Israel Adesanya will have the chance to re-write some personal history when he defends his UFC middleweight title against Brazilian Alex Pereira on November 13 (AEST).
World champion Adesanya announced on Sports Center that he’ll fight old rival Pereira in a title fight at UFC 281 at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
The highly anticipated grudge match pits the two old foes against each other for the first time in mixed martial arts, after fighting twice before in kickboxing.
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Adesanya was visibly shocked by the judges’ decision after his first fight with Pereira, with the Brazilian winning by unanimous decision.
The pair had their rematch less than a year later in March 2017, with a left hand knocking the Nigerian-born fight out during the third round.
While he hasn’t felt the need to chase revenge after losing both fights, Adesanya vowed to “slam this b****” ahead of their meeting at the famous New York venue later this year.
“Have I ever shied away from a fight? I’ve always picked the guy no one wants to fight,” Adesanya said on Sports Center.
“The guy that everyone runs away from, I run towards. So I run towards the fire and this is no different.
“After he beat me in Brazil, I never had any plans of trying to get revenge or anything like that because I don’t hold onto things.
“I’m telling you, the universe has presented this to me and it’s right there. It’s the perfect alley-oop and I’m going to slam this b****”.
Adesanya held onto his middleweight crown with a unanimous decision win over American Jared Cannonier at UFC 276 last month.
The victory extended the 33-year-old’s unbeaten run to three fights, after losing to Polish fighter Jan Blachowicz by unanimous decision in the UFC light heavyweight title fight last year.
As for his opponent, Pereira is undefeated from three fights so far in the UFC whilst he’s undefeated in his last six MMA fights.
The Brazilian is coming off a first-round knockout of the highly rated Sean Strickland.
Originally published as ‘Slam this b****’: Israel Adesanya’s message to old rival ahead of UFC grudge match
Israel Adesanya will have the chance to re-write some personal history when he defends his UFC middleweight title against Brazilian Alex Pereira on November 13 (AEST).
World champion Adesanya announced on Sports Center that he’ll fight old rival Pereira in a title fight at UFC 281 at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
The highly anticipated grudge match pits the two old foes against each other for the first time in mixed martial arts, after fighting twice before in kickboxing.
Watch Live UFC with ESPN on Kayo. Full Fight Night Events, PPV Prelims, Ultimate Fighter Series & More. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
Adesanya was visibly shocked by the judges’ decision after his first fight with Pereira, with the Brazilian winning by unanimous decision.
The pair had their rematch less than a year later in March 2017, with a left hand knocking the Nigerian-born fight out during the third round.
While he hasn’t felt the need to chase revenge after losing both fights, Adesanya vowed to “slam this b****” ahead of their meeting at the famous New York venue later this year.
Tough as nails Aussie makes Dana applaud | 01:28
“Have I ever shied away from a fight? I’ve always picked the guy no one wants to fight,” Adesanya said on Sports Center.
“The guy that everyone runs away from, I run towards. So I run towards the fire and this is no different.
“After he beat me in Brazil, I never had any plans of trying to get revenge or anything like that because I don’t hold onto things.
“I’m telling you, the universe has presented this to me and it’s right there. It’s the perfect alley-oop and I’m going to slam this b****”.
Adesanya held onto his middleweight crown with a unanimous decision win over American Jared Cannonier at UFC 276 last month.
The victory extended the 33-year-old’s unbeaten run to three fights, after losing to Polish fighter Jan Blachowicz by unanimous decision in the UFC light heavyweight title fight last year.
As for his opponent, Pereira is undefeated from three fights so far in the UFC whilst he’s undefeated in his last six MMA fights.
The Brazilian is coming off a first-round knockout of the highly rated Sean Strickland.
Italy’s Alberto Nonino suffered a nightmare wardrobe malfunction at the U20s World Championships where his genitalia fell out of his shorts.
The decathlon athlete was competing in the 400m event at the end of the first day of competition in Cali, Colombia, when disaster struck.
The 18-year-old started well out of the blocks, but he was soon seen repeatedly reaching towards his crotch instead of swinging his arms as he ran down the home straight.
Eagle-eyed viewers spotted the unfortunate reason Nonino’s run was compromised as he tried to contain his thunder as it repeatedly fell out during the race.
Replays showed he started well, but began to drift further and further behind as he reacted to his situation.
I have finished last with a time of 51.57 seconds.
Journalist David Sanchez de Castro’s summation of the incident — and Nonimo’s manhood — has since gone viral.
“Perhaps I’ve explained myself poorly. His penis escaped out of the side of his shorts and he had to hold it because it was n’t allowing him to run properly which is normal when your dongle is swinging from side to side, ”the reporter said.
Nonino has since taken to Instagram to show his fury about how the incident has been reported around the world.
“I just want to talk to you a little bit about the rumpus there’s been on blogs and social media in general,” he said in a Story.
“I’m aware it was obviously an accident and I’d like to tell you I’m aware of the reaction and you don’t need to send me the links to the blogs out there.
“I’m trying to laugh about it now but immediately afterwards I felt terrible and I’m thankful to my friends and family for helping me get over what happened a few hours later.
“The journalistic world worries about cases of bullying throughout Italy and around the world and then publishes these articles that for a more sensitive person could have done a lot of harm.”
Spanish press agencies have speculated Nonino’s episode could have been the result of an absence of underwear.
Australia — we may just have found our next sprint superstar.
Aussie 200m star Calab Law claimed bronze at the under-20 World Athletics Championship in Cali Colombia, clocking a time of 20.48 in the final and landing on the podium.
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It was a hot final as Israel’s Blessing Akawasi Afrifah claimed gold ahead of Botswana’s Lesile Tebogo, who both recorded times of 19.96 seconds, making them the third fastest under-20 200m sprinters in history. Afrifah claimed the gold by 0.006 seconds in the photo finish time but both were awarded the championship record time.
The time was only 0.03 seconds slower than 200m world record holder Usain Bolt’s fastest under-20 time of 19.93 seconds and 18-year-old World Championship silver medalist Erriyon Knighton’s time of 19.49 seconds as the fastest under-20 200m time ever.
Tebogo had claimed the under-20 100m world record earlier in the meet, running 9.91 in the final to break his own record.
Although well outside the world record time, Law claimed the bronze, bouncing back from a slow star to land on the podium.
Law had set a personal best time of 20.42 in the semi-finals, the second fastest under-20 200m time in Australian history, behind only Aiden Murphy’s 20.41 set at the South Australian State Championships in February.
The 200m has traditionally not been a strong suit for Australia
Athletics historian David Tarbotton revealing it was just the fifth international 200m medal Australia had won, and second in the World U20s after Steve McBain’s bronze in 1986.
Murphy did make the semi-finals in Cali as well, but had the 11th fastest time and missed the final, despite coming into the event as a strong medal hope.
But Law brought home the bronze in a brilliant performance to solidify his reputation as one of Australia’s great sprinting prospects.
“I was so tempted to look over my shoulder because I didn’t really feel anybody up next to me. I knew the two boys were up in front, but I was not sure at all – I had to wait to see my name up there,” Law told Athletics Australia.
“The medal for me is like another step, it’s the next level. When I get into my Open season I will be better than ever.”
At just 18-years-old, Law is bound to get faster, which could be perfect timing for the Victorian Commonwealth Games in 2026.
A proud Indigenous man from the Wakka Wakka tribe in North Queensland, Law said he was inspired by those who came before him.
“My favorite sprinter ever is Cathy Freeman. She was the best – so smooth, so relaxed, so long. I always try to replicate the way that she runs but she is too perfect,” Law said.
“My aunty was an amazing sprinter, Aunty Karla, she coached me when I was 12. They are all indigenous Wakka Wakka, my tribe is from North Queensland and they would all be really happy – they were watching me on the big screen.”
Last month, Law raced at the World Championships, making the semi-finals but finishing as the 21st fastest.
Volkswagen has drawn up battle plans to make the new Amarok the must-have ute of 2023.
Based on the new Ford Ranger, the new Amarok represents a significant leap beyond the previous model.
It shares core underpinnings and diesel engines with the Ranger, as well as new safety features including auto emergency braking, active cruise control and blind-spot monitoring.
Volkswagen’s best-selling model is also likely to share the Ford’s 3.0-liter V6 turbo diesel engine, a motor that sends 184kW and 600Nm to all four wheels through a 10-speed automatic transmission.
But it won’t get the 292kW/283Nm petrol V6 exclusively offered in Ford’s Ranger Raptor.
Ford elected not to offer the Australian Ranger with a 2.3-litre turbo petrol engine found in some Amarok models, one that delivers 222kW and 452Nm of performance.
But the cars are not identical.
VW’s machine wears butch styling shaped by a Melbourne-based design team.
It has the same core interior as the Ranger, though high-end Amarok models have fancier 10-way electric seat adjustment than the Ranger’s eight-way chairs.
And Volkswagen’s 12-inch digital dashboard display is larger than the 8-inch readouts fitted as standard to the Ranger.
Top-grade Amarok variants ride on 21-inch wheels that are significantly larger than the 18-inch rims of a Ranger Wildtrak, which could return more car-like precision from a steering wheel shared with VW’s passenger cars.
VW says the new machine, built in South Africa as opposed to the Thailand-sourced Ranger, benefits from shorter and more frequent shipping routes than the older model, which came from Argentina.
That “ensures steadier supply”, according to Volkswagen.
But it will also mean the Amarok is subject to a 5 per cent vehicle import tariff that does not apply to the Thai-built Ranger, a factor likely to make the VW more expensive than its Blue Oval cousin.
VW will reveal prices for the Amarok closer to its official debut in the first quarter of 2023.
Australia have wrapped up the Commonwealth Rugby Sevens gold medal in a 22-12 win over Fiji in a dominant display.
It’s redemption for the Aussies after a heartbreaking loss at the previous Commonwealth Games in Australia.
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Australia lost an epic final in 2018 on the Gold Coast, down 17-12 in extra-time to New Zealand.
But after edging past the Kiwis in a dramatic semi-final and losing a pool game to Fiji, Australia made no mistake in the final.
Faith Nathan scored a first half double as well as a try to Madison Ashby opened up a massive 17-0 lead at halftime.
The Aussies then scored immediately after the half through Maddison Levi, making it a 22-0 lead.
Although the Fijians finally got a pass to stick and scored a try as well as a consolation two minutes after full-time, it was nowhere near enough as the Aussies claimed the gold medal.
It had been the one medal Australia had been missing, having won in Rio in 2016, and coming into the tournament as the reigning Rugby Sevens women’s world champions after winning four of the six tournaments in the 2021-22 World Series.
Aussie star Charlotte Caslick said it was nearly a perfect performance from gold medalists.
“I think in those physical contests, we dominated nearly every single one of those and that’s what we had to do,” Caslick said after the match.
“I wouldn’t say it was perfect (performance) but it was close to.
“We’ve had an amazing World Series and been dominant year so to be rewarded in front of an awesome crowd is pretty special.”
And it was more redemption after Australia was bundled out of the Tokyo Olympics in a 19-0 quarterfinal thrashing by Fiji.
While the women’s side will bring home the extra baggage of the gold medals, the men couldn’t follow suit.
After a semi-final loss to South Africa earlier in the day, the Aussies fell 26-12 to New Zealand in the bronze medal match to miss the podium.
It was a tough break for Australia who are second on the World Series ladder behind South Africa with one tournament left in Los Angeles in late August.
South Africa broke to the men’s title in a 31-7 obliteration of Fiji.
Wins don’t come much more emphatic than from 10th on the grid at the Hungaroring.
Max Verstappen’s against-the-odds victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix was only the fourth time someone’s won in Budapest starting further back than the front two rows. Not only was it a clear underline on Red Bull Racing’s superiority in the 2022 championship race, it was also a neat encapsulation of the entire season to date as the sport heads into the mid-season break.
It featured a wildly slow then unexpectedly and inexplicably fast Mercedes that threatened to win the race but ultimately couldn’t manage it.
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It featured Ferrari somehow fumbling what should’ve been an unimpeachable pace advantage early in the weekend to finish off the podium and denying it lacks operational sharpness.
And as its centrepiece it featured Red Bull Racing executing most effectively, Verstappen seizing his opportunities and both ending Sunday with enhanced points leads.
You almost don’t need to have seen any other race this year to understand where the championship stands and predict where it’ll head when racing resumes at the end of August after the mid-season break.
REMINDER: FERRARI TARGETED TO ONE-TWO
There’s no team that needs the mid-season break more urgently than Ferrari, which contributed yet another way to ship more points to Red Bull Racing and Verstappen in an already bleak title campaign.
All this despite having explicitly targeted a one-two finish just days earlier.
It won’t shock you to know that the team’s embarrassing loss came mainly from the pit wall.
Slow pit stops meant it took longer for Leclerc to pass pole-getter Russell than it should have, and it cost Sainz the opportunity to pass the Briton at all.
It then made the fatal error of swapping Leclerc onto the unfancied hard tire for his final stint in a hasty attempt to cover the undercutting Verstappen — despite the fact every other car that had used the tire was struggling badly for grip.
Not only did it cost him the lead, but he was forced into making a third stop that left him an almost unbelievable sixth at the flag.
Ferrari protested after the race that the problem wasn’t its strategy but the car, which in the cooler Sunday conditions wasn’t exhibiting the dominant edge it enjoyed during Friday practice.
Leclerc burnt by ANOTHER Ferrari blunder | 01:14
“Certainly we didn’t have the performance we were expecting,” team boss Mattia Binotto told Sky Sports. “Whatever the tyres, somehow the performance of our cars was not as expected.
“Today the car was not behaving well, I think that’s the point.”
Binotto isn’t wrong to make that argument, but he is exaggerating. Ferrari was slower than it was on Friday, but it was still the fastest car on track.
We can make a like-for-like comparison between Leclerc and Verstappen on the medium tire in the middle of the race, Even accounting for the Dutchman’s older rubber, the Monegasque was still quicker, or at least quick enough to take him on directly.
But the team let itself be spooked by Verstappen’s second undercut attempt with 32 laps to go. Rather than race to its own pace, run deep and switch to softs — which it did with Sainz — it brought Leclerc in immediately for the hard tire and suffered the consequences.
“I felt very strong on the medium. Everything was under control,” Leclerc told Sky Sports. “I don’t know why we needed to go on the hard.
“I said on the radio I was very comfortable on the medium and I wanted to go as long as possible on those tires because the feeling was good. I don’t know why we made a different decision.”
So really there are two key mistakes here. One is coolness under pressure in reading the race, and the other is misunderstanding the hard tyre, which the team thought would warm up after 10 laps but which in reality was never going to be effective. It’s not the first time it’s committed either foul this season.
Leclerc left Budapest with a whopping 80-point deficit to Verstappen and Ferrari is now 97 points adrift of Red Bull Racing. More worrying still, the team’s just 30 points ahead of Mercedes.
And with performance like that, would you be willing to back Ferrari to hold second?
Max & Lewis chuckle at Ferrari’s tactics | 00:33
MAX VERSTAPPEN PUTS ONE HAND ON THE TROPHY
If Charles Leclerc’s solo crash at the French Grand Prix effectively decided the destination of the title, Verstappen’s slick victory in Budapest gave him a chance to put one hand on the trophy.
An 80-point advantage is more than three clear race victories. He can now afford to finish second to Leclerc at every race, including the sprint in Brazil, and ship the point for fastest lap and he still won’t lose the title lead before the end of the season.
Before the mid-season break he’s been able to put the fate of the drivers championship completely in his own hands. No mean feat.
After last season’s down-to-the-wire blockbuster finale, you’ll be concerned to know we can start counting down the points needed to win the championship.
With nine rounds remaining, Verstappen can win the championship with just five more victories even if Leclerc finishes second to him in all of them. That puts him on track to claim the crown at the Japanese Grand Prix.
And perhaps Verstappen winning the next five races is unlikely — he’s yet to win more than three in a row this season — but with Mercedes potentially in the mix, he may have a team to pick points off Ferrari and Leclerc, in which case just finishing with one or two cars between him and the Monegasque regardless of their finishing position would probably be enough to get the job done.
The weekend wasn’t perfect of course. A power unit problem was part of the reason he qualified poorly, and a clutch issue spun him around in the race, temporarily costing him the lead. He’ll also need to serve a penalty for a new power unit at some point in the second half of the year, having installed his third and final motor this weekend.
But the gap is easily wide enough to absorb that pressure, and with Leclerc needing at least one more round of power unit penalties, it’s extremely difficult to imagine a scenario in which Verstappen doesn’t win the title with at least two rounds to spare
Max spins but still wins in Hungary | 01:11
MERCEDES UNEXPECTEDLY FAST BUT UNSURE ABOUT PERMANENCE
Mercedes arrived in Budapest in the brace position, appeared to be justified by its lackluster Friday performance, but by the end of the weekend it had collected its first pole of the year with George Russell and a second straight double podium.
Lewis Hamilton had even been on a late an unlikely charge for victory that team boss Toto Wolff said could’ve ended in success had he qualified higher up the grid rather than suffer a DRS failure in Q3.
What’s more, the Hungaroring layout should have been a struggle circuit for the car, which tends to prefer faster tracks — Hamilton almost won at Silverstone, both drivers showed good pace in Austria before crashing out of qualifying, and the team got both cars onto the podium in France.
Wolff, however, said it was less a case of not understanding the reasons for its speed in Budapest but rather figuring out if those reasons applied universally or only to the specific characteristics of the Hungaroring.
“It’s not that we have no clue why the car has been fast,” Wolff said, per The Race.
“We had directions during the season where we believed it would unlock the potential of the car, and it didn’t.
“So here we have another direction, and that was very quick on the stopwatch.
“But I don’t want to have another false dawn and we come to the realization tomorrow and Spa that it didn’t reap the benefits that we were hoping to have.
“In that respect, let’s just wait and see where this is going.”
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In that respect Mercedes must be frustrated to have to wait three weeks to try to validate its progress, though the triple-header comprising three distinct track types will be the ultimate test of its solution.
The team is long out of championship contention, but the W13’s fortunes are still relevant to the title outcome.
Potentially now quick enough to contend for regular merited podiums and perhaps victories at some tracks, how well Mercedes does on any given weekend will decide three things: how soon Verstappen wins the title — or, if you’re extremely optimistic, whether he wins the title; where Ferrari will finish in the constructors standings; and whether Leclerc will finish second in the drivers standings.
George Russell is now just 20 points behind Leclerc in the battle for a second, with Hamilton 12 points further back, and the team is now only 30 points short of Ferrari in the teams title battle.
It’s too late for the major prizes, but the minor placings are still very much up for grabs.
McLAREN STILL IN TOUCH FOR FOURTH DESPITE RICCIARDO PENALTY
The battle for best of the midfield is similarly still very much alive, with McLaren maintaining its four-point deficit to Alpine in fourth on the constructors title table.
Ricciardo pulls off epic double pass | 00:46
This was an improved weekend for Woking, one week after it introduced its major upgrade package at the French Grand Prix. Not only did Lando Norris again outqualify both French cars, but this week he retained his place ahead of them despite a slow first pit stop, ensuring maximum midfield points with seventh place.
He had Alpine’s unlikely one-stop strategy to thank in part. Alpine did n’t have a second set of medium tires for either driver, having burnt through them during practice, and so he had little choice but to go long, meaning he neither could challenge the leading Briton.
Daniel Ricciardo was the only weak point for McLaren. The Australian had been marginally off Norris’s pace through the race but quick enough to be running behind him before the first stops, even makingthat excellent double pass around the two battling Alpine drivers to hold the place.
But his struggles really started during his final stint on the hard tire and intensified once he was lapped, costing him precious tire temperature each time he was waved a blue flag.
The lack of grip on the white-walled tire was also behind him running wide and into Lance Stroll at turn 2, earning him a five-second penalty, when he was trying to let the Canadian by.
It left him out of the points, allowing a superb drive by Sebastian Vettel to be rewarded by one point, the German having recovered from 18th by avoiding that troublesome hard tire.
Tolu Latu is once again a Waratah, and the hooker could yet emerge as a player of national interest should he keep on the straight and narrow over the next 16 months.
After weeks of negotiations with the Waratahs, the 21-Test hooker signed a one-year deal with the Super Rugby franchise last week.
By doing so, Darren Coleman has opted for the immense capability of Latu over rising hooker Tom Horton to compete with Wallabies incumbent hooker Dave Porecki and Mahe Vailanu.
It can be revealed Horton, 25, will instead join up with England Premiership champions Leicester, who are coached by Eddie Jones’ former right-hand man Steve Borthwick.
Tom Horton is heading to Leicester and won’t return to the Waratahs for 2023 after Tolu Latu signed with Darren Coleman’s men. Photo: Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
With Argentine international Julian Montoya unavailable, Tom Youngs retired and Sydney-born England squad member Nic Dolly injured, Borthwick needs a hooker and Horton will compete for the role once his visa is approved and he touches down in the region.
The short-term deal is the perfect opportunity for Horton to grow after a frustrating few years where injuries have slowed his development.
But the Sydney Uni hooker need only look at his former teammate Porecki for inspiration, with the 29-year-old plying his trade in England for years before an opening popped up back at the Waratahs last year. Porecki’s Wallabies debut was delayed by a year because of an injury, but the experienced rake was one of Dave Rennie’s best players against England in July.
Latu’s return is hardly surprising.
He has been linked to a return with the Waratahs ever since he was let go by Stade Francais earlier in the year.
The Waratahs will have two Test hookers at the franchise with Tolu Latu joining Dave Porecki. Photo: Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
His departure from the Paris-based Top 14 outfit came after more ill-discipline off the pitch and reckless moments on it, which ultimately saw the 21-Test hooker farewelled.
But his incredible potential, where he is one of the best in Australian rugby over the ball and at the scrum, has seen Australian rugby give the cat with nine lives another chance.
It shapes as his last, with Latu to be shown the door if he puts one foot wrong given his history.
Wallaby Tolu Latu has been handed a lifeline by the Waratahs. Photo: AAPSource: AAP
Latu has joined on a contract worth barely six figures, but if he manages to keep on the right side of the boot greater riches lay ahead.
He is unlikely to come into the reckoning for the Wallabies this year unless a number of injuries, but given his outstanding World Cup campaign in 2019 he is a bolter for next year’s tournament in France.
He will compete with Porecki, Folau Fainga’a and Lachlan Lonergan – all three of whom are in Argentina ahead of the Wallabies’ opening Rugby Championship fixture against Michael Cheika’s Los Pumas in Mendoza on Sunday (AEST).
Argentina’s Australian coach Michael Cheika looks on before the series-deciding international against Scotland at the Madre de Ciudades Stadium in Santiago del Estero. Photo: AFPSource: AFP
Sunday’s Test shapes as a season defining one, especially with the All Blacks fighting fires on a number of fronts.
Not only do the All Blacks have the immense challenge of taking on the Springboks twice in South Africa, they are likely playing for coach Ian Foster’s future.
Foster, unlike two of his assistants, might have been spared the ax following their first series loss on home soil since 1994, but New Zealand Rugby CEO Mark Robinson hardly filled him with confidence when he stopped short of saying he would lead the All Blacks through to next year’s World Cup.
“He’s certainly the person to lead the team to South Africa, and we’re making sure they’ve got everything possible in the way of resourcing and support to make sure that’s successful,” Robinson told Newstalk ZB from Birmingham.
Robinson’s comments came after former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said relations between the New Zealand Rugby board and the players were at their lowest ebb.
“The relationship between the board and the [executive] with the players at the moment is probably the worst it’s ever been,” he said on local radio.
“I don’t think they’re doing their job right at the moment.”
While former NZR boss David Moffett called for Robinson to stand down.
The rumblings in the front office, and the lingering feeling the All Blacks have the wrong man coaching with Scott Robertson waiting in the wings, have left the feeling the All Blacks are at their most vulnerable in two decades ahead of the Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup .
Brandon Moreno is a UFC champion again and looks set to face defending unified champion and longtime rival Deiveson Figueiredo for the flyweight title.
But when Figueiredo entered the octagon after Moreno’s TKO win over Kai Kara-France, the new interim champion took a moment to think about what he said next.
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He wanted to make a statement, to “take the mic” and tell his intense rival: “Let’s go motherf***er”, as Moreno put it when speaking to media at the post-fight press conference.
“But everything I said was real. My daughter Madison is eight years old and now she understands everything,” he added.
“I knew I had the opportunity to be a better example for her. I don’t want it for her de ella, her dad de ella doing stupid things on television.
He wanted to make a statement, to “take the mic” and tell his intense rival: “Let’s go motherf***er”, as Moreno put it when speaking to media at the post-fight press conference.
“But everything I said was real. My daughter Madison is eight years old and now she understands everything,” he added.
“I knew I had the opportunity to be a better example for her. I don’t want it for her de ella, her dad de ella doing stupid things on television.
So, instead of engaging in a war of words, the two instead put their history behind them with a classy exchange.
“This guy right here, tonight is his night and he is the champion,” Figueiredo said, through a translator.
“I have a lot of respect for him… I want to take this fight home to Brazil.”
“I don’t hate you,” Moreno later replied.
“I don’t feel anything against you. I forgive you. Please forgive me if I did something bad against you. I want to fight in December.”
UFC boss Dana White confirmed he is hoping the sport will return to Brazil next year, adding: “We’ll see what this crazy world has to throw at us in the next six months.”
But White himself was actually apologetic for deciding to get Figueiredo to enter the octagon post-fight, admitting on reflection that it was a “pretty disrespectful” move.
“You know what, it was kind of an in-the-moment thing,” White told reporters.
“Then when I hear him get up there I was like: ‘Well that was f***ing rude’. This kid is having his moment from him and he’s got Figueiredo standing in his face from him.
“It happened, it wasn’t horrible and we meant no disrespect to Moreno but it came off pretty disrespectful.”
While White is typically not a fan of running a fight back any more than three times, he made it clear he is very happy to see Moreno and Figueiredo face off in what would be their fourth meeting.
“It is one of those unique, freaky deals where who doesn’t want to see that fight again,” he said.
“I’m the worst with that stuff. I hate that s***. If you’ve got a guy up 2-1 you don’t ever need to see that fight again but this is one of those weird ones where you can.”
Originally published as UFC boss apologises for ‘disrespectful’ move after Moreno fight
