Former two-time UFC champion Conor McGregor has revealed the timeline for his return to the UFC, following his disappointing loss in the Octagon earlier this month.

Notorious made a highly-anticipated return to MMA five years after his last fight for Dana White’s promotion. But sadly, a fairytale return at UFC 329 wasn’t on the cards for McGregor. After missing two high kicks in the early moments of the fight against Max Holloway, the Irishman dropped to the canvas, favouring his knee. After struggling to his feet, the referee called the fight, handing Holloway victory via TKO.

McGregor confirmed a difficult diagnosis after the fight, sharing that he had torn both his meniscus and ACL. UFC president Dana White revealed that he would be out of action for at least a year.

McGregor Contract Situation

Credit: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

The UFC legend celebrated his 38th birthday earlier this month. With or without injury, the Irish fighter is no spring chicken. McGregor is contracted for one more fight in the UFC and with this serious knee injury and his age, there’s a good chance that it will be his last for Dana White’s promotion.

The fighter seemed to back this suggestion with his latest Instagram update on his MMA career, with a 2027 comeback the goal for McGregor.

“What was to be a generational beating is now to be reset. IFW 2027 The Last Dance,” wrote a determined McGregor. ‘IFW 2027’ is a reference to International Fight Week, which is historically held in early July in Las Vegas and headlined by a UFC pay-per-view.

Who will be McGregor’s Final Opponent?

Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

The proposed 2027 retirement match will bring the curtain down on one of the UFC’s biggest stars. So, understandably, fans are curious about whom the Irishman plans to fight in his final bout. McGregor responded to an X user’s question about that exact topic earlier this month, and it seems that Notorious wants to right the wrongs of his unfortunate UFC 329 outing by locking in a rematch with Max Holloway.

However, the prospect of being McGregor’s final opponent is a huge carrot. In fact, one so huge that it has tempted an already retired UFC star back to the Octagon. The Irishman’s former opponent, Dustin Poirier, has laid down the gauntlet to the injured fighter: “I’ll tell you what, whenever he is healed up, hit me up, Conor.

“I’ll come back and whip you again. I would come back to whip again at 170 [pounds], I don’t think he would.”

Poirier has fought McGregor three times, winning twice against the former UFC champion. And the retired American is clearly keen to try and secure the hat-trick against his old rival. For now, Holloway is the target for the rehabbing McGregor, but the war cry from Poirier may have the Irishman thinking about a John Cena-style retirement tour when he gets back to full fitness.

Cristian Romero played a big role for his country in what, ultimately, was disappointment at the World Cup.

Argentina came in for major criticism for the way they went about things in the semi-final with England and the final against Spain, but the Tottenham captain impressed at the heart of defence.

He notably scored La Albiceleste’s first goal that sparked a 3-2 win over Egypt on Tuesday after initially trailing 2-0 with 11 minutes remaining.

Now the centre-back’s World Cup participation is at an end, Romero’s Tottenham future has become a huge talking point amid the possibility of a summer exit with Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and now Inter Milan heavily linked with signing the 28-year-old. Reports on social media on Monday suggested that the “basic framework of an agreement” was in place with Inter for a €40million (£34million) deal.

What next for Tottenham and Romero?

Romero, described by Lionel Messi before as the “best defender in the world”, has been linked with a transfer away from Tottenham in previous summers but he has so far remained in N17.

However, this could finally be the year the club cash in on him after strengthening their backline with the summer additions of Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi.

In an exclusive interview with GIVEMESPORT, former Tottenham goalkeeper Brad Friedel gave his thoughts on what comes next for the World Cup winner.

“I think so,” said the ex-goalkeeper on whether this is the summer where Romero heads for pastures new. “You know he’s had some interesting moments at Tottenham both on and off the pitch. For whatever reason, I don’t know if he plays brilliantly for Argentina, although they’re leaking a few goals this World Cup.

“His attitude at times with Tottenham, I think he was one of the issues over the last couple of seasons, which is a shame, not, you know, one of the solutions. So I can fully understand the club wanting to part ways, and I fully understand why they’ve brought other players in.”

There will be a new-look defence at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

It has been all change in the heart of defence for Roberto De Zerbi so far this summer.

Spending £52million on the addition of van Hecke from Brighton & Hove Albion, Senesi, Romero’s Argentina teammate, has also moved to the club on a free transfer from Bournemouth.

Radu Dragusin departed Tottenham after two-and-a-half years in north London to join Fiorentina on loan for the 2026/27 season.

The Romanian’s move to Florence will become permanent if specific performance-based criteria are met due to an obligation in the agreement struck between the clubs.

Another defender who also headed to exit door was Luka Vuskovic, despite never playing a senior game for Tottenham, with the Croat completing a £46million move to Brighton that could rise to £50million with add-ons.

As things stand, Tottenham have Romero, Senesi, Van Hecke, Micky van de Ven, Kevin Danso, Ben Davies, Kota Takai and Ashley Phillips as centre-back options.

There is expected to be some more movement there before the summer transfer window closes, with Romero a possible outgoing if Spurs believe the time is right to sell their captain.

Brad Friedel was speaking in association with Tonybet. Tonybet’s World Cup Card Collection campaign can see Canadian customers win up to $150,000 CAD.

Sport has always had its controversies and scandals and cricket is no exception, from the highest echelons of the game right down to the local level.

‘Sandpapergate’ is one such incident. In 2018, during the third Test between Australia and South Africa, Australian batsman Cameron Bancroft was spotted on camera using sandpaper to illegally scuff and roughen the ball with the full knowledge of his captain, Steve Smith, and vice-captain, David Warner. The team hoped that it would curve in the air and confuse the South African batters, who would hit the ball incorrectly. Both Warner and Smith were suspended from international and domestic cricket for 12 months, while Bancroft was suspended for nine months.

But now there’s a new scandal that is rocking the sport, this time in local cricket, and it has sent shockwaves through the cricketing community.

Saltburn Cricket Club are currently first on the division two ladder in the North Yorkshire and South Durham Cricket League after 15 matches, but they are now facing serious allegations of cheating that threaten to unravel their good form, with severe sanctions likely if they are proven guilty.

Cricket Team Goes Viral For ‘Cheating’

In a now viral video, a fielder can be seen to click his fingers as the ball goes past the bat to mimic the sound of the ball clipping the bat on several separate occasions. Each time, the keeper catches the ball behind the stumps and the fielding side appeal to the umpire, who gives it out.

In one clip, an aggravated batter can be seen to complain to the umpire and point towards the fielder at first slip, who has allegedly clicked his fingers.

While it could be difficult to prove conclusively that the batter has missed the ball, due to the video quality and angle of the footage, a gap between the bat and the ball can be seen as a shot has been played, which is visible in still images obtained from the original footage.

A fact which is increasing suspicion is the impressive catching record of Saltburn’s wicket keeper, who has taken 31 catches in his last eight matches, including eight in one innings, one more than the Test record of seven. For context, the record for the most catches by a wicketkeeper in a Test series belongs to former Australian gloveman Brad Haddin, who took 29 catches across 10 innings in the 2013 Ashes.

Reuters / Philip Brown Livepic

The club have removed some official streams of their matches from their website since the accusations have been made, which has raised some eyebrows.

North Yorkshire and South Durham Cricket League have since made a statement and said: “The League have received a formal complaint regarding alleged incidents in a Division Two game on Saturday.

“A full investigation has been made and until such time as the formal processes are complete no further comment will be made.”

Fellow cricketers in the league have accused the club of cheating.

Ben Mummery, a local cricketer from Durham, was the first to make this claim and commented: “Saltburn first slip clicks his fingers to imitate an edge, but nowhere near it and given out.

“This is about the worst case of cheating I’ve ever seen in cricket. Apparently, their keeper has a huge amount of catches this season.”

He’s not the only one to decry it. The Middlesbrough captain, Rory Cotterill, whose side are currently ninth in the league, commented on another clip: “There were two more incidents during this game, leading to a 15-and 16-year-old being cheated out of an innings, along with this one.

“I was at the non-strikers’ end at the time, unknowingly watching them cheat in real time. We lost this game by 29 runs. Shocking.”

Veteran broadcaster Piers Morgan also weighed in on the footage, branding it “outrageous”:

British cricket writer Amer Malik was the first to mention the possible consequences. He said: “Looks as if Saltburn CC are in for a rude awakening.

“Having allegedly cheated their way through each weekend, the only viable option is to relegate them to the lowest division and impose extended bans on every first and second team player who represented the club during the period in question.”

The club is facing strong sanctions if they are found guilty, but the investigation has the power to not just rock the league but English cricket as a whole, with such actions strongly rebuked. Cricket fans will be waiting anxiously to discover the verdict and what lasting damage it will cause to the sport and its reputation.