Lifelong Castleford Tigers fan Martin Jepson has moved a step closer to total control of the club after agreeing a deal to buy the shares of the current owners.

The property businessman has been an investor in the Super League club in recent years and his Ergo Real Estate company have been long-term sponsors.

The club has now announced that the terms of an option agreement for Jepson to buy up the shares held by Janet and Ian Fulton have been decided.

“I am thrilled to have concluded this agreement which will allow me to attract new, like-minded investors to the club,” Jepson said.

“I have been a lifelong fan, and it is my ambition to take the club and its fans on a journey of success and to replicate former glories.”

Jepson joined the board in December, bought 32 per cent of shares and made a significant investment into the club. He now has until 31 January 2025 to trigger the buy-out.

The move means Jepson becomes chairman of the club with immediate effect, with Ian Fulton stepping down and the Fulton family set to relinquish control after more than 30 years of representation on the board.

“I couldn’t be more excited about the future ahead and I am totally committed to both the club and its fans and giving 100 per cent to this project,” Jepson added.

“When I joined the board, I said that I wanted to secure the club’s immediate future and bring long-term stability and that will remain the focus.

“The fans have been starved of real success in recent years and I will do everything in my power to deliver excellence on the playing field and improved fan engagement at all times.”

Anthony Smith is at the stage of his career where he wants each fight to have meaning.

After making his MMA debut in October 2007 and competing nearly 60 times since, Smith (38-20 MMA, 13-10 UFC) has experienced almost everything a fighter can, including challenging for the UFC light heavyweight title against then-champ Jon Jones in March 2019.

At 36 and with four losses in his past six fights, though, signs point to things winding down for “Lionheart.” He’s not ready to declare a retirement plan, be it a number of fights or length of time. That’s because he still has fight left in him, and Smith can feel the fire burning strong when he gets specific fights.

That’s the case for his UFC 310 matchup with Dominick Reyes (13-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC), which takes place Dec. 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+, ESPN2). It’s a fight Smith has been thinking about for some time and what he feels he wants and needs at this point in his career.

“I’ve always liked the Dominick Reyes fight,” Smith told MMA Junkie. “For no other reason than he’s one of the best guys in the world and one of those guys that I think a lot of people thought beat Jon Jones. He’s a name. It’s interesting to me, which is kind of where I’m at in my career right now. I just want to have some fun. I want to train really hard, I want to enjoy whatever I have left in my career, and I want fights with guys that I think matter. And Dominick Reyes matters to me.

“That’s a win. You look back at – as fun as the (Vitor) Petrino fight was, I won’t look back at that one. If I’m sitting around a camp fire with a cold beer in my hand, I’m not going to sit around and tell my friend and reminisce about the time I beat Petrino. That’s not the one that’s going to stand out. Alexander Gustafsson matters. ‘Shogun’ (Rua) mattered. Rashad Evans mattered. And Dominick Reyes matters. So that one is going to mean a lot to me.”

Smith and Reyes have both had their ups and downs in recent years. Smith is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Roman Dolidze in a short-notice fight at UFC 303 in June, while Reyes brings the momentum of a first-round TKO over Dustin Jacoby in June, which snapped his four-fight losing skid.

“The more I dig into it the more dangerous I find Dominick Reyes is, which is really fun for me,” Smith said. “I’m really excited. I don’t really give a sh*t about wins and losses and all that stuff right now. I just want to be the best version of myself that I can be and have as much fun preparing for this as I possibly can.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

WWE legend Stone Cold Steve Austin is considered by many as the toughest professional wrestler of all time.

Austin, 59, defined the famous Attitude Era alongside Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

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The Texas Rattlesnake performed as a rebellious Texan who brutalised his rivals, flipped his boss Vince McMahon off before taking him out with a Stunner and then celebrated by chugging beers.

That led to six world title reigns and a number of classic matches against the likes of The Rock, Triple H, The Undertaker, Bret Hart and many more throughout his 14-year career before retiring in 2003.

But the ex-WWE Champion has left his hellraising and beer-swilling days behind him as he now enjoys retirement.

Instead, the American bruiser prefers to dedicate himself to his Broken Skull Ranch in Nevada with his land that he has filled with animals.

Austin‘s favourite pets are his two cats Pancho and Macho, whose pictures often appear on his Instagram page with many fans dubbing him a “cat dad”.

The former Intercontinental Champion has drastically mellowed, but the same doesn’t go for his two feline friends who are no strangers to raising hell themselves.

The pro wrestling great has previously shared videos of the cats running away when he tries to put them to bed.

Austin used to compete with the famous DTA [Don’t Trust Anyone] motto, but when it comes to his “handsome f*****g cats” he always forgives them and even spoils them with an annual pampering.

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The Hall of Famer spends a lot of time with his pets but also finds time for another newfound passion.

And that is none other than side-by-side racing (SXS), which led to him being named the Valley Off Road Racing Association’s “rookie of the year” soon after making his debut.

Austin also makes sporadic WWE appearances and even came out of retirement in 2022 at WrestleMania 38 where he defeated Kevin Owens in an impromptu No Holds Barred Match.

PFL co-founder Donn Davis continues to lay down the gauntlet to Dana White and the UFC.

Davis spoke to the media ahead of Saturday’s PFL: Battle of the Giants pay-per-view in Saudi Arabia, headlined by Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira. The outspoken Davis went on to explain why White is afraid of booking a PFL vs. UFC cross-promotional event.

“Yes, the UFC’s brand name is bigger, we recognize that, we’re the new guy,” Davis said. “We have to work harder. We’re in year five, they’re in year 30. But if push came to shove, and it was five fights — we pick five, they pick five — let me tell you, they wouldn’t do that. Because we’d win half, and they’d win half. … That’s why Dana, hashtag Dana scared, would never do that. He knows that and we know that.

“But be fans of all of us. We love all fighting, we root for all fighters. Watch them both.”

Davis has not been afraid to speak his mind when it comes to White, the UFC, and the strength of the PFL roster. In fact, Davis believes that the winner of Ngannou’s return to the MMA cage for the first time since making the choice to vacate the UFC heavyweight title and sign with PFL — no matter who wins — is the best in the world at the weight class.

Another gauntlet was laid down by Davis for current UFC heavyweight champ Jon Jones to face Ngannou, or the winner of this fight.

“This is the fight everyone wants to see,” Davis explained. “Whoever comes out of this fight is the No. 1 [heavyweight] in the world. So whoever wants to claim the No. 1 spot goes through the winner of this fight — not through the UFC, this fight. So whoever wants to claim that position better be calling us after Saturday, not calling them.

“We’ve said at PFL, we want to give fans what they want. … Francis Ngannou has said he’ll take on all comers. I think Jon Jones wants to cement his legacy. There’s only one obstacle to that fight, and we know who that is.”

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