Brandon Moreno and Rose Namajunas both know what it’s like to be UFC champion. They’ve done it twice. Is a third run to gold too tall of a climb?

That’s the question both fighters face Saturday as they enter pivotal matchups. Moreno meets Amir Albazi in the UFC Edmonton flyweight main event, with the hopes of holding onto his spot in the division he has reigned over on two occasions. “The Assassin Baby” doesn’t appear to have lost a step despite a pair of red marks on his ledger, as he went five rounds with Brandon Royval and Alexandre Pantoja only to fall just short on the scorecards.

Having lost to Pantoja three times now, Moreno’s best path back to a title shot is to defeat Albazi and hope that Pantoja drops the belt to Kai Asakura at UFC 310. The task at hand is anything but easy.

Albazi is yet to lose in five UFC appearances, though his most recent fight against Kai Kara-France generated some scoring controversy. That was over 500 days ago as Albazi has been sidelined with a litany of health issues. He now has a chance to knock off a former champion and all but sign his name on the dotted line to face the UFC 310 winner.

The co-main event tells a similar story. At 115 pounds, Namajunas emerged as a star, winning the UFC title twice and delivering some of the most incredible finishes in the division’s history. After a disappointing rematch with Carla Esparza, Namajunas decided to move up in weight, and following a loss to Manon Fiorot, she picked up back-to-back wins to put together her first win streak since 2021.

As much as Namajunas has to prove, Blanchfield is just as motivated, if not more. The 25-year-old blue-chipper dominated her first six UFC opponents before also being foiled by Fiorot. That put a damper on the future champion talks that swirled around her, though she has plenty of time to rebuild that buzz and that mission starts Saturday against a future UFC Hall of Famer.

In other main card action, Canadian representatives Caio Machado, Jasmine Jasudavicius, Marc-Andre Barriault, and Mike Malott look to turn around the country’s recent MMA fortunes.

(Note: A previously scheduled main card bout between Derrick Lewis and Jhonata Diniz has been cancelled due to Lewis being forced to withdraw due to a medical issue. A flyweight bout between Jasudavicius and Ariane da Silva has been elevated to the main card.)

What: UFC Edmonton

Where: Rogers Place in Edmonton, Canada

When: Saturday, Nov. 2. The seven-fight preliminary card begins at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN+, followed by a six-fight main card at 8 p.m. ET also on ESPN+.

(Numbers in parentheses indicate standing in MMA Fighting’s Global Rankings and Pound-for-Pound Rankings)

Brandon Moreno (4) vs. Amir Albazi (6)

I scored Brandon Moreno’s past two fights in his favor, so it should come as no surprise that I’m picking him to get off the schneid here. No disrespect to Amir Albazi, who is exactly the kind of strong, well-rounded fighter that will be a factor at 125 for years to come, but Moreno is still on that champion level in my eyes.

This is a tale of two layoffs as well, with Moreno taking slightly longer than usual to return to action and Albazi fighting for the first time in 17 months. While Moreno should be refreshed by taking a mental step back, Albazi has been going through it in his time off having to deal with neck and heart issues. Yikes!

Albazi getting a win would be inspirational, but that’s a lot of ill to overcome on top of figuring out how to get past the refreshed two-time UFC champion standing across from him. If he puts the pressure on Moreno early, that could be key to pulling off this upset and stepping right to the front of the title picture.

Is it terrible to predict another split decision is in the cards for Moreno and Albazi? That’s how tight the race is at the top of this division and how skilled both of these fighters are. If Edmonton does become Splitty City for the main event, then the dice have to roll Moreno’s way sometime. He takes this on points.

Pick: Moreno

Erin Blanchfield (4, P4P-8) vs. Rose Namajunas (9, P4P-10)

One reason I was confident in Rose Namajunas beating Tracy Cortez was the enormous skill and experience gap between them, plus the fact that Cortez didn’t have a considerable size and strength advantage over Namajunas. When Erin Blanchfield steps into the cage with “Thug Rose,” fans will be surprised just how physically imposing Blanchfield is in comparison.

Namajunas’ best bet to win this is the same strategy she’s used to win both her fights at 125 pounds: Stick and move. The former strawweight champion even had moments against Manon Fiorot employing this strategy and when you consider this is a five-round fight, it’s easy to imagine Namajunas outlasting Blanchfield and taking over in the final 10 minutes.

It’s also not difficult to imagine Blanchfield getting her hands on Namajunas early and just hossing her around the octagon. Even against sometimes strawweight Amanda Ribas, Namajunas had trouble stopping takedowns. What’s she going to do to prevent Blanchfield from taking her for a ride?

Namajunas has been in there with the best, so I get that counting her out is foolish, but Blanchfield has all the tools to be an elite fighter someday (if she isn’t already). I think she corrects course with a finish of Namajunas, wearing her down before putting an exclamation point on her performance in the second or third round.

Pick: Blanchfield

Caio Machado vs. Brendson Ribeiro

Now is as good a time as any to point out that there are nine Canadians competing on this card, including Vancouver-based Brazilian Caio Machado. When it comes time for Machado to make the walk, there’s a legitimate chance his countrymen could have batted .500 to that point, so it will fall in him to make it a winning night.

As the highest billed Canadian on the card, Machado should soak in those vibes and enjoy a much-needed move to 205 pounds. Machado’s first two UFC fights were against heavyweights flirting with the upper poundage limit of the division, so it made sense to change weight classes.

Strategically speaking, I’d like to see Machado utilize his grappling, which was a weakness of Brendson Ribeiro’s in his most recent fight. You can tell Machado loves to show off his striking, but Riberio has plenty of spark in those gloves and if Machado wants to avoid a hometown letdown, he should consider mixing the martial arts.

This could be a mucky fight from start to finish, so let’s hope it doesn’t drag on too long. Machado, feel free to club and then sub to end this one early.

Pick: Machado

Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Dustin Stoltzfus

With respect to my fellow Canadian, I’ve seen Marc-Andre Barriault slip on one too many banana peels to pick him with any confidence.

Barriault is a good fighter, we can say that in fairness, but somehow his combination of physical gifts and sharp coaching hasn’t led to consistent results. He has a favorable matchup here in Stoltzfus, a solid grappler who rarely goes to the cards, for better or worse.

This should be a showcase for Barriault, right? I just see too many ways for him to catch a weird loss though. Stoltzfus’ grappling proves to be too much. Stoltzfus wins a tight decision after a sloppy striking battle. Barriault slips on a Rogers ad on the mat and bumps his head. I don’t know. It’s a Barriault fight.

Stoltzfus by submission.

Pick: Stoltzfus.

Mike Malott vs. Trevin Giles

Now this is a squash match booking I can get behind.

Mike Malott shouldn’t be judged too harshly for his loss to Neil Magny, though it exposed glaring holes in his ability to finish a fight strong. He was handling Magny for almost three rounds before a total collapse led to Magny finishing him with just 15 seconds remaining in the contest. There’s no shame in losing to Magny, a fighter with far more high-level experience than Malott, but it did present a hypothetical ceiling for the Canadian welterweight.

Don’t overthink this one, though. Malott never goes the distance and all six of Giles’ UFC losses are by knockout or submission. He’s a hard-working fighter with some legit wins on his résumé (remember when he beat Roman Dolidze?), but his defensive shortcomings will rear their head at the worst time on Saturday.

It’s a 50-50 proposition how Malott ends this, so I’ll go with him utilizing his striking to score an impressive finish.

Pick: Malott

Preliminaries

Pedro Munhoz def. Aiemann Zahabi

Ariane da Silva def. Jasmine Jasudavicius

Victor Henry def. Charles Jourdain

Jack Shore def. Youssef Zalal

Alexandr Romanov def. Rodrigo Nascimento

Serhiy Sidey def. Garrett Armfield

Cody Gibson def. Chad Anheliger

Jamey-Lyn Horth def. Ivana Petrovic

A former Welsh football referee has said the abuse he received on the job made him “question if it was worth it”.

Sean Regan, who spent six months in the profession before quitting, said there was “a real culture problem”.

The 40-year-old added: “I don’t think we can be proud to be involved in football.”

It comes as a committee of grassroots referees have refused to officiate games this weekend and two leagues in Cardiff have postponed matches in solidarity with them.

Cardiff Combination League and Lazarou Cardiff Sunday League have agreed to postpone their games, while Cardiff and District league have left the decision on whether to play up to individual teams.

Mr Regan, who was a sports lecturer and a football coach before pivoting to refereeing, said he initially thought it would be a good opportunity.

But the “atrocious” behaviour of players towards him brought him to breaking point.

“It didn’t surprise me because the coaching staff had very poor behaviour, towards their own players, officials and the opposition,” he said.

“In one match, one of their lads came up to me and said ‘if you keep calling fouls, he [teammate] is going to smack you’.

“It just made me think ‘if somebody hit me what am I supposed to do?’”

Mr Regan said although he enjoyed officiating, he did not want to feel like he was in a “fight or flight position”.

“I don’t regret leaving because it was the right decision, but I regret feeling like I had to,” he said.

The referees strike will impact matches in the three leagues across 2 and 3 November.

Despite the knock-on effect on matches getting played, many players have also supported the cause.

Evan Emer, a player for CPD Treganna – a team that plays in the Cardiff Combination league – said players were “obviously frustrated”, but added: “If the health and safety of the referees is being challenged and if they don’t feel safe doing their job it is difficult to contest.

“Frankly, I’m not surprised that it’s come to this.”

Other players were not sure the strike would make a difference.

Cobi Flowers of Cardiff Sparta – a team in the Cardiff and District league – said change needed to “come from above”.

Both Cardiff Combination and Lazarou Sunday League have postponed all fixtures this weekend in support of the referees, but some Cardiff and District league games are still going ahead.

The Lazarou League said it would “support the stance by the Referee Society”, while the Cardiff Combination Football League (CCFL) said it did “not condone either violence toward or, abuse of referees” but wanted to give all referees the choice on whether or not to participate in the action.

Swansea City and Wales midfielder Ollie Cooper is facing three months out because of a stress fracture in his foot.

Cooper has been a regular for Swansea this season and has also made an impression in Craig Bellamy’s new-look Wales side.

But the 24-year-old will be sidelined until 2025 after a scan revealed the injury issue.

Cooper will miss Wales’ Nations League games against Turkey and Iceland this month, while he will be absent for a significant chunk of the Championship season.

The loss of Cooper is a heavy blow for Swansea, given that he has returned to form under Luke Williams this season having struggled at times during the last campaign.

It is a second injury setback in a fortnight for head coach Williams, who saw South Korea international Eom Ji-Sung ruled out for six weeks with a knee problem last month.

Cooper had played in all 12 Swansea league games this season before being ruled out of this weekend’s trip to Oxford United.

The Swansea academy product has also featured in all four of Bellamy’s Wales games so far.

Sebastian Vettel has tipped Max Verstappen to beat Lando Norris to the Formula 1 title this year, despite his car not being the fastest.

Verstappen is facing tremendous pressure to hold on to his world championship advantage, with Red Bull having been out developed over the 2024 season by main rivals McLaren and Ferrari.

Although the Dutchman holds a 47-points advantage in the drivers’ standings ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix sprint, he knows that Norris has been chipping away at him since the summer break – and he could lose a lot of ground at Interlagos if McLaren is as quick as it has looked so far.

But despite the relative pace of the Red Bull and the McLaren, former Red Bull driver Vettel thinks that Verstappen is the one that still holds the advantage right now.

He thinks a combination of Verstappen’s driving confidence, plus Norris facing a renewed challenge from Ferrari, could be enough to prove decisive in how the drivers’ battle unfolds.

Speaking to Sky Germany, he said: “As much as I’d like us all to have a really exciting race right to the end, I think Max is now so hardened, so confident in his driving … we rarely see any mistakes from him, from his side.

“Even if his car is perhaps no longer quite as strong as it was at the start of the year, I still see him as the favourite. I think he’s still strong enough to always score enough points. And Lando is no longer in a position where he can win every race so easily.

“So, I would say that the role of favourite is clear – and lies with Max. But of course, as an independent spectator, I also hope that it will be even closer.”

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

The Norris/Verstappen battle has become more intense in recent races, with the pair having controversial clashes at both the United States and Mexico Grands Prix.

And while Verstappen’s willingness to take things to the edge in his battle with Norris have left some suggesting the British drivers needs to get his elbows out more, McLaren says it does not want its driver to change his approach.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella, said: “I think Lando is coping with this situation of being in the fight for the championship in a way that we are enjoying, first of all, I would say. He’s now a very mature driver.

“The race craft keeps improving all the time. The attitude, the learning from every situation, which we can appreciate almost on a race-by-race timescale. I think Lando is definitely now a mature driver to succeed in this kind of fight, which is a fight against one of the best drivers, I think, in the history of Formula 1.

“We just keep telling Lando all the time: keep doing what we are doing, let’s keep improving all the time, let’s become the best version of ourselves, race after race.”

MAX VERSTAPPEN and Kelly Piquet celebrated four years together after packing on the PDA at the US Grand Prix.

The model, 35, has been dating three-time F1 world champion Verstappen, 27, since 2020.

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The two were pictured sharing a passionate kiss in Texas after the Dutch champion came third.

And Kelly took to Instagram to celebrate their anniversary as she posted a bikini picture next to Verstappen, who also soaked in the sun.

The Brazilian is the daughter of three-time F1 champ Nelson.

Although she was born in Germany to her Brazilian dad and Dutch mum Sylvia, Kelly spent much of her childhood in France.

And Verstappen is not the only racer she has dated having been in a relationship with Russian Daniil Kvyat.

The pair began dating in January 2017 and have a daughter together, Penelope, months before they split up in December 2019.

And around a year later, Verstappen entered into a relationship with Kelly, going Instagram official in January 2021.

Ironically, Verstappen actually replaced Kvyat at Red Bull in the second half of the 2016 F1 season.

The reigning champ stands atop of the 2024 standings with Britain’s Lando Norris trailing in second.

And in a boost to Norris, rival Verstappen will take a five-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race in Brazil.

The penalty comes after Red Bull put a new engine in Verstappen’s RB20 with four races remaining.

Verstappen’s grid penalty will boost Norris’ hopes of reducing the Dutchman’s 47-point lead in the Drivers’ Championship.

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Francesco Bagnaia has admitted he will need help from other riders to have any chance of winning the MotoGP world championship following his sprint crash on Saturday.

Falling out of the race on lap three while his title rival Jorge Martin went on to win meant Bagnaia’s points deficit grew from 17 to 29 points ahead of Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix.

This in turn puts Pramac Ducati rider Martin in a mathematical position to wrap up the title on Sunday, with one round still remaining.

The deficit is now such that Bagnaia concedes winning tomorrow’s race will not be enough if Martin simply follows him home second.

Although he would still theoretically be alive in the championship heading to the finale in that scenario, the factory Ducati rider knows he now needs other riders to take points off the Spaniard to have a realistic chance at the last round.

“Giving my maximum and winning the race will not be enough,” said Bagnaia. “So we will need something more.”

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing, Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

While a zero-score for Martin would be the ideal scenario for the Italian, the next-best thing would be for the likes of Marc Marquez (Gresini Ducati) and Enea Bastianini (factory Ducati) – who followed Martin home in the sprint – to take some points off the Spaniard on Sunday.

“Tomorrow I really hope Marc and Enea will find something to be close to us. [But the worst] case for Jorge [if nothing changes] is that he finishes second because we don’t have any rivals.

“But I will go like always tomorrow, I will try to win.”

After the sprint, Bagnaia also explained that he had not taken any additional risks heading into the tricky Turn 9 on the lap he fell.

The left-hander has caught out a number of riders so far on the Sepang weekend.

“As soon as I saw that Jorge started better, I waited and then I saw that the pace wasn’t that fast. So I thought, ‘okay, I will overtake, I will have a chance in the next laps’.

“On the first lap I was a bit too aggressive in that corner. I had a lot of movement from the front – and I didn’t crash.

“[Then] I said ‘okay, I will enter more calmly’. I was sure that the risk I was taking wasn’t over the limit. I was quite confident.

“I entered the corner a bit slower but I touched the bump at the apex and I lost the front.

“I don’t know how many laps I’ve done this weekend and in the past, and I’ve touched the bump many, many times without crashing. There is always a first time. It wasn’t the [ideal] moment but honestly, it’s something that can happen.

“It’s not the first time it has happened this season that I’ve told myself I will brake a bit [earlier] not to take any risk and I’ve crashed.”