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Saturday’s UFC 263 main event in Glendale, Arizona will feature middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, defending his belt against Marvin Vettori.

It is a rematch of a non-title bout that took place in April 2018, coincidentally, in Glendale. Adesanya (20-1) defeated Vettori (17-3-1) via split decision in a three-round fight in which Adesanya had his way on the feet, but Vettori staged a late comeback behind his ground game.

Former middleweight champion Chris Weidman didn’t watch that fight live, but he remembers the feedback he received from those who did.

“There was a lot of clout behind Adesanya, everyone thought he was really good,” Weidman told ESPN. “But then I remember it getting back to me that some Italian guy who wasn’t a wrestler was outwrestling him.”

Ahead of this weekend’s championship rematch, Weidman took a closer look at that first meeting. Weidman says there is plenty to take away from it, even three years later.

“It’s really going to come down to strategy, what they bring to the table and what they learned from the first fight,” Weidman said.

Here are his keys to the fight, as told to ESPN.

No. 1: Vettori’s takedowns

If you watch Vettori in the first fight, he got to a clinch position in the first round, which is perfect. He got his hands locked. If you do that, it should be a takedown every time — but he was clueless there. He kept trying to do an inside trip, like three or four times, and it was awful. You can’t get an inside trip on anybody the way he was doing it. You really have to bring your body to one side and commit to it.

I hope he worked on his clinch offense, but that’s just not who he is. Vettori is not a wrestler, and it takes a different kind of cardio to do that for five rounds. He’s more of a striker, so he’s really going to have to change his style.

At the same time, the single leg he shot into a double in the third round — he didn’t even have his hands clasped properly and he was able to pull Adesanya down. Which … just tells me Israel is not that strong. Vettori wouldn’t be able to pull a normal guy’s leg, with poor technique, the way he did in that fight, but that’s something Vettori felt leaving that cage. The grappling exchanges in the first fight had a lot to do with strength. Adesanya is a weak guy for the weight class. He’s smaller and skinny — which is why he has great cardio and great range — but if you grab him, he’s not that strong. Vettori definitely knows Israel is not the strongest dude. He had a couple takedown attempts that were just awful, but I think that’s because it’s foreign to him. If he can just improve his technique, he’ll have an easier time this time around.

No. 2: Adesanya’s feints

Adesanya’s feints are so important. If he’s able to land some big punches in that first round, he’ll probably be able to win this fight on feints alone the rest of the way. He’ll start baiting Vettori with feints and then land the big stuff — he could really pick him apart. Honestly, his feints are probably his best weapon.

I really don’t think there’s anybody better than Adesanya at feints, distance control and creating the dance he wants. Having people overreact and underreact. In the first fight, he made Vettori overreact with feints, and then underreact when … actually throwing — just by feinting. Make him worry about what he’s doing next.

This is the fight Adesanya needs to be fighting. When he does this, he is so tough to close the distance on because there are so many weapons you have to worry about. You can see Vettori getting frustrated, stuck throwing one punch at a time.

No. 3: Adesanya’s problems off his back?

It looks like Adesanya has almost two different lines of strategy that he’s struggling with. One is that you take your time, you conserve energy, don’t rush to get back to your feet — because in that process, a lot of mistakes can be made and your opponent can capitalize. The other train of thought is nonstop moving on your back. If the other guy is better than you on the ground, you keep moving, looking for a way back to your feet.

In the first fight, Adesanya looked like he was stuck between the two strategies and never really chose one. There have been amazing strikers who will literally just hold position on the bottom. Anderson Silva had an amazing career as someone who wasn’t the biggest [and] strongest [or the] best grappler, but if you spent the energy to take him down, he would just relax, stay calm and wait for the referee to stand you up and … [be] less tired than you are, or wait for the next round.

Adesanya has either option available to him, but in this fight I think the way to get off his back is to create frames, get his back against the cage and get back to his feet. Actually put himself in harm’s way, because Vettori isn’t the guy I’m worried about taking my back and choking me out. I wouldn’t mind Adesanya getting an underhook and even giving up his back to get to his feet, because I don’t think there’s much danger there. If you’re fighting a skilled jiu-jitsu practitioner like Demian Maia, you don’t do that. So, it depends on the guy you’re fighting. In this fight, he has to do a better job of getting to his feet and creating a scramble.

No. 4: Vettori ‘bringing his feet with him’

One of the things Vettori struggled with in the first and second rounds is that he didn’t bring his feet with him after the left hand. He throws the left hand, the feet stay behind and Adesanya, being the longer guy, is able to reach him. It’s wasted movement and it puts Vettori in trouble, where he can be countered.

Now, going into the third round, his coaches must have said something to him because he’s a whole new guy. He’s walking forward with his feet underneath him the whole time. He’s throwing the left cross and the right jab comes right after. He’s dangerous with the right hook now. You can see this is making Adesanya uncomfortable. He’s backing up. He’s getting sloppy. He’s starting to throw strikes he wasn’t throwing before. This is the kind of fight Vettori can win.

Can Vettori stay relaxed while bringing that constant pressure? And even when he does, it gives him more options to win the fight, but it also makes Adesanya way more diverse and dangerous because of his counter strikes. It’s almost like Vettori has to put himself into the fire to win. And I’m going to say, Adesanya saw that Vettori didn’t always bring his feet with him, and when that happens, he doesn’t have much power. Adesanya was unfazed by Vettori’s punching power, and I think that will allow Adesanya to open up and become his best self quicker in the fight, as there will be less of a feeling out process.

Prediction: When I watch the first fight and think about this second one, I don’t think either guy has changed too much. When Adesanya is at his best on his feet, he is something to watch. I think the odds are stacked in his favor. I just don’t think Vettori has it in him to pressure and make it sloppy for five rounds without exhausting himself and eventually being put in a position he doesn’t want to be in, getting clipped and put out. He’s a tough dude, but he hasn’t been conditioned to wrestle a guy like Adesanya for five rounds, so I’m picking Adesanya.

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Dodgers’ Ohtani belts 46th HR in record-tying heat

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Dodgers' Ohtani belts 46th HR in record-tying heat

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani hit his 46th home run of the season to tie his career high, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cleveland Guardians 4-0 on Sunday in record-tying heat.

With the first-pitch temperature of 103 degrees matching the hottest in Dodger Stadium history, Ohtani hit a 450-foot solo shot down the right-field line off Tanner Bibee in the fifth inning that was reviewed to see if it was fair.

Ohtani has 22 450-foot home runs for his career, all coming since 2021. That’s five more than any other player over that span.

Ohtani also hit 46 home runs in 2021 for the Los Angeles Angels in his unanimous AL MVP season. The Japanese star has 46 stolen bases in a bid to become the first major league player with a 50-50 season.

He’s also one home run shy of tying Cody Bellinger in 2019 for the third-most homers in a season in Dodgers history.

Ohtani finished the day 2-for-4. He was picked off first base in the third inning.

As far as the scorching temperature, it also was 103 for the first pitch of Game 1 of the 2017 World Series against Houston. On Sunday, the Dodgers made a voucher available to all fans for a free bottle of water.

Jack Flaherty went 7⅓ innings, striking out six and allowing four hits. The Southern California native is 5-1 since coming over in a trade with Detroit.

Max Muncy homered for the Dodgers in the eighth, his 12th of an injury-shortened season.

In Dodgers injury news, pitcher Gavin Stone (right shoulder inflammation) will not throw for 10 days and then build back up and see where he’s at, according to manager Dave Roberts. His status for the postseason is certainly in question with 19 games remaining.

ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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HOFer Boggs announces he has prostate cancer

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HOFer Boggs announces he has prostate cancer

Baseball Hall of Fame member Wade Boggs has prostate cancer.

The former third baseman made the announcement Saturday night on social media and sounded optimistic, saying he will be ready to take part in the ritual cancer patients have of ringing a bell when they have concluded their treatment.

“With the strength and support of my family and my faith in God I’m going to ring that damn bell,” Boggs wrote, adding a photo of a prostate cancer patient guide.

Boggs, 66, played 18 MLB seasons with the Boston Red Sox (1982-92), New York Yankees (1993-97) and the then-Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1998-99).

A five-time batting champion and 12-time All-Star, Boggs was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2005 on the first ballot, garnering votes on 91.9% of ballots.

The Hall of Fame sent good wishes, posting to social media, “We’re with you every step of the way, Wade!”

In his career, Boggs hit .328 and joined the 3,000-hit club, finishing with 3,010 to go with 1,513 runs, 118 homers and 1,014 RBIs.

Boggs’ contemporary and fellow 2005 enshrinee Ryne Sandberg said in mid-August that he was cancer-free following treatment for metastatic prostate cancer.

“Rang the Bell this morning!” Sandberg wrote. “WE did it, WE won! What a Dream Team, family, doctors, friends, nurses, fans who supported myself and [wife] Margaret through the last 8 months! We feel so blessed from all the love, prayers and thoughts and positive words that have come our way!”

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In MLB clubhouses, September hype is building … for fantasy football

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In MLB clubhouses, September hype is building ... for fantasy football

The energy in the clubhouses for Friday night’s game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards was unmistakable.

It was the same intensity that existed in every baseball clubhouse in the major leagues that day — at Fenway, Wrigley, Dodger Stadium. Yes, it’s September, it’s the stretch run, with great pennant races, but this excitement was different because Thursday night, the NFL season opened with the Kansas City Chiefs‘ 27-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens. That means fantasy football is back.

“Guys came in the clubhouse today and they were already running their mouths about last night … and there was only one game — one game,” Orioles catcher James McCann said. “After the first weekend of fantasy, every baseball clubhouse will be bedlam.”

“Monday will be unreal,” said Orioles pitcher Zach Eflin. “Unreal.”

Rays infielder Taylor Walls, who Eflin, a former teammate, lovingly calls “a lunatic” about fantasy football, says it is “an event. I love it because it allows me to — sorry for my language — to talk s—, which I love to do. It allows you to look at a teammate and say, ‘How can you be such an idiot?’ Motor [Rays hitting coach Chad Mottola] had three playmakers from the Ravens on his team last night, and we were all over him today, like, ‘How could you play a running back, wide receiver and a tight end on the same team?’ But fantasy football is all about camaraderie, it’s about bringing a spark to the end of the season. It’s an escape. It’s about staying in the loop with guys even after the season ends.”

This goes on in most clubhouses around the major leagues. The Arizona Diamondbacks determined the order of their fantasy draft by placing each team’s fantasy league name on 12 different baseballs: Whichever manager Torey Lovullo hit the farthest in batting practice got the No. 1 pick, second farthest got No. 2, etc. The Oakland A’s put baseballs with team names on the top of the Coliseum, and players from each fantasy team threw the balls from the roof to targets on the field — closest to the target got the No. 1 pick. The Boston Red Sox hit golf balls off the top of the Green Monster: closest to the pin picked first.

“We just picked out of the hat,” Walls said. “And it was still so much fun.”

Every major league team holds its fantasy league draft as a group, which they note is great for team building approaching a stretch run.

“Ours was so good,” Eflin said. “Pizza, beer and lots of trash talk. Lots of ‘What a reach!'”

The Rays held their 12-team draft when they were in Los Angeles at the end of August.

“It was very relaxed; I spent most of the time looking quietly at my phone,” Rays outfielder Josh Lowe said. “Then there was Motor. He had his pen and paper out, he had his spreadsheets laid out on all the tables as he prepared to take players who were five or six years past their prime.”

“We had 20 guys at ours, it was so good for team chemistry,” Orioles pitcher Danny Coulombe said. “We had guys trying to talk trades as soon as the draft finished. I looked at a few of them and said, ‘I guess you’re not happy with who you drafted, I’m happy with mine.'”

Rays pitcher Ryan Pepiot, during his rookie season with the Dodgers last year, didn’t have a fantasy team but still played a role on draft day.

“I didn’t participate, but they had me read the first-round picks, but they said I took too long, so they replaced me,” he said. “They had me start the proceedings by singing the national anthem. I can’t sing at all. It was more like I just spoke the national anthem. But I participated this year. My teammate is one of our clubhouse guys. I gave him the reins. He was up at 11 o’clock in the East on his computer while we were out West. He put in more effort than me.”

No one puts in more effort than Walls, say his teammates.

“He is a lunatic in a good way; he carries around a fantasy football notebook with him, and I’m sure he has a big white board at his house to track transactions,” said Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe. “He’s really good at his because he really does his homework.”

“That’s not true!” Walls said, laughing. “Guys came to the draft with notebooks and IPads. I winged it!”

Walls was Josh Lowe’s fantasy teammate last year, but each forgot to make a key transaction late during the playoffs, and they lost in the semifinals. So they went out on their own this year. Lowe got the No. 1 pick this year; Walls had it but traded down to No. 3.

“I had inside information on what he was going to do,” Walls said, smiling. “I fleeced him a little bit.”

Lowe said: “When we were general manager and assistant general manager last year, we fleeced a lot of guys. There were times that I had to talk him off the ledge from making another trade. Finally, I told him, ‘Dude, just let the players play.'”

This year, the Orioles also paired up players, instead of each player having his own team.

“I am the owner of the team this year because the last few years haven’t gone very well,” Eflin said, smiling. “I’m with Mitch [Plassmeyer, a pitching instructor] and [pitching coach Drew French]. They make all the player decisions. We have a club president and general manager. I am now just a special assistant.”

According to Coulombe, teammate and fellow reliever Craig Kimbrel has more of a hands-off approach to fantasy.

“Craig said he doesn’t know the players, he’ll just be a silent partner who offers moral support,” Coulombe said. “I asked [Orioles general manager] Mike Elias if he wanted to be our GM, and he said he had a real major league team to run.”

McCann is teammates with outfielder Austin Slater.

“With the Mets, Mark Canha and I won our fantasy league,” McCann said. “But last year didn’t go well. I drafted the All-Injured Team.”

Among the top names of fantasy teams among the Rays and Orioles this year:

“We wanted to play off the [clear] mask that I wear when I catch,” McCann said. “So we’re The Masked Bandits. But if we lose for a couple of weeks, I’m sure we will change.”

“We are The Ef Shack,” Eflin said. “I don’t know what that means.”

“I am ‘The Real Slim Shady’ because I have Joe Burrow, and he has gray hair,” Walls said.

“I am JLowe,” Lowe said. “If I start to lose, I’m sure I will change it.”

“Our team is Love Thy Nabers because we drafted [Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers],” Pepiot said.

Each MLB team has a commissioner; the Rays’ is pitcher Kevin Kelly.

“[Teammate] Pete Fairbanks gave me the job last year because I was a rookie, he just gave me some pens and paper and asked me to go around the room and see who wants to play,” Kelly said, smiling. “I don’t do much. I just collect the money. Technically, all transactions have to go through me. I don’t have a team in the league. That would be a conflict of interest. That’s another reason they made me commissioner.”

The Orioles’ commissioner is Ryan Klimek, a statistical analyst.

“His team won last year,” Coulombe said, adding with a laugh: “We’re not happy that he is still the commissioner.”

And though a lot of players monitor fantasy football very closely — “a lot of the guys come to me during a game and say, ‘Go check the score, go check the score,'” said Pepiot of days when he’s not playing — the fantasy football craze is all for fun.

“We play 162 games in 180-some days, sometimes you have to get outside of the game and enjoy something else,” Lowe said.

“It really brings the clubhouse together,” McCann said. “We are heading toward playoff time, we need to take our minds off the things that are really important. I know it sounds crazy, but sometimes, you have to make it about something different. It’s like binge watching a new show, sometimes you have to just open a new head space. That’s what it does.”

Though the Rays have money at stake — between $200 and $1,000 — Walls said, “It’s not about the money, it’s about the competition, it’s about bragging rights.”

The competition in baseball clubhouses just got more intense. Football is here.

“I had dinner with my mom the other night and I told her right now is the best time of year,” McCann said. “It’s September baseball. The playoffs are ahead. And football has started.”

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