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WHY ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI IS STILL THE FEATHERWEIGHT GOAT AFTER UFC SYDNEY MASTERCLASS

Alexander Volkanovski remains the featherweight king after a dominant decision win over Diego Lopes at a packed Qudos Bank Arena.

Why Alexander Volkanovski is still the featherweight GOAT after UFC Sydney masterclass
Alexander Volkanovski retains featherweight title with dominant win over Diego Lopes

Alexander Volkanovski hasn’t lost a step, even in his late 30s.

The Aussie star outclassed Diego Lopes from start to finish, picking up a unanimous decision win and hanging onto his UFC featherweight belt in front of a wild Sydney crowd at Qudos Bank Arena. Volkanovski (28-4, 15-3 UFC) made it look routine, sweeping the scorecards with 49-46, 49-46, and 50-45. That’s two straight over Lopes for him.

Lopes (27-8, 6-3 UFC) had a tough time landing anything meaningful. He did drop Volkanovski for a split second in round three with a sharp counter right, but that was about it. Volkanovski circled, kept him at bay with his jab, snapped off leg kicks whenever he felt like it, and countered with his own right hook. Just steady, classic Volkanovski—always a step ahead. In the fifth, he sealed the deal with a pair of takedowns and shut down Lopes’ last-ditch kimura-to-armbar attempt.

On the co-main stage, Benoit St. Denis—a former French Special Forces guy—shook off a rough start and finished Dan Hooker with elbows and punches in round two. St. Denis (17-3, 9-3 UFC) ended it at 4:45, putting together his fourth straight win.

Hooker (24-14, 14-10 UFC) had early success, peppering St. Denis with front kicks to the body, but couldn’t keep it up. St. Denis fired back with takedowns and nasty elbows on the ground—just relentless. In round two, he broke out of a guillotine, got on top, slid into mount, and started dropping bombs with his elbows. He teased a kimura, switched between pounding away and locking up arm triangles, and finally poured it on with punches until the ref stepped in.

All 17 of St. Denis’ pro wins have come by finish—knockout, TKO, or submission. The guy just doesn’t do boring.

Further down the card, former Centurion champ Mauricio Ruffy stopped Rafael Fiziev with punches in round two of their lightweight fight. Ruffy (13-2, 4-1 UFC) wrapped it up at 4:30, making it eight wins in his last nine.

Fiziev (13-5, 7-5 UFC) attacked Ruffy’s lead leg with some nasty kicks, trying to chop him down. Ruffy stayed patient, worked his jab, and waited for his moment. Late in the second, he cracked Fiziev with a clean one-two, chased him down with more shots, and sent him crashing to the mat. Fiziev tried to get back up, but Ruffy just shoved him down and kept swinging until referee Daniel Movahedi waved it off.

That’s Fiziev’s first real stoppage loss in almost seven years.

Also, Tallison Teixeira from Team Lucas Mineiro bounced back from a July knockout loss to Derrick Lewis by outpointing Tai Tuivasa over three rounds. All three judges had it 29-28 for Teixeira (9-1, 2-1 UFC).

Tuivasa stepped into the cage for the first time since August 2024, but he just couldn’t keep himself upright in those opening rounds. Teixeira took him down almost at will, moved to mount a few times, and dropped some ground-and-pound, but never really poured it on enough to get a finish. By the last round, both guys looked absolutely spent. Their movements slowed to a crawl, and you could see the exhaustion all over them. Tuivasa had his window—he landed some wild shots on the towering 6-foot-7 Brazilian—but just didn’t have enough left in the tank to swing the fight his way. Teixeira managed to hang in there, pushed through the fatigue, and ran out the clock.

Tuivasa, now 32, has dropped six straight.

Earlier, Quillan Salkilld—who once held the Eternal MMA belt—finished Jamie Mullarkey with a neck crank in the first round of their lightweight scrap. Mullarkey tapped at 3:02, taking the first submission loss of his 27-fight career.

Salkilld wasted no time, scored a quick takedown, forced Mullarkey to scramble back up, and tagged him with an elbow as they separated. Mullarkey, stepping in for Zhu Rong on short notice, fired back with some short punches, but Salkilld dragged him into a clinch, then threw him hard to the mat. Once they hit the ground, Salkilld quickly took the back and locked in the neck crank. Mullarkey tried to tough it out, but the pain got to him, and he tapped.

Salkild, just 26, now has 11 wins in a row.

MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES TRADE JAREN JACKSON JR. TO UTAH JAZZ IN 8-PLAYER BLOCKBUSTER

The Memphis Grizzlies have traded Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Utah Jazz, creating a record $28.8 million trade exception for 2026.

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Grizzlies finalise Jaren Jackson Jr. deal

The Memphis Grizzlies turned heads on Tuesday, pulling off a blockbuster trade that sent two-time All-Star and former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr to the Utah Jazz. Along with Jackson, the Grizzlies shipped out Vince Williams Jr, John Konchar, and Jock Landale. Coming back their way: Walter Clayton Jr, Kyle Anderson, Georges Niang, and, maybe the most important part, three future first-round picks.

And honestly, it feels like Memphis isn’t done stirring the pot. Inside the organisation, they see Zach Edey and Cedric Coward as the future. Both went late in the lottery in the past two drafts, and the Grizzlies landed some value in the second round this year, too, grabbing Jaylen Wells and Cam Spencer.

All this movement means Ja Morant’s future in Memphis suddenly looks shaky. He’s been the face of the franchise since they took him No. 2 overall back in 2019. When he’s healthy, he’s electric—no question. But injuries and off-court drama have slowed him down, and now, with the trade deadline closing in, the Grizzlies are openly shopping him. Teams around the league are watching.

There’s another wrinkle here: by dealing Jackson, Memphis created a massive trade exception—$28.8 million, the biggest in NBA history, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks and Shams Charania. It’s a huge chess piece. With that exception, the Grizzlies can absorb big, ugly contracts from other teams in exchange for more draft picks. Think of what the Thunder did a few years back—stockpiling picks by taking on bad deals until they rebuilt into a contender.

Now, you’ve probably heard Giannis Antetokounmpo’s name floating around in trade rumours. He hasn’t officially asked out of Milwaukee, but everyone in the league expects something to happen soon. Teams like the Timberwolves and Knicks are circling. The Grizzlies? They’re not likely to chase Giannis directly. But with that trade exception, they could play a big role as a third team—taking on salary dumps or unwanted contracts, collecting more picks, and helping another franchise pull off the Giannis blockbuster. Memphis just put itself squarely in the middle of the NBA’s hottest rumour.

KLINT KUBIAK SNUBS NFL RIVALS TO LEAD RAIDERS’ NEW ERA UNDER TOM BRADY

The Las Vegas Raiders are zeroing in on Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak as their next head coach, with Tom Brady leading the search.

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Klint Kubiak is set for the Raiders as Seahawks coach faces the New England Patriots

The Las Vegas Raiders are in the middle of a huge shakeup right now. Klint Kubiak, the offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks, is set to become their new head coach—and honestly, he’s nothing like Pete Carroll.

Kubiak’s still in his 30s, calling plays on offence, while Carroll just wrapped up last season as the NFL’s oldest head coach. The Raiders had their eyes on Ben Johnson previous year, but when he decided to take the Bears job, they turned to Carroll instead.

This time, Las Vegas seemed to have that same level of interest in Kubiak, but they had to wait things out because Seattle was still in the playoffs. Tom Brady, who’s a minority owner with the Raiders, clearly played a big part in picking the new coach.

Since nothing’s official until after the Super Bowl, Brady can’t come right out and talk about Kubiak joining the team. Still, he didn’t hold back when it came to sharing what he liked about the guy.

“Klint’s played to his team’s strengths. Last week, he did a ton of good things against a really strong Rams defence,” Brady said on the “Let’s Go!” podcast. “That’s what it took for them to win. The Rams are a tough team. That game in Seattle could’ve gone either way... Seattle really had to play a complete game in all three phases to pull it out, and they’ll need to do the same this weekend in Santa Clara.”

Brady also talked about Fernando Mendoza.

Another big reason the Raiders’ coaching job is so appealing? They’ve got the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Everyone expects them to grab Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

Brady doesn’t have to be secretive about it—nobody’s jumping ahead of them in the draft. He was pretty open about how much he likes Mendoza.

“What do I value most? When I see him, he’s always talking up his teammates. He wins the Heisman, and he’s giving credit to everyone else,” Brady said. “That’s the kind of attitude you want in a leader.”

Kubiak focused on the Super Bowl, not the job switch.

Kubiak’s career is about to take off, but right now, he’s locked in on trying to win his first Super Bowl. So, he isn’t ready to talk about the Raiders just yet.

“I’m coaching the Seahawks in the Super Bowl, and that’s all I’m thinking about,” Kubiak told reporters on Monday. “I’m just excited for this week and this game.”

Not everyone in Seattle is thrilled to see Kubiak go. Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold had nothing but praise after working with him this year.

“He was unbelievable,” Darnold said Monday. “The stuff I picked up from Klint—just with schemes, and then learning from him as a coach and a person—the grit. He’s up before the sun, gets to the facility at 4 or 4:30, and leaves later than anyone. The guy just grinds. He loves football, and he’s always straight with his players. I know I really appreciated that, and so did the rest of the guys.”

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