MMA fans were left rather bemused a couple of years ago when two female fighters exchanged a rather steamy kiss during their weigh-in face-off.

Usually, a face-off is a final opportunity before fight night to intimidate your opponent with a few words, with fighters often pushing and shoving the other. This was not the case, however, at the Clash of the Stars event back in 2023.

Karina Pedro and Denisa Ryndova were up against each other alongside teammates Inked Dory and Kristal Shine, but it was the former two that stole the limelight and the headlines during the face-off.

Ahead of their bout in Prague, the two put their heads together, with Denisa seemingly leaning in for a kiss. The feeling seemed to be mutual, with Karina smiling before grabbing her opponent’s face and returning the favour.

Although friendly at the weigh-in, the mood was very different in the cage, as you would obviously expect, with Karina and Inked Dory coming away as winners.

Sharing a clip on Instagram, she wrote: “Somehow I didn’t realise that the whole gala @clashofthestars is already over.

“I’ll at least throw here my favourite moment of this whole crazy journey.”

Karina, who is an OnlyFans star, similarly posted the footage on social media, adding: “This is pure fire… Staredown with @_dryndova_.

“I had to throw it here too. Harmonious energy flowed between us, and still we struggled in the cage like dragons.”

Speaking about her win, she also said: “I have very strong emotions. Winning is a great satisfaction for me. We gave everything into the preparations and the match itself. A person who has never faced their opponent in the ring can hardly imagine how difficult it is.”

Kisses in Other Face-Offs

This may be a rare sight in fighting, however, this is not the first time two warriors have exchanged a kiss.

During the UFC 228 weigh-in, Craig White pecked Diego Sanchez on the nose, but in this case, the love was not shared – Sanchez immediately reacted, backing away from White, shouting at him in the process.

We have also seen similar antics from heavyweight boxer Derek Chisora when he fought Carl Baker in 2010, again not welcomely received.

The question of what sports stars do after they’ve called time on their career is an interesting one for fans. No one kids themselves into thinking that a life in the spotlight is ever finite, but what happens when the attention fades and alternative vocations must be found?

The Spirit Squad were a professional wrestling stable competing in WWE consisting of Kenny, Johnny, Mitch, Nicky, and Mikey. The group adopted a team ring persona of an all-male cheerleading squad.

Vince McMahon, the WWE chairman at the time, thought of the concept and wanted the group to be comprised of four wrestlers from the promotion’s developmental programme, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). However, when Elijah Burke rejected McMahon’s offer, lacking the ability to perform the necessary acrobatics, he was replaced by two wrestlers to bring the total number to five.

All members were familiar with each other, as they had been opponents in OVW and began their team career by achieving success. Three months after their Raw debut, the team won the World Tag Team Championship and were all collectively recognised as champions, with the ability to choose which two members defended their championship when required.

Their win made history as it was the first time that five wrestlers had been simultaneously acknowledged as world tag team champions.

Following their failure to defend the Tag Team Championship in November 2006, the group dissolved, and the members were returned to development.

But that raises the question: what has happened to each one of the members and where are they now?

What Happened to Every Member of the Spirit Squad

Nicky

Nicky returned to OVW and worked with Mike Mondo, known as Mikey in the Spirit Squad, as the ‘Frat Pack’, but the team would disband in early 2007. He and Mondo were sent to the Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) developmental territory, in which Nicky earned the nickname ‘The Natural’. He won the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship twice, then, in 2009, he was repackaged as Dolph Ziggler and began competing in WWE again.

As Ziggler, he won the World Heavyweight and United States Championships twice and the Intercontinental Championship six times as part of a highly successful 19-year run in WWE. He now competes under his real name as Nic Nemeth for TNA Wrestling and is the current TNA World Champion in his second reign.

Kenny

Following the disbanding of Spirit Squad, Kenny competed as Kenny Dykstra, feuding with Ric Flair and competing in the 2007 Royal Rumble match, where he was eliminated by Edge.

He became a cornerstone on Raw’s sister show Heat, where he feuded with both Eugene and Val Venis. He briefly formed a tag team partnership with Johnny Nitro before being drafted to SmackDown. He competed in a 20-man Battle Royal for the World Heavyweight Championship, but was eliminated by Chris Masters. He would take part in the revival of the Spirit Squad, including fighting former member Ziggler alongside Mikey in a two-on-one handicap match.

Kenny retired from in-ring action in 2021, ending his 20-year career as a professional wrestler. He now operates under his real name, Ken Doane, working for WWE as a trainer at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida and as a producer on Raw and SmackDown. In his role as a producer, he has broken up brawls between wrestlers such as Kevin Owens and The Bloodline and Chelsea Green has said that Doane is one of the most important producers for advancing her character.

Mikey

Mikey is still a professional wrestler, performing on the independent circuit as Mike Mondo, primarily for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). He is the current NWA national heavyweight champion in his first reign and is known as ‘The Human Gut Checkin’ Machine’ Mike Mondo, and was ranked the breakthrough star of the year in 2025.

He has had a successful career on the independent circuit and in development, winning the OVW Heavyweight Championship twice, the OVW Television Championship once, and the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship once alongside Turcan Celik, making him the sixth OVW Triple Crown champion. He is also a three-time New York Wrestling Connection (NYWC) heavyweight champion, one-time NYWC Fusion champion, a one-time NYWC tag team champion with Kenny, and a NYWC Trios champion with Darius The Juggernaut and Sean Wachter. These achievements led him to be inducted into the NYWC Hall of Fame.

Johnny

Johnny, also known by his real name Johnny Jeter, briefly returned to the main roster when he featured in a 30-man battle royal on Raw, but ultimately returned to OVW, unsuccessfully challenging for the OVW Television Championship and the OVW Heavyweight Championship. He made appearances at ECW live events and wrestled in dark matches prior to Raw and SmackDown, but left WWE in 2008.

In 2019, it was revealed he left the promotion due to battling an addiction to painkillers and left of his own accord. He broke his retirement to compete in Chikara’s 2014 King of Trios tournament with his former Spirit Squad teammates, Kenny and Mikey, but they were eliminated in the second round by the Golden Trio. Following this, Johnny returned to retirement, though, would briefly break it again to make appearances in Championship Wrestling from Arizona (CWFA).

After his initial retirement in 2008, Jeter studied accounting at California State University, earning his Bachelor of Science in Professional Accountancy. He now lives a normal life working in internal audit.

Mitch

Finally, Mitch, known by his real name Nick Mitchell, was released from his contract following the separation of Spirit Squad and retired from professional wrestling.

He had a brief career in mixed martial arts (MMA), making his debut on the 9th of April 2010 against future UFC star, Derrick Lewis, losing in the second round by technical knockout. He was set to fight again in December of that year, but pulled out due to an injury.

After over 15 years of retirement, he returned to professional wrestling for one night in 2022, competing for Tomahawk Professional Wrestling against Lou Gotti. He has rejected opportunities to wrestle again with the Spirit Squad for their reunion fights and now lives a very private and quiet life, becoming deeply religious.

He is now married and a father, and owns Optimum Concrete Works, a business specialising in concrete polishing, staining, and epoxy coatings based in Texas.

The Spirit Squad members are now on very different paths since their championship win 20 years ago, and while some of their choices may seem surprising, they appear to have found their feet in the uncertain moments after their wrestling careers ended, and have found new ventures to occupy themselves.

A new era at Newcastle United is now underway following the appointment of Matthias Jaissle as the club’s new head coach.

The 38-year-old German takes on the top job at St James’ Park going into the new season following Eddie Howe’s departure after almost five years at the club.

It has been a summer of change on Tyneside with key players Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon completing transfers to Tottenham and Barcelona respectively prior to Howe’s exit.

Captain Bruno Guimaraes is set to become the latest high-profile departure with a £75m move to Premier League champions Arsenal to be finalised.

Newcastle have already brought in five new players so far this summer but more could be set to follow when it comes to rebuilding the squad at Jaissle’s disposal.

El Khannouss transfer option

Reuters

Newcastle are one of three Premier League clubs targeting a move for VfB Stuttgart ace Bilal El Khannouss this summer.

The Moroccan will be familiar to many fans after spending one year with Leicester City during the 2024/25 campaign before joining Stuttgart on loan last summer.

The attacking midfielder’s move was made permanent back in May after contributing nine goals in 41 appearances for the Bundesliga outfit.

However, a possible exit from the MHPArena is a possibility with Newcastle one of a trio of Premier League clubs eyeing him up.

According to FußballDaten.de, the Magpies, Tottenham and Crystal Palace are all interested in the Moroccan international.

Newcastle’s scouting department view El Khannouss as a player who has the physicality and technical skills to cope with the intense nature of the Premier League.

As the north east club would be able to meet the player’s salary demands, this strengthens the club’s position in the transfer market when it comes to trying to win the race for his signature.

El Khannouss potential transfer fee

El Khannouss, described as being ‘very similar to Rayan Cherki’ of Man City by journalist Graeme Bailey, is currently contracted to Stuttgart until the summer of 2029 after only recently turning his loan deal into a permanent move.

Despite the success of the player in his first year with the German club, they would be willing to sanction his exit if a bid they deem acceptable comes in for his services.

FußballDaten.de report that the club’s leadership would demand a fee between €40-50m (£34.3m-£42.9m) for El Khannouss.

Loans or purchase options below the figure are not to be considered, with a direct payment or binding purchase obligation something that would be deliberated.