While European football stands united in opposition to FIFA's latest multi-billion-dollar commercial scheme, one prominent member ******* ociation boss has chosen to take a very different stance.
The general consensus on FIFA's $20 billion commercial spinoff is simple: if money talks, Gianni Infantino has turned the volume up to maximum, while Europe has hit the mute ******* on.
FIFA's non-European federations are practically drooling over promised $20 million development payouts, viewing the private equity cash-in as a windfall.
Meanwhile, UEFA, European clubs, and fans are horrified, insisting the "soul of football isn't for sale".
In short: FIFA wants to sell a slice of its World Cup pie to Wall Street to enrich smaller nations, while Europe fears private investors will turn the beautiful game into a corporate cash grab.

#Football #private #infantino

Connor Thomas got thrown to the wolves on Monday night, and the Mets' broadcast booth could barely stomach watching it happen.
The Braves reliever was left in to twist against New York's lineup long after the outcome had been decided, and by the time Atlanta finally mercy-killed the outing, Thomas had been shelled for 11 earned runs — the most any reliever has allowed in a major-league game in more than half a decade — according to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo.
His final line read: 2 2/3 innings, 10 hits, 11 runs, five walks, two strikeouts, three home runs, 78 pitches.
As Gary Cohen mentioned on the SNY broadcast of New York's 14-3 win, Atlanta had ground through five consecutive one-run games in the days before Monday, and rather than burn another arm in a game that was already lost, the Braves made the call to sacrifice Thomas to the baseball gods.
The 28-year-old left-hander — a Tifton, Georgia, native and Georgia Tech product who made his MLB debut with the Brewers back in 2025 — had only been summoned from the minors about two days prior. He's never been treated as a top prospect, and he entered Monday having not thrown more than 70 pitches in a single appearance since he was a starter for St. Louis' Triple-A Memphis affiliate back in September 2023 — more than 1,000 days ago.

#georgia

Saudi Arabia's AI champion HUMAIN has signed its first sports sponsorship, partnering with Al Nassr, the Riyadh soccer club where superstar Cristiano Ronaldo plays, as it looks to integrate its AI offerings into the team.
The agreement will see HUMAIN's logo on Al Nassr's jerseys and new training center. HUMAIN also plans to deploy its sports technology unit and its interactive entertainment platform at the club.
HUMAIN aims to use the sponsorship deal to "go beyond the traditional sponsorship model," chief executive Tariq Amin said. "Together, we'll look at how solutions such as HUMAIN Sport and HUMAIN Create can help shape the next generation of fan engagement, from more personalized digital experiences to new forms of AI-powered content.
HUMAIN declined to comment on the financial details of the deal.
The sponsorship is also expected to provide a financial boost for Al Nassr. The club — which, like HUMAIN, is owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund — is reported to have more than $200 million in debt, complicating efforts to sign new players this summer.

#sponsorship #nassr

Kyrie Irving last played in the NBA on March 3, 2025. He has only appeared in 128 games for the Dallas Mavericks since 2023, but that will change soon. A recent update about the superstar guard's status heading into next season provides good news for the team's fans.
ESPN's Shams Charania reported on Monday that Irving is back to full strength. The senior insider added that he has spoken to his new head coach, Dusty May, as well as Dallas' president and general manager.
MORE: Kyrie Irving impresses Mavericks coach Dusty May: "Watching Picasso"
"From my understanding, he's fully recovered 100% with that ACL tear from a couple of seasons ago," Charania said.
"He's been fully entrenched in the Mavericks plans this offseason. "Him and Dusty May, they've spoken. Him and Masai Ujiri, the new president, they've spoken. Mike Schmitz, their new general manager, has spoken."

#spoken #dallas #general

After several weeks of tight margins and constant movement in the NSL standings, Week 13 saw the league's in-form teams separate themselves from the pack. Ottawa Rapid FC, Montréal Roses FC, and defending champions Vancouver Rise FC all collected another three points, strengthening their cases as genuine ****** le contenders.
For Vancouver, the past weekend may have been the most significant. Their victory over AFC Toronto lifted the Rise from fifth into third place, a reminder that the reigning champions are finding their rhythm at exactly the right time. With confidence growing and key players hitting form, they'll now have one eye on the teams above them.
Meanwhile, Ottawa continue to set the standard. The Rapid have now won four straight matches, while Montréal's disciplined performances have stretched their unbeaten run with a third consecutive victory. Every point is becoming more valuable as the season moves into its decisive stretch. The race at the top is beginning to intensify.
Ottawa's winning streak didn't come easily. It showed exactly why the Rapid have become one of the league's toughest teams to beat.
The opening half was evenly contested with Halifax creating enough chances to trouble the hosts. Melissa Dagenais was called into action on multiple occasions and produced several important saves to keep the match level.

#ottawa #form

Real Madrid have announced that they will face Ferencvaros on August 8th in a friendly which will be played at the Groupama Arena in Budapest.
Real Madrid is scheduled to play a preparatory match against Ferencváros on Saturday, August 8, at 7:00 p.m. Mourinho’s squad will travel to Budapest, Hungary, for the friendly encounter at Groupama Arena, home to the Hungarian club, which accommodates 22,000 spectators. This will mark the team’s inaugural appearance at the venue.
Source: Realmadrid.com
Los Blancos will face Fiorentina on August 1st and also Deportivo La Coruña on August 12th in what’s expected to be the team’s final preseason game. Still, the full preseason schedule has not been published, so the club could very well announce a few more preseason games given that their LaLiga opener will take place on August 22nd against Espanyol.

#august #madrid

Canelo Alvarez has suggested he will never box David Benavidez, saying “it’s not fair” that the Mexican-American fights in the weight classes he occupies.
Fans have long desired a showdown between Mexico’s Canelo, a former four-weight world champion, and Benavidez, a three-weight world champion, with many accusing Canelo of “ducking” the 29-year-old.
Canelo has held ***** les at super-welterweight, middleweight, super-middleweight, and even light-heavyweight, while Benavidez has held gold at super-middleweight, light-heavyweight and cruiserweight.
Benavidez was even the WBC mandatory challenger to Canelo at super-middleweight for more than two years, without obtaining a fight with the 36-year-old. Benavidez thus moved up to light-heavyweight and, most recently, cruiserweight, where he took the WBA and WBO belts from Gilberto Ramirez with a stoppage win in May.
But Canelo has said he does not care about suggestions that he has avoided Benavidez, telling journalist Ariel Helwani: “I’m not worried because I did everything. I did everything in boxing. I accomplished everything in boxing, and I have nothing to prove, but yes, I will miss boxing a lot [when I retire].

#super #middleweight #light #everything

CHICAGO – Detroit Tigers right fielder Kerry Carpenter has been dealing with the strangest injury of his career.
Carpenter has a bruised heel on his left foot from – the Tigers think - his cleats.
Seriously.
Carpenter has always worn Under Armour cleats but his favorite pair was discontinued. So, he switched to a pair of New Balance cleats.
“Under Armour stopped making the model I've worn the last seven years,” Carpenter said before the Tigers played the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday, July 22. “So I switched to New Balance because those were the only ones that felt good on my feet.”

#balance #switched

Baltimore Beatdown is proud to introduce this four-part series on Lamar Jackson from former Ravens running back Femi Ayanbadejo! He is a member of the 2000 Super Bowl championship team and an 11-year NFL veteran. He also holds an MBA from Johns Hopkins, with executive credentials from Harvard and Wharton, and has worked in sports media as an NFL ******* yst since 2013. Ayanbadejo is currently part of the radio team at 105.7 The Fan Baltimore.
Lamar Jackson trades like a meme stock in the marketplace of media and executive opinion. His perceived value surges after an MVP season, crashes after a playoff loss, and resets with almost no institutional memory of the underlying fundamentals. The film, the production, and the total body of work change gradually. The narrative price moves overnight.
Lamar Jackson is judged differently than any quarterback in recent memory. His accolades take the stairs up while his critics put him on the elevator down. Every achievement is earned slowly, scrutinized at every floor, and met at the top with a new reason it was not enough. Every criticism arrives instantly and is amplified before anyone checks whether it is true. Old narratives are zombie-like in their refusal to die. Evidence of underperformance is weighted against his entire body of work, while evidence of growth is often treated as temporary. When the facts change, the framing simply finds a new form.
That narrative volatility is visible right now. In the player-voted NFL Top 100, Jackson fell 67 places—from No. 2 to No. 69—after an injury-disrupted season in which he still finished fourth in passer rating at 103.8. Trevor Lawrence ranked 62nd and Bo Nix 59th, while ESPN's survey of more than 70 executives, coaches, and scouts placed Jackson fifth among quarterbacks. Colin Cowherd's movement was even more revealing: he ranked Jackson seventh in May, then 11th in July, choosing the "ascending" Drake Maye over an "expensive, declining" Jackson and announcing that he was "selling his stock." Skepticism about Jackson in major postseason moments is fair; declaring him a depreciating ******* et after one injury-marred season is not. He is 29. Matthew Stafford just won MVP at 37, Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning won at 37 or older, and Tom Brady won at 40. Meanwhile, Baltimore's supporting cast was ranked 22nd. When Jackson produces an MVP-caliber season, critics say he is loaded with talent. When preseason rankings arrive, that same supporting cast is considered below average while Jackson's individual value collapses. This is not consistent evaluation. It is narrative volatility. If every NFL player were available in a franchise draft today and the objective were to win now, I do not believe five players would be selected before Lamar Jackson.
People underestimating Jackson is not an occasional occurrence. It is his norm. The hyperbole surrounding him since before the draft has helped create a man largely impervious to nonsensical commentary. He rarely res

It has been around four months, 138 days to be precise, since the Real Madrid forward Rodrygo Goes suffered his latest injury, an anterior cruciate ligament tear and ******* ociated meniscus tear in his right knee. This injury, suffered on 2nd March, brought a premature end to his club season, and more sadly for the player, also meant him missing the World Cup 2026.
At the time of his injury, he was expected to spend between ten to twelve months on the sidelines. However, as Diario AS has reported, his recovery progress is going very well, and he is expected to recover fully from this injury within the lower extreme of this time range, i.e., ten months.
After having undergone surgery right after this injury, the Brazilian forward has already overcome the most difficult phase of his recovery in these four months. He has gone through these four months with a lot of physical and mental pain, but his determination has never been shaken, as seen from the long rehabilitation and physiotherapy sessions he has undergone. Later, he also started regaining mobility in his knee and began working in the gym.
As things stand, his recovery has progressed to such an extent that he can go through daily life activities, without stepping on the pitch. He also went to the United States to see and support his Brazilian national team in the World Cup, and in North America, also met one of his idols, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Going forward, Rodrygo Goes is expected to get his medical clearance in January. However, he would still need more time to get back to his best level and gradually make his return to the pitch in competitive games.

#rodrygo

With Cooper Kupp on the decline, the Los Angeles Rams decided to part ways with the former Super Bowl MVP and bring in another veteran, Davante Adams. They signed Adams after he was cut by the New York Jets, bringing him back to California and pairing him with Puka Nacua to create one of the best receiver duos in football.
Though it took some time for him to develop chemistry with Matthew Stafford, especially after the veteran QB dealt with back issues in camp, Adams went on to lead the NFL with 14 touchdown catches in only 14 games.
The Rams considered trading him away for A.J. Brown this offseason but decided to keep him for the final year of his contract, hoping to get Adams that elusive Super Bowl ring. He nearly cracked the top five of our most important players list, coming in at No. 6.
Just before the start of 2025 free agency, the Rams made a big splash by signing Adams to a two-year, $44 million contract. He was still considered a premier player despite his production slipping with the Raiders and Jets, so the Rams brought him aboard and gave Stafford yet another weapon on the outside.
Adams is entering the final year of his contract, so it's possible he'll hit free agency in 2027 if the Rams don't extend him beforehand.

#year #stafford

England face Argentina at Atlanta Stadium on Wednesday evening in the World Cup semi-finals, one win from their first World Cup final appearance since 1966.
Thomas Tuchel's side beat Norway 2–1 after extra time in Miami on Saturday, Bellingham equalising just before half-time before completing his brace in the third minute of extra time to send England into only their fourth World Cup semi-final. The reigning world champions are the last obstacle between England and Sunday's final against European champions Spain, to whom they lost in the 2024 final.
Jarell Quansah serves the second and final match of his two-game suspension for the red card received against Mexico. Jordan Henderson remains out for the tournament with a broken wrist. Otherwise, Tuchel has a fully fit squad available, as he confirmed in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
Declan Rice has recovered from the stomach illness that restricted him to 45 minutes against Norway and is confirmed to start. He trained fully on Monday in Kansas City — his first full session since the quarter-final.
Reece James returned from a hamstring injury as a substitute in Miami and is expected to start at right back, with Tuchel satisfied with his recovery. Ezri Konsa continues at centre-back alongside John Stones, with Nico O'Reilly at left back.

Will we ever see another Luke Kuechly? Well, there's at least one person in the NFL who thinks the second coming is already here.
ESPN published their rankings of the league's top off-ball linebackers—as voted on by executives, coaches and scouts—on Tuesday morning. The list features Cleveland Browns standout Carson Schwesinger all the way up at No. 3—and, via senior reporter Jeremy Fowler, had a personnel exec saying the following:
"He's [Luke] Kuechly reincarnated. Elite speed, athleticism, instincts, ball skills."
That's quite a comparison given the legendary credentials of the Carolina Panthers great.
Kuechly was a supreme athlete coming out of Boston College—as his 40-yard dash (4.58 seconds), vertical jump (38 inches) and broad jump (123 inches) from the 2012 scouting combine all ranked within at least the 91st percentile of every inside linebacker tested since 1999. Schwesinger did not run a 40 nor record a broad jump at his combine, but did top Kuechly's vertical at 39.5 inches.

When Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal lead their sides out at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday evening, they will be doing more than chasing a place in Sunday's final, they will be fronting the priciest collection of talent ever ****** embled for a men's World Cup semi-final.
Transfermarkt's latest figures value France's squad at roughly $1.78 billion (€1.56bn) and Spain's at $1.43 billion (€1.25bn), a combined total of around $3.2 billion (€2.8bn), which outstrips any previous last-four meeting in the tournament's history.
Much of that financial weight is concentrated in a handful of individuals.
Barcelona's Yamal, who turned 19 the day before kick-off, is the most expensive player left in the competition at around $234 million (€205m), with Mbappé close behind at roughly $211 million (€185m).
Michael Olise and Pedri follow, both valued at around $176 million (€154m).

Jul. 13—ROYAL CITY — The Royal Knights held their summer volleyball camp from July 6 to 10 and brought in both new and experienced players to learn more about the sport. Knights Head Coach Melanie Griffin said this camp was a great opportunity for this team as they head closer to the start of the season.
"I feel it was huge for these girls," said Griffin. "They really learned and grew. We worked on some high-level stuff, and I had a young group show up so it was really good for them to see what the game can look like, and I think they felt good."
For the first four days of camp, girls from seventh grade to the upcoming seniors all worked together on a variety of skills and exercises to stay fresh during the offseason. The coach said she feels the girls learned a lot of new things and most importantly learned to play and have fun together.
"That's what the game should be, is fun," said Griffin.
Missy Woodward, one of the upcoming Royal seniors, said she really enjoyed the opportunity to bond with her younger teammates ahead of the fall season.

Former India coach Rahul Dravid says he is still open to coaching roles despite making a foray into franchise ownership.
Dravid is co-owner of the Dublin Guardians in the inaugural edition of the European T20 Premier League (ETPL) which is taking place later this summer.
The 53-year-old played 164 Tests and 344 one-day internationals for India and coached their national team from 2021 to 2024.
Dravid told BBC Sport he would "certainly" be keen continue to be involved in coaching if some "good opportunities come up".
"This league is only a month in the year so I think that was the exciting part of it, to try and do something different for a month," Dravid said.

HAMPTON, Ga. — Team Penske Fords claimed the front row spots for Sunday night's NASCAR Cup Series race at EchoPark Speedway.
Ryan Blaney won the pole with a lap time of 30.815 seconds at 179.912 mph on Saturday.
Blaney's teammate, Joey Logano, was second with a lap time of 30.851 seconds at 179.702 mph.
"Feels good to have a Penske front row," Blaney said, adding he also can work well with other Ford drivers. "Hopefully we'll be able to get organized at some point but it's nice that Joey and I are starting at the front."
Blaney is third in the Cup Series points race. Points leader Denny Hamlin and second-place Tyler Reddick qualified 28th and 31st, respectively, in their 23XI Racing Toyotas.

The 2027 recruiting class for the Oklahoma Sooners remains at 27 after running back commit Keldrid Ben reaffirmed his pledge to OU on Friday. Running backs coach Deland McCullough is keeping a player on board who originally committed to McCullough's predecessor, DeMarco Murray.
Ben, who is from Montgomery (Texas) High School, has been committed to OU since December 1st. The four-star prospect checks in at 5-foot-10 and 208 pounds. He's the No. 86 overall player in the class, according to Rivals and a consensus four-star prospect. He has shut down his recruitment, which had been competitive after he ran for 18 touchdowns as a junior in 2025. On the ground, he piled up over 1,500 yards.
Ben joins fellow Texan Jakoby Dixon, who was McCullough's first add through recruiting, as the two RB commits in Oklahoma's 2027 class. Head coach Brent Venables and general manager Jim Nagy have been hard at work ****** embling a top-flight group, aided by strong success on the field in 2025.
According to 247Sports, Ben is the 14th-best running back in the class, the 39th-best player in the state of Texas, and the 225th-best player in the nation for 2027. He is an important piece of the class that Venables and Nagy are building together in Norman.
Contact/Follow us SoonersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes and opinions.You can also follow Aaron on XAaron_Gelvin.

Spain's progression past Belgium into the World Cup semi-finals leaves plenty of images behind, but let no one forget that the other two quarter-final ties are also being played today.
Mikel Merino's goal was shouted and celebrated across the entire country from north to south, and Friday night in Spain felt like it would never end. Memories of 2010.
The goalkeeper had to leave the pitch injured and in tears. After the match, he left open the question of whether this could have been his last game with the national team.
From Brad Pitt to Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem, as well as influencers of the caliber of Speed and KSI, the stands at the Los Angeles stadium were packed with personalities who did not want to miss the match.

In a historic celebration of Ducati's 100th Anniversary, MotoAmerica Supersport racer Kayla Yaakov participated in the exclusive Ducati MotoGP Experience at the Misano World Circuit following World Ducati Week 2026. Yaakov made history as the first woman to ride a Ducati MotoGP motorcycle, completing laps on Marc Márquez's Ducati Lenovo Team Desmosedici GP26 as well as Nicolò Bulega's Aruba.it Racing Panigale V4 R WorldSBK bike. Coached by racing legends Casey Stoner and Michele Pirro, the rising American talent fulfilled a lifelong dream while showcasing Ducati's rich racing heritage and commitment to rider development.
The full press release follows below.
Begin press release:
Ducati North America is proud to celebrate MotoAmerica racer Kayla Yaakov's participation in Ducati's exclusive MotoGP Experience following World Ducati Week 2026, where Ducatisti from around the world gathered at the Misano World Circuit to celebrate Ducati's 100th Anniversary. During the experience, Yaakov rode Marc Márquez's Ducati Lenovo Team Desmosedici GP26 and Nicolò Bulega's Aruba.it Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R WorldSBK bikes, becoming the first woman to ride a Ducati MotoGP motorcycle.
Yaakov joined Ducati riders, employees, dealers, and enthusiasts from across the globe for World Ducati Week, the largest gathering of Ducatisti in the world. Held every two years at the Misano World Circuit "Marco Simoncelli," the 2026 edition carried special significance as it celebrated 100 years of Ducati. The event featured racing legends, current MotoGP and WorldSBK riders, track activities, and exclusive experiences that showcased Ducati's racing heritage and passion for performance.

The way fantasy football leagues determine draft order is always different. Most leagues will let Yahoo decide for you, randomly generating the first-round order prior to the first pick. Others will decide the order prior to your draft to give you plenty of time to practice via the Yahoo mock draft lobby. League managers have also been known to come up with creative ways to decide the draft order.
Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2026 NFL season
Anyway, no matter which pick you get, you've got a chance to win. But which pick would make you feel the best going into the 2026 season? Probably the first pick, but it isn't always cut and dry. Yahoo ******* yst Scott Pianowski, Joel Smyth, Matt Harmon and Justin Boone share which pick in the first round they'd want to draft out of the most.
Full transparency, I'm also somebody who would prefer the 1.01 or 1.02 pick. Smashing an early bellcow leads to a lot of favorable fantasy paths. But I can also reasonably consider a Hero or Robust RB build later in the round, and if I land something in the 9 or 10 range I start to fixate on Jonathan Taylor. I'm not sure everybody appreciates how dominant he was in the first half of 2025, and his late slump can largely be attributed to the Daniel Jones injury. If Jones is healthy, this Colts offense could easily be a top-five unit.
There are advantages to not being slotted at the absolute end, I can use neighborhood information to play off the rosters of my opponents who pick after me in the odd rounds. I also feel I tend to draft better when I'm not on an extreme end, since my picks cluster together more and leave me more pliable to handle draft flow and positional runs.

Following Thursday's UFC 329 Pre-Fight Press Conference, the main event and co-main event fighters faced off.
UFC 329 takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 11 and features the return of former two-division champion Conor McGregor in the main event. The Irishman takes on former featherweight champion and BMF ****** leholder Max Holloway in a rematch. During Thursday's face-off, the two had to be separated.

Zuffa Boxing just landed a massive one.
Undefeated four-division world champion superstar Shakur Stevenson has signed a multi-fight deal with Zuffa Boxing, the new boxing venture led by Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) CEO Dana White and backed by some serious combat sports muscle.
Stevenson, 29, is already considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in boxing and is looking to become the face of Zuffa Boxing as the promotion continues to make massive waves in the sweet science. He is also coming off a one-way beatdown of Teofimo Lopez, capturing the WBO and The Ring junior welterweight ***** les in the process (watch highlights).
“Line them up, one by one, and I’ll beat all the top guys once I get them in front of me,” Stevenson said in a press release. “With Zuffa Boxing, I’m going to go after the biggest fights in the sport and I will become the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world.”
That is exactly the kind of talk White loves.

Stoke City's marquee summer signing Ethan Galbraith says the ambition of the Championship club made the move to the Potteries feel like the right one.
The Northern Ireland midfielder signed for an eight-figure fee, including potential add-ons, from Swansea City on 1 July.
He joined on the same day as former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Svante Ingelsson, bringing the number of Stoke's transfer deals in preparation for the new season to four.
Galbraith has signed a contract until the end of the 2030-31 season and said he was relishing the chance to get Stoke back to the Premier League for the first time since 2018.
"I've said it a couple of times, the ambition of the club, where it wants to go, sort of aligns with how I want to go in my career," he told BBC Radio Stoke.

The first day without World Cup football was tough, but the action is back today. France-Morocco kick off the tournament's quarterfinals.
That said, things are still happening off the pitch.
On Sunday you're playing a World Cup round-of-16 match at the Azteca, and on Wednesday you're collecting your diploma at graduation. Quite the emotional roller coaster Gilberto Mora has been through.
Watching your national team when you're 10,000 meters in the air. Not easy, but something a Wi-Fi connection can fix. Even more so when it was a match like Tuesday's Argentina-Egypt game. Just ask these passengers.
Some national teams are already back home after being knocked out of the World Cup. And now it's time to ***** s their performances. Zlatan has done it... in pure Zlatan style. It's priceless.

When Max Holloway welcomes Conor McGregor back to MMA this Saturday, July 11, at UFC 329 in Las Vegas, he'll not only being seeking redemption for a loss in their first clash in 2013; the former featherweight champion will also be making his 170-pound debut.
A spot atop the sport's featherweight Mt. Rushmore has been well-earned by Holloway at this point, however Holloway made what appeared to be a permanent move to lightweight after his final 145-pound ***** le tilt in October 2024. Had it not been for the McGregor rematch, a welterweight side quest likely would've never been in the cards. But that doesn't mean Holloway won't fit into his new division, according to his nutritionist, Tyler Minton, who spoke in-studio Wednesday on "The Ariel Helwani Show."
"We're going to be cutting weight [for this fight]. Max is a big guy. ... When I post a picture with me and Max, it's always, 'Holy smokes, he's huge,'" Minton told Uncrowned.
"Max is massive. He's a very large 155er now that he's had time to do this — and you know that a large 155er is a 170er, naturally. So, yeah, we're still going to have a weight cut [for UFC 329], but that being said, it's not one of those you have to fear or worry about. We've been able to focus purely on performance, and say, 'How do we perform better in the next session? How do we recover from the session earlier today and only focus on that?'
"When you only focus on performance for a literal performance athlete," Minton continued, "it makes all the difference in the world."

British wildcard Arthur Fery will play for a place in the Wimbledon final after extending his sensational run with a remarkable victory over world number 10 Flavio Cobolli in front of an ecstatic Centre Court crowd.
Before this week, world number 114 Fery had never gone beyond the second round at one of the sport's major tournaments.
But on a scorching afternoon, Fery dismantled French Open runner-up and ninth seed Cobolli 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 6-0.
The 23-year-old dropped to the ground as the crowd chanted his name after becoming the first men's wildcard to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals for 25 years.
Goran Ivanisevic was the last wildcard to reach this stage at Wimbledon - and he went on to win the ******* le.

German media are divided over whether Newcastle United have made an offer for Borussia Mönchengladbach goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas.
According to Bild, the Premier League club have submitted a €12 million bid for the 28-year-old shot-stopper.
However, Sky Germany denies that this is the case, describing the report as “wide of the mark”.
According to the German broadcaster, there are no talks, no registered interest and no negotiations between the two clubs.
Bild recently reported that Nicolas had received four concrete offers: one from the Bundesliga, one from relegated Bundesliga side Wolfsburg, one from Spain and one from England.

Former Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa has been appointed manager of English Premier League side Fulham, the club announced on Wednesday.
The 43-year-old former defender -- a member of Spain's 2010 World Cup-winning squad -- signed a three-year contract.
"The Club is delighted to announce the appointment of Alvaro Arbeloa as the new Head Coach of Fulham," Fulham said in a statement.
Arbeloa enjoyed a highly-successful career as a player at Real, winning the Champions League twice, but fared less well in the Bernabeu dug-out when he replaced Xabi Alonso as coach in January this year.
Arbeloa, who knows the Premier League having played for Liverpool, replaces Marco Silva, who stepped down after last season, having guided them to 11th in the table, and is now in charge of Portuguese giants Benfica.

The BLUF
This year’s pool of pitching prospects is rather anemic, especially among the college arms. While many scouts have this class of high school arms as one of the better classes in several years, especially from the left side, that is still not a terribly strong endorsement. Prep pitchers are among the biggest lottery tickets in the draft every season. This year is no exception. There are many who feel the composition of this season’s prospect pool may push Arizona toward taking a pitcher with their first pick in the draft. This seems unlikely to me, as I will explain in today’s coverage.
This Year’s Pitching Crop Is Not Great
In a year where the draft talent is not particularly strong outside the top-three names, it is even lighter than expected among pitchers. Only two pitchers readily make it into the top-15 of prospect lists; Jackson Flora out of UC Santa Barbara and Cameron Flukey out of Coastal Carolina. To put this into further perspective, both of these pitchers are commonly viewed as having the upside of a mid-rotation starter. That’s it. If these pitchers, the current best in their class, fully develop, they are likely midrotation starters or impact relievers.
Unfortunately for Mike Hazen and the Arizona Diamondbacks, this is a terrible draft to try and improve an organizations depth on the mound. While it is never a great idea to draft for need in baseball, this season underlines that principle by not even providing the general allotment of semi-developed college arms for teams to vacuum up.