Islam Makhachev will go down as one of the UFC’s greatest fighters. After dominating the lightweight division, he moved up to welterweight, where he’s continued to do the same, with his most recent victory at UFC 330 against Ian Machado Garry further cementing his legacy.

There does, however, remain one blemish on Makhachev’s UFC record, which came in only his second fight in the promotion when he suffered a knockout defeat to the more experienced Adriano Martins.

Less than two minutes into the first round, the Dagestan native was caught with a looping right hand which dropped him and put an early end to the fight.

Islam Makhachev vs Adriano Martins at UFC 192

After dominating in regional promotions in Russia, and being renowned for his wrestling, Makhachev spent time with the American Kickboxing Academy to work on his striking. It seems that the then 23-year-old was eager to show his new skills when he flew out of the traps with a barrage of overhand lefts, which his Brazilian opponent evaded with ease.

Martins took the fight at short notice and admitted he didn’t know too much about his promising opponent, who was nine years his junior. This may have gone in the Brazilian’s favour, as the Russian stood and tried to trade blows instead of using his usual wrestling style, seemingly going for an early finish.

This led to members of Makhachev’s corner to plead with him to slow things down, and take his time. However, this advice fell on deaf ears, as another overhand left opened him up to a wonderfully executed counter from Martins, which forced the referee to put an end to proceedings.

Islam Makhachev Hasn’t Looked Back Since UFC 192 Loss

Adriano Martins, meanwhile, has struggled ever since

But from that day, the careers of these two have gone in completely different directions.

While Makhachev has gone on to dominate the lightweight division, and now the welterweight division, beating names such as Charles Oliveira, Dustin Poirier, and Alexander Volkanovski, Martins didn’t taste victory again until March 2024, almost nine years later.

After such a disastrous defeat in only his second bout in the UFC, it would have been understandable to see Islam Makhachev’s confidence dwindle, especially at such a young age. But he went away, learned from his defeat, and continued with his striking training and became the number one UFC pound-for-pound fighter.

Manchester United have completed their pre-season preparations ahead of the new Premier League campaign, and Michael Carrick has picked up some serious lessons in the process.

The Red Devils played six friendly matches during the summer, claiming two wins (5-0 vs Rosenborg, 2-1 vs Atletico Madrid), two draws (1-1 vs PSG, 1-1 vs Leeds) and two losses (1-0 vs Wrexham, 4-2 vs AC Milan), as Carrick looked to start to implement his ideas and plans into the squad for the long-term, having been appointed permanently following an excellent interim spell last season.

Some things have worked, and some less so, while other things have become evident. Here are five things we learnt during the team’s pre-season, and what we can likely expect in the coming weeks of the transfer window and the rest of the campaign.

1. Mason Mount Can’t Be Relied On

Carrick is clearly a big fan of Mason Mount, and he is trying to find a place in his team for the former Chelsea star. Mount has made just 72 appearances for the club over three seasons since joining in a £60m deal, with his time at Old Trafford plagued by injuries.

But Carrick tried to give him a new, deeper role in midfield, which initially saw him playing some of his best football in a red shirt alongside Andrey Santos. It even saw reports emerge that the club were considering altering their transfer strategy away from signing a new midfielder this summer.

However, Mount was once again injured against PSG within 30 mins of the game, and subsequently missed the last two pre-season games. Man Utd say it was only a precaution, but it’s evident that Mount isn’t someone who can be relied upon going forward, and plans must be made to ensure his absence is covered for within the squad.

2. Luke Shaw Needs Replacing

Luke Shaw has been at Man Utd since 2014, when he signed from Southampton in a deal worth £30m. Since then, he has had ups and downs at the club, but injuries have been a constant issue.

In 2025/26 Shaw was the only Man Utd player to start every Premier League game, but his performances regularly left plenty to be desired, and with a return to a back four and the fact that United will be playing twice a week, injury concerns are a concern once again.

His performances in pre-season have shown why the club are reportedly keen to bring in a new left-back too, and with just over two weeks remaining of the window, INEOS must step up their plans to find a new first-choice left-back immediately.

3. Heaven and Lacey Ready to Explode

via Reuters

Pre-season has been a great opportunity for young players to show if they’re ready to make an impact on the first-team this summer, and two have stepped up more than others.

Ayden Heaven has regularly impressed when featuring for the first-team, but often finds himself behind all the more senior options in the squad. However, this summer, he has proven that he is ready to play when called upon, and arguably deserves his place in the starting lineup for the opening game against Hull.

Alongside him, Shea Lacey is quite clearly ready to fight for a place in the team. The 19-year-old has been one of the standout performers during pre-season, and his technical qualities are there for all to see. Despite having an abundance of attacking options available, Lacey deserves to be considered for minutes just as regularly as anyone else.

4. Zirkzee May Have Man Utd Future

Joshua Zirkzee has struggled for regular first-team minutes at Man Utd since his arrival from Bologna two summers ago, and Carrick hasn’t seemingly been a major fan of the Netherlands star either.

Benjamin Sesko is the first-choice striker, while Bryan Mbeumo has often played up front too. With Matheus Cunha and Marcus Rashford also in the squad and capable of playing as a number nine, Zirkzee’s future at Old Trafford looked bleak.

But his performances in pre-season have shown that stylistically he can fit into the squad well, and link with the attackers around him, and that he is capable of having a future at the club if interest in him doesn’t materialise before the end of the window.

5. Man Utd Need 3 More Signings

REUTERS/Scott Heppell

Despite some decent performances in pre-season, and some good signings coming in already, it’s very evident that Man Utd need more if they want to be competitive this season.

As mentioned, a left-back should be an absolute priority before the deadline on September 1st, but the club also need a third central midfield signing to come in. Someone who covers ground well and can win the ball back would be the ideal signing, and there are plenty of names being linked to the club.

More depth in attack would be coming in in an ideal world too, with Benjamin Sesko yet to feature in pre-season. More sources for goals would never be frowned upon, and Carrick has also made it clear that he thinks the squad needs more, so the final weeks of the window could shape the new campaign.

The 2026/27 Premier League season promises to be one of the fascinating campaigns in recent years.

Arsenal go into the new term as reigning champions and are being backed by many, including Jeff Stelling, to retain their title.

They will not have it easy, though. Manchester City, now managed by Enzo Maresca, and Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool will be desperate to become English champions once more.

Manchester United, who were so impressive at the end of the 25/26 campaign under Michael Carrick, have strengthened this summer and will be hoping to end their title drought.

While Chelsea and Tottenham are both set to be much better this year after spending huge amounts of money bolstering their squad in the summer months.

With the campaign just a few days away, former Premier League player Ashley Young was asked by Sky Sports to blind rank where he thinks all 20 English top-flight clubs will finish this season.

Bottom Half (20-11)

REUTERS/Hollie Adams

Young, who made 485 Premier League appearances, thinks Coventry City and Hull City will go straight back down to the Championship.

He thinks that his former side, Ipswich Town, will just have enough to survive relegation, with Leeds United joining Coventry and Hull in the relegation zone.

Young, now 41 years old, thinks Sunderland, Fulham and Nottingham Forest will all have underwhelming seasons but ultimately have just enough quality to survive the drop.

Interestingly, Young doesn’t think Tottenham will finish in the top half. Spurs have spent big this summer, with Sandro Tonali, Andy Robertson and Matheus Fernandes among the players that have joined. The Englishman thinks they will improve this season but not by much.

Completing Young’s bottom half is Crystal Palace, now managed by Pierre Sage, and Brighton & Hove Albion, who will play UEFA Conference League football this season.

Top Half (10-1)

REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

Brentford, who finished ninth in 25/26 and narrowly missed out on European football, will just creep into the top 10 this season, according to Young.

Young has backed his former side Everton to finish ninth, behind Newcastle United, who lost Eddie Howe and several key players this summer, and Bournemouth.

The Englishman played 247 times for Aston Villa across two spells, but he thinks they will finish outside the top five this season and ultimately miss out on Champions League football.

Liverpool finished fifth in 25/26 and Young has backed them to finish there again, with Man City just ahead of them.

Chelsea, who aren’t competing in Europe this season, will be much improved this campaign and finished third this campaign, according to Young.

Perhaps surprisingly, Young thinks Arsenal will not retain their title this season and finish second, behind his former club Manchester United.

Young, who played 261 times for the Red Devils and was part of their last Premier League winning side in 2012/13, thinks Michael Carrick will lead them to glory.

Unsurprisingly, Young’s decision to back his former side has not gone down very well, with many football fans expressing their disbelief on Instagram.