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UFC veteran Jorge Masvidal is targeting a return to the UFC next year. The former BMF champion previously retired following a decision loss to Gilbert Burns in 2023. Now, after a narrow decision loss to Nate Diaz in a boxing match, Dana White and the UFC appear braced for the Miami native’s comeback.
Jorge Masvidal recently sat down to have a conversation with Bo Nickal on the Nickal & Dimes podcast. During their discussion, ‘Gamebred’ went vocal about wanting to return to his roots in MMA for the next fight. The 39-year-old is eager to re-enter the UFC octagon with plans to “f*ck somebody up,” as he bluntly put it during the podcast.
Next year, March, I’m in. Next year, March, if they go to Miami I’m gonna f**k somebody up in Miami.
Jorge Masvidal via Nickal & Dimes podcast
Masvidal hopes to fight on a Miami card. However, no official confirmation from the UFC yet exists about hosting an event in the city. The possibility of Masvidal headlining a card in Miami could draw significant attention, but he will likely co-main the event as he doesn’t hold any championship belt. Masvidal has secured high-profile victories against opponents like Ben Askren, Darren Till, and Nate Diaz.
Since defeating Diaz in MMA, Masvidal has not won an MMA fight. The Miami native expressed a desire to face a high-profile opponent in his comeback. A grudge match against Leon Edwards appears to be the most lucrative option. Ideally, it would be one that would position him back in the mix for a title shot. However, UFC CEO Dana White has cast doubt on the possibility of a Masvidal return.
Dana White speaks on Jorge Masvidal returning to the UFC
UFC CEO Dana White was recently asked about the chances of Jorge Masvidal or Tyron Woodley coming out of retirement. Woodley has not competed in MMA since 2021, whereas Masvidal still has a UFC contract. Masvidal made it clear that he wants to return and destroy someone inside the octagon.
Masvidal went out on a four-consecutive losing streak in the promotion. After his last fight, The former BMF champion mentioned that even if he had won, he would have retired. That is because he no longer felt he was performing at his peak. Masvidal did not want to continue without being at his best. With recent developments, the UFC boss had a negative reaction to the news.
Probably not.
Dana White at DWCS post fight press conference
When Jorge Masvidal announced his retirement after UFC 287, Dana White fully supported the decision. The UFC CEO stated that once a fighter starts contemplating retirement, it is usually time to step away. He emphasized that the Miami native had already made much money and had multiple ventures outside the UFC. However, only time will tell if the UFC boss grants Masvidal his promotional return.
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Maple Leafs make six roster cuts with two notable surprises
The Toronto Maple Leafs have already begun their training camp prior to the start of the 2025-26 NHL season. Although no further trade moves have been announced, the Leafs have made changes to their roster and have officially sent back six prospects to their junior teams. Specifically, the players leaving camp are as follows. Two surprising moves by the Maple Leafs Perhaps the most surprising cases are those of Tyler Hopkins and Matthew Hlacar. Hopkins, 18, even received the opportunity to be promoted to Group 2 at camp recently, where he shared the ice with top prospects like Easton Cowan, plus John Tavares and William Nylander. On the other hand, Hlacar, 19, was also one of the forwards who performed best during the rookie camp, following a season of seven goals and one assist for eight points in 43 games in the OHL with the Kitchener Rangers. That said, although it is surprising due to their performances, it also makes sense considering that the OHL season began this weekend. If they were not going to be considered sufficiently by Craig Berube, the best thing for these players is to get into rhythm with their junior teams and continue preparing to make the jump to the highest level in the coming years. The two prospects were drafted just this year. Hopkins was selected 86th overall by Toronto, while Hlacar was drafted by the Leafs in the seventh round. Both hope to break into the main roster sooner rather than later.
Steelers' Once Promising Third-Year Defender Could Be Relegated On The Depth Chart
The Pittsburgh Steelers have begun the 2025 NFL season with a 2-1 record, however there are some things that need to be figured out. The defense is shaky at best despite forcing five turnovers in Sunday's win over the New England Patriots in Week 3. The group still struggles to get off of the field on possession downs, and stopping the run has been an issue throughout the first three weeks of the season. A lot of that starts with the front seven and the interior defensive line. Pittsburgh has been banged up in that area, but some healthy contributors returning could shake up the lineup. Pittsburgh was able to see the regular season debut of Derrick Harmon on Sunday. The organization selected Harmon in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but he suffered a sprained MCL in the preseason finale which kept him on the sidelines throughout the first two weeks of the regular season. He made an impact while serving in a limited role on Sunday against New England as he recorded a sack and two total tackles, and he is expected to help the run defense in the near future. Team insider Mark Kaboly spoke about the interior defensive line after the game on Sunday on the most recent episode of Kaboly + Mack, and he believes there will be two rookies starting in that area very soon. "They made some moves there, and it was able to help them out," Kaboly said. "That's a definite difference in what they were able to do. And I think it's just a matter of time until Yahya Black, Derrick Harmon and Cam Heyward's your one, two and three across the front. It's just a matter of time." Currently, Cam Heyward and Yahya Black are the starting defensive tackles for Pittsburgh while Keeanu Benton has been the starting nose tackle. That is the part of the lineup that will be shuffled, as Benton will likely switch to being a rotational piece, while Harmon enters the starting lineup. He will likely takeover the duties at defensive tackle, while Black shuffles to nose tackle. Benton was expected to take a leap forward going into his second season in 2024, but that didn't necessarily happen. He has made some big plays for Pittsburgh, but he has not been the consistent force that the organization had hoped he would be to this point. There was hope he would improve once again during the 2025 season, but if anything, the third-year pro has shown some regression since his rookie season. Moving to a rotational role where he can fill in at both defensive tackle and nose tackle might be best for Benton at this point. He doesn't necessarily have the size to be a true nose tackle in the NFL, so the coaching staff in Pittsburgh has seemingly been setting him up for failure a little bit in that regard. He would likely play better at defensive tackle, which is something the coaching staff could find out if the starting defensive line gets shuffled. Steelers Need To See Keeanu Benton Step Up No matter what role he is serving, Benton needs to play better moving forward. The interior defensive line is a key part of stopping the run, and Pittsburgh has struggled to do that. It is going to be hard to win meaningful games if that problem persists, especially against the better teams in the NFL that show up on the schedule later in the year. Benton needs to show some signs of progression, whether that be as a starter, or as someone who rotates in with the starting lineup throughout a game. Benton can still have a future in Pittsburgh, but he is going to need to improve in 2025 while setting himself up for success in 2026.
Brewers announce pitcher who will take Brandon Woodruff’s turn through the rotation
Over the weekend, the Milwaukee Brewers announced devastating news that Brandon Woodruff was being placed on the injured list with a lat strain. He first felt the discomfort during a bullpen over the weekend, the strain has been labeled moderate, and there is not much optimism that he will be ready for the playoffs. With just a week remaining in the regular season and the NLDS set to begin on October 4, the long-term focus for Woodruff is clearly his postseason availability. In the short term, however, the Brewers had a more immediate challenge: finding someone to step into his spot in the rotation. Milwaukee Brewers announce which pitcher will take Brandon Woodruff’s turn through the rotation On Saturday, the Brewers designated Joel Payamps for assignment and selected the contract of Bruce Zimmermann. The 30 year hasn’t made a big league appearance since 2023, but in a twist of fate he is now slated to start Tuesday against the San Diego Padres, which originally was Woodruff’s day to pitch; As Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reported, Zimmermann was told straight up that he was coming up for one day with the Brewers. However, with Woodruff being diagnosed with a lat strain that same day, plans changed, and he now will start at least one game for Milwaukee. Notably, with Zimmermann scheduled to pitch on Tuesday, he lines up to start the Brewers’ final regular season game against the Reds. Even if he doesn’t get the start, he’ll be available to pitch, giving Milwaukee the option to use him for bulk innings without risking another last-minute injury to one of their key arms heading into the playoffs. Zimmermann brings some experience to the table, with 27 career big-league starts under his belt. As a starter, he had a 4.11 ERA in Triple-A this season. While his role may seem minor in the shadow of the Woodruff injury, his performance could still play a meaningful part in helping the Brewers secure the best record in baseball, which would guarantee them home field advantage throughout the playoffs. He also could have a hand in whether or not Cincinnati makes the post season or not.
Packers’ Solution for Chronic Penalties Begins Wednesday
The Green Bay Packers were guilty of 14 penalties during Sunday’s loss to the Cleveland Browns, the most during coach Matt LaFleur’s tenure. The penalties bothered LaFleur, whose teams typically have played with excellent discipline, but they didn’t surprise him. “Yeah, I’ve seen it,” LaFleur said on Monday, a day after a shocking 13-10 defeat. “It’s been happening more than we’d like. You see it in practice, it’s hard not to expect it in a game. We have got to dial in better. We have to have better focus and concentration.” Dialing in isn’t only about Sundays. With another road game coming up on Sunday night at Dallas, the focus has to start when the team walks onto the practice field on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Sunday’s game was the 103rd of LaFleur’s career. His team had been flagged more than 10 times in just three games, with the previous worst being 12 penalties against the Lions in 2020. Guilty of only two false-start infractions in the first two games, the Packers were flagged five times against the Browns. “Some of those are brutal,” LaFleur said. “We had two on third down. One was on that third-and-4 [by Jordan Morgan in the red zone]. We had one [by Morgan] on the short-yardage situation when we tried to bring Tuck(er Kraft) in there and run the quarterback sneak. Third-and-1, you can’t have that. “The other one [by Rasheed Walker] was a third-and-10 late in the game when we’re trying to set up for a field goal; that pushed us back 5 yards. Yeah, you can’t have them. Those are killer penalties. Another one was on second-and-1 [by Walker], now it’s second-and-6. You can’t have them because they are killer.” There were so many false starts that LaFleur couldn’t remember them all. No. 5 was by receiver Malik Heath, which helped knock a promising possession out of field-goal range in the secon quarter. “And then conversely on the defensive side,” LaFleur continued, “we had a bunch of penalties on third down that extended drives. I remember one specifically, third-and-9, [defensive holding by Javon Bullard] and we had another third-and-goal [pass interference by Keisean Nixon]. “They didn’t kill us in those situations – we ended up overcoming them and moving them back, and they ended up settling for a field goal – but we have got to be better just with our details, our fundamentals and then utilizing the techniques that we practice on a daily basis.” Pending the Monday night game between the Lions and Ravens, the Packers were guilty of 28 penalties, tied for the fourth-most in the league. The yardage was more manageable with 192 yards, which ranked 12th. Only the Saints (eight) have been guilty of more false starts. “I feel like we were hurting ourselves more than anything with some of the penalties and the little things,” quarterback Jordan Love said after the game. “I felt like we were putting some good drives together but, at the end of the day, I feel like we just hurt ourselves a little too much.” It’s early in the season, but no team has been penalized more than Green Bay was against Cleveland. That came on the heels of 10 accepted penalties against Washington in Week 2. The 14 penalties vs. Cleveland were the most for the Packers since they were guilty of a franchise-record 18 in a loss at Chicago in 2020. In the Super Bowl era, there’s only been one other occasion in which Green Bay was flagged more than 14 times, according to Stathead. From 2019 through 2024 – the first six seasons of the LaFleur era – the Packers were guilty of the sixth-fewest penalties, according to Stathead. Including offsetting and declined penalties, Green Bay was flagged 17 times on Sunday. Incredibly, 10 came in the fourth quarter, capped by Nixon jumping offside on the game-ending field goal. “It’s discipline. It’s every facet of this game,” said defensive end Micah Parsons, who was flagged twice for offside. “Every detail – kickoff, field goal, defense, being in our right position, our right leverage. It’s everything. “Discipline will beat talent every day of the week. We were more talented. Like I said, we played better the first three quarters. We got to play better in the fourth quarter, including me. It goes for everyone.”
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