Zinédine Zidane has been officially introduced today by French FA president Philippe Diallo as Didier Deschamps' successor in the dugout for Les Bleus.Zidane faced the media this morning at the French FA's Parisian headquarters alongside Diallo. The former Real Madrid head coach has penned a four-year contract with France.
Diallo has explained that he initiated contact with Zidane in February 2025, a couple of weeks after Deschamps made official his decision to step down as manager after the 2026 World Cup. Zidane started his remarks by sending a message of support to the firefighters battling massive forest fires in southwestern France as well as a congratulatory message to his predecessor, Deschamps.
Zidane went on to say, that during his five-year break from management, he turned down numerous proposals because he only had the France job on his mind. "I turned them all down for the French national team, because it's the only thing I wanted to do after my experience at Real Madrid. The only thing that motivates me is being able to work for this team and for it to continue winning." Zidane added that today was the best day of his coaching career.
GFFN | Bastien Cheval

#diallo #madrid

The Professional Fighters League cruises out toLong Island with its upcoming offering in New York State. BeforePFL NY, fight fans can rack their brains toanswer 10 questions related to the locale, the organization, itsfighters and their place in mixed martial arts history.

A lightweighttitle fight headlines PFL NY: Tune on Friday, July 31 at 7 p.m. ETon ESPN.

#Friday

NavajoStirling saw a fighter in shambles right before his Dana White's Contender Series bout.

Stirling earned his Ultimate Fighting Championship contract with a knockout win onContender Series in 2024. He was sharing the locker room withQuemuelOttoni, who was set to face KodySteele. Ottoni eventually didn't make the walk to the Octagonand Stirling has now detailed what happened behind the scenes.
Stirling (10-0) recently revealed that Ottoni (12-4) was aggressivetowards Steele, and even other fighters, throughout fight weekuntil the weigh-ins. However, the Brazilian's nerves got the betterof him right before stepping out for his bout and he allegedlystarted crying backstage, even ripping off his hand wraps multipletimes.

Cutman Brad Tate, who was in charge of wrapping Ottoni, refused torepeat it after a point. The bout was eventually called off andSteele won his contract in a later Contender Series outing.

"The guy that was on Contenders [Series] was probably the worstone," Stirling told Full Send MMA. "He was fighting Kody Steele. Hechoked out AlexPereira back in the day. I was in the locker room with him… Atthe weigh-ins, he is puffing his chest, he is even looking at me,like, 'You wanna go?' I'm like, 'Bro, save it for tomorrow.' He'sstaunching Kody Steele out at the weigh-ins. And I was thinking,'This is going to be a banger.' We get to the fight night and hejust started crying. He took his gloves off three or four times.They had to re-wrap his hands. I think he had cutman Tate. Thecutman said, 'F*ck this guy, I'm not wrapping his handsanymore.'"

Both Tate and Steele have confirmed Stirling's story about Ottoni,who had choked out UFC superstar Pereira in the latter'sprofessional MMA debut in 2015. Ottoni and Pereira's careers havetaken contrasting trajectories since. While Pereira went on tobecome a two-division champion, Ottoni is yet to make it out of theregional scene. He has fought only once since the Contender Seriesfiasco, suffering a first-round technical knockout loss.

Meanwhile, the undefeated Stirling already has five UFC wins to hisname. The Kiwi is now scheduled to face JanBlachowicz (29-11) on less than three weeks' notice at UFC Belgrade in Serbia on Aug. 1.

#steele #bout

Rodtang "The Iron Man" Jitmuangnon has re-committed himself to the promotion that made him a global phenomenon, and the timing could not be more significant.
The former ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion has produced some of the most electric wars fans have ever witnessed, a big part of that coming down to his forward-marching, never-back-down style that has captured the attention of millions worldwide.
Add in a seemingly indestructible chin that lets him walk through fire while landing his own haymakers, and it becomes clear why "The Iron Man" couldn't be a more apt moniker for the Thai megastar.
Across 20 appearances under the promotional banner, he has featured in Muay Thai, kickboxing, and even a mixed-rules super-fight against ONE Hall of Famer and MMA GOAT Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson.
Now, at 29 years old and officially back in the fold, the matchmaking possibilities are endless for the 274-win veteran. Here are five fighters who could be next in line to share the global stage with him.

#muay #global #down

Since the early days when the sport was anything but a mainstream endeavor, the MMA industry has thrived and survived through various websites, forums, and – perhaps most importantly – social-media platforms.
Fighters interact with fans, each other and many more through the likes of X, Facebook and Instagram, which helps outsiders get a deeper look into the minds of the athletes.
Following Saturday's UFC Fight Night 282 in Abu Dhabi, several of the winning and losing fighters, along with their coaches, training partners or family members, took to social media to react to the event or share a message with supporters.
Check out some of those reactions.

#Media #since #Facebook

Australian Rules Football
AFL Men's — Round 19
Brisbane Lions vs. Port Adelaide Power — Fox Soccer Plus, 11 p.m.
North Melbourne Kangaroos vs. St. Kilda Saints — FS2/Fox One, 1 a.m. (Sunday)
Baseball
Banana Ball World Tour
Game 2, Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
Savannah Bananas vs. Firefighters — ESPN/ESPN Unlimited, 5 p.m.
Beach Volleyball
AVP League
Week 7, EHP Resort & Marina, East Hampton, NY
Women: Austin Aces vs. Brooklyn Blaze/Men's: Miami Mayhem vs. San Diego Smash — The CW, 1 p.m.
Men's: Austin Aces vs. Brooklyn Blaze/Women's: Miami Mayhem vs. San Diego Smash — YouTube, 3 p.m.
CFL
Week 8
Toronto Argonauts at BC Lions — TSN1/TSN4/CBS Sports Network, 7 p.m.
College Football
Sun Belt Conference Football Media Days — ESPNU/ESPN Unlimited, 8 a.m.

#unlimited #brooklyn

Downtown Akron is bustling with firefighter athletes from all over the country for the Northeast Regional Firefighter Challenge Classic.
The morning of July 23, the challenge began for individual participants on South Main Street. When it was their turn, competitors donned their firefighter gear and stood at the base of a 41-foot stair tower. When the whistle blew, they were off.
The Firefighter Challenge, which ESPN coined "the toughest two minutes in sports," is a five-stage course that reflects similar training elements to the ones fire departments and fire colleges use "to prepare their personnel to perform their job at the highest level," according to the website.
The goal is to complete the stages in the fastest time, but it's about much more than that for many of the people competing this year.
"It's a good way to show how firefighters train and what we're capable of doing when people need us," said Hunter Brancifort from the Akron Fire Department.

#challenge #downtown #northeast #july

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is just over 24 hours away from the upcoming UFC Abu Dhabi mixed martial arts (MMA) event, which is set to go down this Sat. (July 25, 2026) on Paramount+ from inside Etihad Arena on "Fight Island" in Abu Dhabi, UAE. UFC Abu Dhabi will be headlined by a Light Heavyweight clash between former champion Magomed Ankalev and rising contender Bogdan Guskov.
Before the Paramount+ card gets underway this weekend in Abu Dhabi, which also includes a Flyweight showdown between former 125-pound ****** le challenger Steve Erceg and Ramazan Temirov, all 26 fighters must hit the scale to prove themselves worthy.
Complete UFC Abu Dhabi weigh-ins text results beginning at 1 a.m. ET below:
205 lbs.: Magomed Ankalaev () vs. Bogdan Guskov ()
125 lbs.: Steve Erceg () vs. Ramazan Temirov ()
265 lbs.: Rizvan Kuniev () vs. Tyrell Fortune ()
170 lbs.: Islam Dulatov () vs. Wellington Turman ()
155 lbs.: Magomed Zaynukov () vs. Damian Rzepecki ()
170 lbs.: Saygid Izagakhmaev () vs. Abubakar Vagaev ()
265 lbs.: Valter Walker () vs. Thomas Petersen ()
155 lbs.: Ismael Bonfim () vs. Axel Sola ()
205 lbs.: Brendson Ribeiro () vs. Magomed Tuchalov ()
155 lbs.: Nurullo Aliev () vs. Mike Davis ()
170 lbs.: Santiago Ponzinibbio () vs. Sam Patterson ()
205 lbs.: Dustin Jacoby () vs. Muhammad Said ()
135 lbs.: Abdul Hussein () vs. Cody Gibson ()

#guskov

At the UFC Abu Dhabi weigh-ins, all 26 fighters on Saturday's fight card step on the scale Friday in Azerbaijan. Watch ceremonial weigh-ins above, set to kick off at 10 a.m. ET.
In the main event, former UFC light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev fights fast-rising contender Bogdan Guskov. Both fighters can weigh no more than the 206 pound limit for their non-title fight.
Ankalaev is currently No. 3 at light heavyweight in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, while Guskov stands at No. 12. Coming off of his first loss since 2018, a ***** le fight defeat to Alex Pereira, Ankalaev also holds a spot in the MMA Fighting Pound-for-Pound Rankings at No. 17.
In the co-main event, one-time UFC ***** le challenger Steve Erceg squares off with Ramazan Temirov in a flyweight contest. Neither man may weigh more than 126 pounds.
Check out the UFC Abu Dhabi weigh-in results below.

#weigh #pound

If behind-the-scenes dirt on the skeletons in people's closets is your thing, get ready for Season 2 of VICE TV's "Dark Side of the Cage."
VICE Studios on Thursday announced a new seven-episode season of the show with a premiere set for Sept. 1 at 9 p.m. ET on VICE TV. The season premiere episode features UFC Hall of Famer Don Frye, "whose willingness to absorb brutality in the cage led to the fight of his life against pain and addiction."
Of particular interest to many, most likely, later in the season will be an episode featuring longtime fighter Phil Baroni, who remains in prison in Mexico on a charge of murder. A teaser video for the season shows a clip of a phone interview with Baroni and him saying his lawyers won't be happy he did the interview.
"From house-fire heroism to SWAT stand-offs to full-blown arena riots, season two of Dark Side of the Cage pulls back the curtain on MMA's most extreme highs and devastating lows," the official show pitch says. "'Dark Side of the Cage' cuts through the glamour and glory of the MMA spectacle to reveal the never-before-told stories behind the sport's most iconic competitors, told by the fighters themselves."
Other episodes, according to VICE TV, will feature ****** o Ortiz, Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Chael Sonnen and Mark Coleman. Additionally, the season "will shed new light on one of the most heated feuds in UFC history: Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov."

#vice #dark #episode #show

Bummer.
Professional Fighters League (PFL) Washington D.C. just took a brutal late hit.
Welterweight superstar-in-the-making Thad Jean was supposed to collide with Shamil Musaev for the vacant Welterweight ****** le this weekend (Sat., July 25, 2026) inside CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C.
Unfortunately, that banger is no more.
Musaev has withdrawn from the fight, according to MMA Junkie. Stepping in on short notice is Ernesto Rodriguez, who was already scheduled to compete on the card and will now fight Jean for the vacant ****** le.

#fight

No matter what position of strength the UFC finds itself in, the promotion constantly faces questions about what the future looks like, and what fighters will be part of it.
There have been times throughout history when it has felt like the UFC had star names in hefty supply. At other moments, their well has seemed drained, and there's cause for concern about which athletes will carry the sport.
As the UFC sits in mid-2026, there's an argument to be made that the truly valuable names on the roster are in questionable supply. That means it's an important time to distinguish who will be the immediate faces of the UFC in the coming years.
That was a focal point of discussion between MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn and longtime combat sports **** yst Luke Thomas on "The Bohnfire" podcast, with the pair ranking their individual top 10 of the most valuable UFC fighters as of July 2026.
Check out the video above for the full discussion and rankings from Bohn and Thomas.

#faces #like #fighters

DWCS returns Aug. 11 for another season of prospect hunting.
The series, which takes place Tuesdays, is a 10-week prospect search at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, and over the years it has provided now hundreds of new UFC fighters. Some even have become UFC champions, including Sean O'Malley.
O'Malley leads off the UFC's look back at the best knockouts in the show's history. Take a look at 27 true bangers in the video above.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Video: Ahead of its return, 27 of the greatest KOs in DWCS history

#tuesdays

DAYTONA BEACH — Jackie Robinson Ballpark was packed with thousands of fans on July 22. It wasn’t for the Daytona Tortugas or Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, but for a charity softball game between Volusia County’s Sheriff’s Office and Fire Rescue.
The real winner was the Volusia County community. It raised more than $70,000 after a plethora of contributions from locals. The money will go to the V Foundation for Cancer Research and Volusia Sheriff's Youth Foundation.
“To be honest with you, no,” said Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood on if the donation total was expected. “... I’ve been doing a lot of these things in my career, and there’s no way the first time out of the box you’re going to raise that kind of money. But you know what? We did.”
The on-field winners of the first Sheriff’s Office vs. Fire Rescue charity softball game were the firefighters — by a landslide.
Volusia County Fire scored five first-inning runs to set the tone for its eventual 26-6 rout in a game that featured four outfielders, 12-spot batting orders, Spruce Creek’s softball team and a firefighter dressed as a thief, which the Sheriff’s Office put out and sentenced to his dugout.

#volusia #sheriff #game

Ryan Garcia won’t be bound by guidelines if he ever signs with Zuffa Boxing.

Garcia is scheduled to put his WBC welterweight ***** le on the line against Zuffa Boxing’s Conor Benn on Sept. 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. While the particulars of the bout are unknown to Garcia, he believes it will be co-promoted. Furthermore, Garcia is certain that he will not be wearing Zuffa fight gear and claims he will never wear a Zuffa uniform even if he signs with the promotion.
Garcia explains that he likes to express himself by designing his own outfit and walkout music. He vows to never sign with Zuffa Boxing if they don’t allow him to express himself the way he wants. However, Garcia complimented Dana White for the way he is building up Zuffa Boxing.

“Even if I ever signed with Zuffa, I will make sure that I never wear a Zuffa outfit,” Garcia told Ariel Helwani. “I'm wearing my own outfits, doing my own thing. If you don't like it, then I'll never sign with you. At the end of the day, I love the whole ‘design your outfit, design your walkout.’ I'm not about to be a robot. I don't care how much money you offer me. I just love the whole show of it and I feel like they should let certain fighters do that. I would like to express myself… I think Dana White's doing an amazing job with Zuffa so far... I like how they run the press conferences... I think it's better.”

Zuffa Boxing is White’s venture into the world of pugilism. The Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO wants to bring boxing under a centralized UFC-style model, but is facing fierce competition from traditional boxing promoters like Eddie Hearn.
"If I ever signed with Zuffa, I will make sure that I never wear a Zuffa outfit. I'm wearing my own outfits, doing my own thing.

If you don't like it, then I'll never sign with you... I'm not about to be a robot, I don't care how much money you offer me."

"I think Dana White's… pic.twitter.com/QOh7pIS3h0— Ariel Helwani (arielhelwani) July 22, 2026

#like #OUTFIT #don 't #wearing

Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani is a UFC fighter, but not necessarily a UFC fight fan.
It's easy to ******* ume that MMA fighters enjoy watching MMA, but that's just not the case for Lebosnoyani (11-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) – a prospect in the UFC welterweight division. Lebosnoyani pulled off a big upset win over Seok Hyeon Ko at UFC Fight Night 281 last Saturday in Oklahoma. The 27-year-old didn't and won't call out a name to fight, not because he doesn't want to ruffle any feathers, but more because he just doesn't really follow what's going on in his weight class.
"I'm going to be completely honest: I don't know too many names in the division," Lebosnoyani told MMA Junkie Radio when asked what he'd like next for his career. "I'm not a major fight fan. I'm very focused on my personal growth, and I do study a lot of high-level fighters, but a lot of them are out of my weight class. So I don't really have any specific names to throw out there. When it comes to shows and arenas and locations, I was kind of hoping for an Apex debut, and they threw me out there in Houston, and with my last fight being in Oklahoma, I'm starting to realize I really thrive in the arena environments. So the bigger the stage, the more pressure, the more I'm going to come through and shine."
Lebosnoyani gets enough MMA training to prepare for his battles in the octagon. He doesn't find it healthy for MMA to also take over his life outside the training room.
"I don't know. I think I focus on fighting when it comes to training, but outside of that, I'm kind of just a normal guy," Lebosnoyani explained. "I don't obsess too much outside of the time I'm 100 percent focused, and I think that allows me to live a full life. There's more to just fighting and being super obsessive over things. My purpose in this life is to find balance."

#lebosnoyani #don 't

By Joe Brock
FARNBOROUGH, England, July 20 (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin announced a lower-cost Patriot interceptor on Monday as militaries seek cheaper ways to ‌counter drones and missiles, while defense contractors face competition from startups ‌making low-cost weapons that can be produced at scale.
Lockheed said its new PAC-3 Adapted Capability Effector, or ACE, missile would cost less than half as much as its PAC-3 MSE interceptors, which cost roughly $4 million per missile, according to U.S. Army budget documents.
Initial production could start within 36 months, the company said, adding that it ‌plans to develop and ⁠manufacture the weapon with U.S. and European industry partners.
"American and allied warfighters need a solution that is battle-tested and budget-smart," ⁠Tim Cahill, president of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said in a statement at Britain's Farnborough Airshow.

(Corrects dateline to Ejea)
By Guillermo Martinez and Violeta Santos Moura
EJEA DE LOS CABALLEROS, Spain, July 17 (Reuters) - Firefighters backed by 30 aircraft struggled on Friday to contain a wildfire in northeastern Spain that has ripped through an area the size of San Francisco, forcing ‌the evacuation of more than 1,000 people, as recent heatwaves left vegetation tinder-dry across much of Europe.
Successive early summer heatwaves, which many scientists ‌blame on human-driven climate change, have pushed temperatures to unprecedented levels in large swathes of the continent, causing water shortages, crop damage, wildfires, and thousands more deaths than normal.
According to the Reuters Climate Monitor, the average high across Western Europe on Friday was forecast to be 27.5 degrees Celsius (81.5 degrees Fahrenheit), which is 4.2 C above the normal high for July 17 from 1961-1990.

Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Famer KhabibNurmagomedov believes IslamMakhachev is in for a tricky outing against IanGarry.

Makhachev (28-1) is set to defend his welterweight **** le for thefirst time against Garry (17-1) in the main event of UFC330 on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.Makhachev's friend and mentor, Nurmagomedov, notes that his protégéhas never faced an opponent as tall as Garry.
Nurmagomedov admits that Garry's elusive style is a difficultpuzzle to crack. "The Eagle" further notes that Makhachev, nearing35, is six years older than Garry. According to the former unbeatenlightweight champion, the stylistic threat from Garry, combinedwith the age difference, makes it a difficult matchup forMakhachev.

"We've never faced an opponent this tall - 193 cm [6'4"],"Nurmagomedov said on the "Smol Talk" podcast. "We'll have to chasehim, close the distance, grab him, and take him down. It will be adifficult fight. And Islam is almost 35. The stylistic matchup andthe age together make this a difficult fight… I expect a hardfight, **** uming we don't get an early finish. Spending five roundswith this opponent won't be easy. The training camp will bedifficult too, first because we have to find someone who canimitate him."

American Kickboxing Academy founder and head coach of theDagestani team, Javier Mendez, recently revealed that Professional Fighters League champion UsmanNurmagomedov is helping Makhachev by mimicking Garry intraining.

Garry has racked up 10 UFC wins and suffered his lone professionalloss to ShavkatRakhmonov, who is sidelined due to an injury. Meanwhile,Makhachev is undefeated in 16 straight Octagon outings, includingsix **** le fights. The latter is tied with AndersonSilva for consecutive UFC wins, and a victory at UFC 330 willsee the Dagestani set a new record.

Dan Hooker would like to see Conor McGregor close out his career in the ring.
McGregor (22-7 MMA, 10-5 UFC) injured his right knee just 69 seconds into his rematch against Max Holloway (28-9 MMA, 24-9 UFC) in Saturday's UFC 329 headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. He is set to undergo surgery for what is suspected to be a torn ACL.
With McGregor sustaining another injury after a five-year layoff from a broken left leg, Hooker wonders if his body can handle competing in MMA anymore. He sees boxing as a better option for "The Notorious."
"I feel like we're just as excited to see Conor McGregor box one of these big-name guys for $100 million as we were before that fight," Hooker told Submission Radio. "To force him to squeeze out one more MMA fight where maybe his body can't – obviously boxing is a very difficult sport, but it's far less taxing all over on your body. I feel like boxers sustain a lot more head trauma than MMA fighters do, just the bigger gloves and just the duration of you're fighting 12 three-minute rounds with the cushioned gloves.
"I feel like they sustain a lot more head trauma, but I feel like all over the body, MMA's obviously a lot more taxing on your joints, and you get like niggly on all your ligaments and your knees, and you've got your back and your neck, and there's a lot more different places to get fatigued and get injured. So, it's just coming to a point now where maybe his body can't hold up in the MMA ***** e, and they should just let him box and earn some crazy money in his last couple of years of fighting."

Teofimo Lopez spoke with Fight Hype after his kickoff press conference for a fight against Rolly Romero, and talking about his mindset for this fight, Lopez says he’s even more focused after coming off a wide decision loss to Shakur Stevenson in his last outing. Here are some excerpts from Lopez about where he’s currently at.
“When you get outclassed like in my previous fight then there’s things you got to really think about,” Lopez said. “I think about the business perspective of it, I need to also protect my ******* ets. What does that mean? Got to start launching something different: Takeover Promotions with DAZN. We can do anything and everything with the lead promoters that come into play but at least I get the rights to all my things…I got to take control of my career.
“These are my prime years. Let’s take advantage of those prime years but in a good way where small steps but long gains afterwards…By the end of this whole thing, I’m going to help a lot of young fighters. By the end of this whole thing, they’re going to help a lot of young fighters.”
Teofimo challenges Rolly for his WBA welterweight ******* le next month in Las Vegas.

Terrance McKinney and King Green went from friends, to enemies, to friends again.
“I’m going to be real: There ain’t too many black fighters as it is,” Green said after defeating McKinney at UFC 329. “I’m trying to show him and teach him something like, ‘Bro, we’re supposed to stick together.’ Irish fighters do it. The Mexican fighters do it. But us as black folks, where we come from and what we’ve been through is just different. It is what it is.”
Green claims they had a gentlemen’s agreement in place to never accept a fight against one another, but McKinney ignored their pact in order to get himself on the UFC 329 fight card, headlined by former two-division champion and the sport’s biggest star, Conor McGregor.
“I want nothing but good things for him,” Green said. “I’m sorry that we had to do this fight. I told you don’t take the fight, brother. That’s my little bro, and I didn’t want to do this sh*t. I didn’t want to shut his light out. He did everything right, but I’m unbreakable. My spirit don’t be broken.”
Green won by way of first-round technical knockout just seconds before the horn.

Conor McGregor is back. And there goes Conor McGregor.
Saturday’s UFC 329 main event failed to live up to the hype – an understatement, we know – with McGregor lasting just 69 seconds before an injury stopped his rematch with Max Holloway. This was McGregor’s first fight since 2021 and it’s difficult to imagine a worse scenario than what a packed house at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas witnessed.
Prior to that disappointment, several fighters put on star performances including Paddy Pimblett, Brandon Royval, Robert Whittaker, and Gable Steveson, but the fallout of the headliner is sure to cast a long shadow. The MMA Fighting crew hits the roundtable to discuss the biggest storylines coming out of UFC 329
Heck: All-time card – until that ***** bell rang in the main event.
Meshew: You got the full MMA experience: a great fight, a sick sub, some good finishes, one squash match, and hilarious disappointment.

At least 12 people have died and 23 others are unaccounted for as firefighters in southern Spain battle a rapidly spreading wildfire, officials said.
The identities of the deceased -- who were located in the southeastern village of Bedar -- are not known yet but foreign nationals are among them, Spain's Civil Protection said on Saturday.
The weather is expected to be better on Saturday, allowing firefighters to contain the fire, officials said.
Andalusian regional leader Juanma Moreno said in a Friday post on X that at least eight people had been injured, including four who were in serious condition.
In an interview Friday morning on Spanish radio, Moreno said four of those killed were believed to be British nationals who became trapped in a car while trying to escape the flames.

Drake has once again lost a seven-figure bet, this time backing Conor McGregor for a comeback win at UFC 329 after a five-year layoff.
The rapper has built a reputation for jinxing fighters and teams by publicly backing them before big events. While some have managed to break the so-called ‘Drake curse,’ McGregor couldn’t do so during the main event of UFC 329 in Las Vegas.
Returning from a broken leg suffered in his last fight against Dustin Poirier five years ago, McGregor appeared to be nursing another injury as he stepped into the cage. The fight lasted just 69 seconds before he signaled to referee Mike Beltran to stop it.
It wasn’t a great night to be a McGregor fan in Las Vegas. Fans who paid big money for tickets got just over a minute of action, and Drake ended up watching a seven-figure bet vanish in less time than it takes to make a cup of coffee.
If McGregor had managed to win, Drake would’ve won a jaw-dropping $2.85m. However, hopes of a huge cash win went up in smoke when McGregor dropped to the Octagon mat in pain. After trying to continue, the fight was eventually called to a halt, with Max Holloway being handed the win.

The UFC handed out four bonuses after Saturday's card in Las Vegas, including one to the co-main event winner.
After UFC 329, four fighters picked up an extra $100,000 for their performances at T-Mobile Arena. Additionally, eight fighters got $25,000 extra checks for finishes that weren’t bonus-winners.
Check out the list of winners below.
Brandon Royval (18-9 MMA, 8-5 UFC) and Lone'er Kavanagh (10-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) put on one of the best flyweight fights in company history on the main card. Royval, a former ******* le challenger, was plenty bloodied up by Kavanagh — and vice versa — by the time they entered the third round. But after back-and-forth scrambles both on the canvas and on the feet the first 10 minutes, Royval took over on the mat late and locked up a body triangle and rear-naked choke that forced Kavanagh to tap.
Paddy Pimblett (24-4 MMA, 8-1 UFC) could not have asked for a better performance than he gave in the co-main event when he put Benoit Saint Denis (17-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) to sleep with a D’Arce choke less than a minute into their lightweight contenders bout. He predicted before the fight that BSD would shoot and he’d put him to sleep – and he did just that.

Conor McGregor’s comeback fight at UFC 329 won’t soon be forgotten. Unfortunately, that’s not a good thing.
After five years away from MMA, McGregor appeared to suffer a devastating knee injury in the opening exchange of Saturday’s UFC 329 rematch against Max Holloway inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. McGregor attempted to fight through his misfortune, but ultimately referee Mike Beltran was forced to wave off the contest after just 69 seconds.
The outcome is not only a brutal blow for the UFC, which banked its biggest live gate in company history with UFC 329, per UFC CEO Dana White, but also an anticlimactic end to the ongoing saga of the biggest star MMA has ever produced. McGregor’s return bout had been a major storyline in the sport since his 2021 trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier ended in the former two-division champion suffering a gruesome broken leg.
McGregor, 37, entered Saturday night with two bouts remaining on his UFC contract and was expected to return again sometime in early 2027. That target date, of course, is now in jeopardy as the Irishman seeks likely treatment on his right knee.
Unsurprisingly, the disappointing end to McGregor vs. Holloway 2 elicited plenty of reaction from fellow UFC fighters and McGregor rivals alike, ranging from suspicion amid today’s gambling-obsessed sports world to empathy and delight over the Irishman’s misfortune. A sampling of that reaction can be seen below.

The UFC 329 post-fight press conference is the last piece of business to take care of after the action is over in the Octagon, and we have the live video above at MMAFighting.com.
UFC officials will announce the winners of the “Fight of the Night” and the “Performance of the Night” bonuses, and winning fighters will meet the media after their fights.
UFC President Dana White will also wrap up the event, discuss star’s performances, and possibly talk about what’s next on the UFC calendar, during his scrum with the media.
The UFC 329 post-fight press conference takes place about 30 minutes after the main event ends, meaning it will start around 1 a.m. ET.

Conor McGregor’s first fight in five years at UFC 329 turned out to be a massive disappointment.
Saturday’s headliner was supposed to mark a triumphant return for McGregor, who was paired up with longtime rival Max Holloway for a rematch that could have marked a turning point for both UFC legends; instead, the bout barely lasted a minute as McGregor appeared to injure himself before stepping into the octagon and then aggravate that injury further when he went for a flying kick as soon as the fight started.
McGregor was completely ineffective after that, unable to even stand up long enough to provide the slightest challenge to Holloway, who did his best to punch at his fallen opponent. Unfortunately for both fighters, it was clear McGregor couldn’t continue, leading to an injury stoppage that sucked the air out of Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev might have summed it up best, writing on Twitter, “Conor beat Conor. Congrats, Max.”
See more pros reactions from social media below.

On Saturday, two elite lightweights faced off in the UFC 329 co-main event when Paddy Pimblett took on Benoit Saint-Denis. The Frenchman entered the bout as a solid favorite following a four-fight win streak, with all of them finishes. However, “The Baddy” again quieted the doubters and scored an impressive submission victory a minute into the bout. Putting the heavy hitter to sleep.
Following his big win, find out where Pimblett lands in our updated UFC lightweight rankings.
Since earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in the fall of 2024, Australian Quillan Salkilld has been very impressive. He won his first four in the Octagon, including three first-round finishes. However, he got his biggest test yet in May against top-15 stalwart Beneil Dariush.
But just like most of his previous UFC foes, the young fighter got the well-respected MMA veteran out of there in less than a round. His 12th straight win earns him a spot in our UFC lightweight top 10.
At the end of 2024, Renato Moicano was one of the hottest fighters in the division after winning four straight, including stoppage wins over Jalin Turner and Benoit Saint-Denis. However, back-to-back losses — including a short-notice defeat to former lightweight king Islam Makhachev — ended his momentum as he started the new year.