated record in tact while facing Tafa, who comes into the fight off two straight losses. Most recently Tafa fell by first round heel hook submission to Valter Walker, which dropped his overall UFC record to 1-3.

The fight between Tafa and Sharaf is expected to take place on the preliminary card, which kick off at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Conor McGregor knows what it’s like to be a “champ champ,” and he believes Alex Pereira could do him one better.

The UFC light heavyweight champion successfully defended his title a third time this past Saturday at UFC 307 with a resounding knockout of Khalil Rountree Jr. Pereira’s success has only heightened buzz around the possibility of him moving up one more division to capture another belt, having previously held UFC gold at 185 pounds as well.

McGregor has often said he’d like to be the UFC’s first three-division champion, but it’s a goal that is also in reach for “Poatan.”

“I think that would be a viable next move for him,” McGregor told The Schmo. “Maybe he is fine at light heavyweight. There is one more matchup for him at light heavyweight that I’d be interested in, him vs. the Dagestani. But other than that, I’d like to see him go for it. Someone has to go for the three belts. It’s myself or himself. I’m sure one of us will aspire to it in the future.”

Though McGregor has struggled in recent years with poor performances and inactivity, in his prime he was a dual-division threat, memorably winning UFC championships at featherweight and lightweight. His success not only vaulted him to the top of the pound-for-pound charts, it made him one of the biggest stars in the history of combat sports.

Currently, the pound-for-pound discussion swirls around Pereira, seemingly indomitable lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, and all-time great Jon Jones, the latter of whom became a two-division champion when he defeated Ciryl Gane to earn a vacant heavyweight title. Asked for his take on the list, McGregor had a definitive answer.

“2024 has been Alex Pereira’s year,” McGregor said. “No one can deny that. And if we go by that, forget belts, forget any of that, in competition he has four fights this year, four KOs, and his most impressive one was most recently. I’d put Alex No. 1. I’d put Alex as No. 1.

“I think he poses a lot of problems for Jon, also. That’s a dangerous style for Jon. But it’s a decent one for him because he’s not so big. Jon is new to the heavyweight division. Jon had a nice one against Ciryl Gane, but he’s still untested at heavyweight, and I’m sure in the back of his mind he has that thought, ‘Some of these guys are really big.’ Alex is a nice one. It’s still a dangerous one though. At the core of it, it’s probably even more dangerous. I’d be very excited to see that bout take place for sure.”

McGregor still awaits his next booking after an injury prompted him to withdraw from a grudge match with Michael Chandler at UFC 303 this past June. Both fighters continued to discuss a re-booking, but for now Chandler has moved on to a rematch with Charles Oliveira on Nov. 16 at UFC 309.

Alexander K. Lee contributed to this story.