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Dana White announced several big time matchups for UFC 304 today. Included in the announcements was the main event which will feature a welterweight title fight between Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad. The co-main event is an interim heavyweight title fight between Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blaydes.
BREAKING NEWS!!! #UFC304 pic.twitter.com/C5uCJJBUYk
— danawhite (@danawhite) May 16, 2024
White also announced that one of if not England’s most popular fighter will also be on the main card. England’s own Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett (21-3) will make his return and awaiting him is arguably his toughest test to date. Pimblett will be taking on Bobby “King” Green (32-15-1).
The last time we saw Bobby Green was back at UFC 300 when he brutalized Jim Miller over the course of three rounds. That big bounce back win came after he was knocked out against Jalin Turner. Prior to the Turner loss, he had choked out Tony Ferguson and knocked out Grand Dawson in the first round.
UFC 304
The last time we saw Paddy The Baddy was UFC 296 in December when he took on Tony Ferguson. In that fight, Pimblett really showed off improved striking and he hurt Ferguson multiple times on the feet. He came close to finishing El Cucuy but he settled for a lopsided decision win.
That win moved Pimblett to a perfect 5-0 inside the octagon with three finishes. This is by far the toughest test of Pimblett’s career inside the octagon. Bobby Green has sensational takedown defense so Pimblett is going to struggle to get him down. Green also has incredible boxing and great striking defense. Pimblett is going to need to bring his best stuff if he wants to move into the lightweight rankings.
More must-reads:
- Update surfaces on Joe Schoen's future with Giants
- How Steelers' Aaron Rodgers feels about being a villain for Bears fans
- The 'NFL single-game completions leaders' quiz
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Paddy Pimblett warns Arman Tsarukyan and Ilia Topuria, takes aim at 'proper b*tch' Justin Gaethje
Buccaneers' chances of upsetting Rams take massive hit due to illness in locker room
Many Tampa Bay Buccaneers are under the weather heading into a crucial road game against the Los Angeles Rams on "Sunday Night Football." After a walk-through at Wednesday's practice, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles revealed a mystery illness has broken out in Tampa Bay's building. The coach believes the bug has affected 20 people. Todd Bowles discusses mystery illness "Unfortunately, this Wednesday a lot of people have taken ill," Bowles said, via Matt Matera of PewterReport.com. "There is a bug going around the building. We had about five coaches and about 15 players down, so that helped aid in this walk-through. There's nothing we can really do about that today." Even more concerning for the Buccaneers is that the illness has affected star players. Tampa Bay QB Baker Mayfield and rookie WR Emeka Egbuka were among those limited because of sickness during Wednesday's practice. How could this impact Sunday's game? Upsetting the Rams already looked difficult enough for the Buccaneers. L.A. (8-2) is second in the NFC behind the Philadelphia Eagles (8-2) and has won five straight games. Tampa Bay (6-4), meanwhile, has been struggling, losing three of its past five games. The slide puts the Buccaneers at risk of losing their lead in the NFC South. The Carolina Panthers (6-5) are second in the division and have captured three of their last five games. The Buccaneers needed big games from Mayfield and Egbuka to beat the Rams on Sunday. After 11 weeks, the QB ranks 12th in the league in passing yards (2,365) and is tied for 10th in passing touchdowns (17). The WR, meanwhile, is 12th in the NFL in receiving yards (717) and is tied for eighth in TD catches (six). As of Wednesday night, ESPN Analytics gives the Rams a 63.5% chance to win their road game. If Egbuka and Mayfield are still battling the illness or can't play, L.A.'s chances of winning should only increase. The illness could certainly affect Tampa Bay's ability to prepare for the pivotal game, potentially leading to a sloppy performance. That would leave many of their fans feeling sick while watching Sunday's matchup.
Texas HC Steve Sarkisian gives bold claim on job rumors
Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian has been a popular name in both the NFL and college football coaching cycles. It makes sense, too. He's brought Texas back to being competitive and in the championship hunt, but he also has a wealth of great experience as an assistant in both college and the NFL. He's about as well-rounded a candidate as you'll find, so of course, programs like the Florida Gators, LSU Tigers or even the New York Giants may be interested to see if he's interested. The thing is, though, he's not. Or, at the very least, that's what he's telling the media. He's all-in with the Longhorns, according to comments he made on a recent SEC teleconference call. “I’d like to comment something before I get into our team that has been bothering me now over the past few weeks. That is people reporting that are insinuating that there’s a possibility I could leave the University of Texas, and that is absolutely false and untrue," Sarkisian said (h/t On3). "I’m not going anywhere. Never do I do this because I never want to be a distraction, so I never address these things. At this point, I feel like this is important that I do this because it’s important for our team. It’s important for our university." Steve Sarkisian has deep roots in Austin and is all-in with Texas As if that weren't clear enough, Sarkisian said that he has not had any discussions with anybody about coaching elsewhere. He even went as far as to say that even his agent hasn't spoken to anyone. Sometimes coaches can say publicly that they aren't talking about any opportunities while, in the meantime, their agents are working backchannels and putting something together. He could be lying, of course, because college football history is full of head coaches saying one thing and doing another. A full-throated statement like this seems to be a pretty clear indication that Sarkisian is serious about what he's saying, though. Heck, he went as far as calling Austin home, which is a pretty big deal for a coach to say. Those guys aren't used to staying in one place for too long. With that said, Sarkisian does have two kids actually enrolled at Texas, one on the football team. He has a third kid he wants to go to Texas in the near future. He also just had a baby. Sarkisian has roots in Austin. He also has high aspirations for the Longhorns. “We came here to win championships," he said. "We’ve built a damn good football program over the five years that we’ve been here. We’ve been to two College Football Playoffs. We won a Big 12 Championship. We went to the SEC Championship game in Year 1. We’ve had 23 players drafted the last two years, which is more than any other school in the country and our team GPA is at an all-time high. “Can we please stop putting things out there that you have absolutely zero evidence on? Can we please stop retweeting and putting it back out there as if it’s true? As if it’s the gospel? It is not true."
There's 'already chatter' Vikings could make Mac Jones call amid J.J. McCarthy's struggles
The ongoing struggles of second-year pro J.J. McCarthy have already sparked conversations among the NFL community about how the Minnesota Vikings might manage their quarterback situation next year. On Wednesday, NFL insider Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk shared an interesting update regarding the Vikings' plans beyond January. Why Mac Jones could be an option for the Vikings According to Florio, "there’s already chatter in some circles that" the Vikings will explore trading for San Francisco 49ers backup Mac Jones during the offseason. Jones signed a two-year deal with the 49ers in March and, per Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, is under contract for $4.66M for the 2026 season. Breer also linked Jones with the Vikings. Jones went 5-3 across eight starts with the 49ers this season in place of QB1 Brock Purdy, who was dealing with a toe injury. Purdy inked a massive extension with the 49ers last offseason, and there's no indication he's in any danger of losing the starting job to Jones. Meanwhile, McCarthy has made just five career regular-season starts after he missed time this fall due to an ankle injury. The 2024 first-round draft pick spent his entire rookie campaign recovering from a full meniscus repair. According to Pro Football Reference, McCarthy heads into Week 12 ranked last in the NFL among qualified players with a 26.6 adjusted QBR, a 61.7 passer rating and a 52.9 percent completion percentage. He's 2-3 as a starter, while Minnesota is 4-6. Could history repeat itself for Vikings? Last year, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell repeatedly said that spending the 2023 season working with 49ers head coach and offensive guru Kyle Shanahan helped current Seattle Seahawks starting quarterback Sam Darnold experience a necessary career reset. With Darnold in the lineup, the 2024 Vikings finished 14-3 before losing in the wild-card round of the playoffs. Breer mentioned that the Vikings trading for Jones would "be a way to bring in competition for J.J. McCarthy and provide a layer of insurance at an affordable rate for a loaded roster, should McCarthy not ascend through the rest of this season." In short, it sounds like McCarthy will be playing for more than just wins from Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers (6-3-1) through Week 18. As of Wednesday afternoon, ESPN BET had the Vikings as six-point underdogs against the Packers.
Steve Spurrier has two endorsements for next Florida HC
Steve Spurrier is a legend for the Florida Gators. Known as "the head ball coach" down in SEC-land, Spurrier was a star both as a player and as a coach for Florida. Heck, the dang field in Gainesville is named after him. That means what he says about the Florida program carries a lot of weight, and he recently revealed that he believes there are only two people who would live up to the expectations and be a great fit for the Gators as they look to replace fired head coach Billy Napier sooner rather than later. “I know Lane Kiffin and I know Eli Drinkwitz,” Spurrier recently said, according to Daniel Hager of On3. “Obviously, either one of those guys would be super if it works out. But, it’s a long way from whoever we’re going to get as our coach right now.” The Gators are currently making a full-court press for Lane Kiffin, but they're not alone in their pursuit of the Ole Miss head coach. While the Gators reportedly flew members of Kiffin's family down to Gainesville to check things out recently, the LSU Tigers also pulled the same trick — hoping to get Kiffin to ultimately come down to Baton Rouge. LSU is probably Florida's biggest competitor for Kiffin right now, but there's also Ole Miss to consider. It's not like the Rebels are going to let a coach who has led them to a 54-19 record over the past six seasons go without a fight. Kiffin would absolutely be a home-run hire for the Gators, though. He's a high-level recruiter and a high-level offensive mind in the SEC. Those are two things that the Gators desperately need in the wake of the middling Napier era. Not only that, but Kiffin has ties to the state. He was the head coach at Florida Atlantic from 2017-19. Eli Drinkwitz an interesting option for Florida if it can't land Lane Kiffin Drinkwitz is another interesting option, though. You'll also notice that there's a trend here for Florida, and that's going after established SEC head coaches. Napier had come from the Sun Belt conference. Drinkwitz has made Missouri a tough out in the SEC, and he's won a ton of football games. His overall record at Mizzou is 45-27, though his record in big games does leave a little to be desired. He's 7-14 against ranked opponents and 0-7 against top-10 teams. Still, Drinkwitz is a young coach at just 42, so the upside is there. He's a big personality who does well on the recruiting trail, and he could do a lot of good things with the firepower of the Florida Gators behind him. There are other options out there for Florida. Washington head coach Jedd Fisch is a Florida alumnus, for instance. If Spurrier has narrowed it down to Kiffin and Drinkwitz in his mind, though, you can bet those in power at Florida are likely thinking the same thing.
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