Reigning UFC Welterweight Champion Islam Makhachev successfully defended his title in the main event of UFC 330, beating Ian Machado Garry by unanimous decision.

The win was a history-making one for the Russian grappler as it marked his 17th consecutive victory inside the Octagon, which is a company record.

However, while the 34-year-old is still a champion, he wasn’t quite as dominant as he was down at lightweight, where he held UFC gold before vacating the title to move up to 170lbs.

Islam Makhachev ‘Tested’ at UFC 330

Credit: Zuffa LLC

Although Islam’s grappling was still effective, he struggled to keep his Irish opponent pinned to the mat in the same way that he had done to foes in the lighter weight class.

Some observers, including UFC CEO Dana White, even felt that Machado Garry could have possibly snatched the title if he had gone all out for the victory during the final round of the fight.

UFC commentator Joe Rogan spoke after the bout on why the move up to welterweight presents such a big challenge to Makhachev.

“He [Makhachev] did when he had to do. He was really tested in ways that we haven’t seen him tested before. Although he won by a healthy margin, there were moments where you’re used to Islam having a certain amount of control, and he just didn’t have it over the bigger guy.”

Joe Rogan Warns Islam Makhachev to Avoid Welterweight With ‘Nuclear Power’

The veteran podcaster went on to warn that one fighter, in particular, would be a problem for Islam.

“This was the question after the move up to 170. There are some guys like Michael Morales who are absolutely gigantic. The gap is bigger than it is with Ian Garry.

Ecuador’s Morales is undefeated as a professional, with 19 straight wins and 14 knockouts. The 27-year-old has won each of his last three UFC contests via KO, defeating names such as Neil Magny, Gilbert Burns and Sean Brady.

He is currently the number three ranked welterweight in the UFC, but Rogan urged Makhachev to steer clear of him if he wants to remain atop the 170lbs division.

Makhachev mentioned Morales’ name in his UFC 330 post-fight press conference, but appeared to dismiss the idea of facing him next, stating that he wasn’t sure when he had last fought. The Russian grappler then made it clear that he already had a date and opponent in mind for his next title defence.

Whether Morales is next in line after that fight remains to be seen, but Makhachev has admitted that he doesn’t believe he has long left in his UFC career.

Speaking before UFC 330, he declared:

“I understand I’m not 28 years old; I’m 34 right now. And I don’t have much time. Sometimes, it’s not going like you want in the UFC. You want to fight after three or four months, but it’s not according to your wish.”

The new Premier League season is almost upon us and Tottenham Hotspur open their account with the short trip across London to take on Brentford on Saturday evening.

Pre-season is complete, everything now is geared towards that season opener and Roberto De Zerbi getting the new season up and running with three points.

After back-to-back 17th-placed finishes in the Premier League, things could not get much worse for Spurs, save for suffering relegation, which they just managed to avoid on the final day of last season by beating Everton 1-0.

De Zerbi will be tasked with getting Tottenham back towards the top of the table once more and challenging for the UEFA Champions League spots.

In trying to do that he has made a swathe of changes to the squad he inherited from Igor Tudor at the end of March. Eleven players have been moved on, with the two loanees – Joao Palhinha and Randal Kolo Muani – not returning to the club either. Six new players have arrived and there are expected to be more incoming and outgoing deals completed before the summer transfer window closes on September 1.

With the new season just five days away for Spurs have completed their pre-season preparations and GIVEMESPORT takes a look at what we and De Zerbi will have learned from it.

Tottenham need a striker

Ok, so this is hardly something we learned in pre-season, we knew this before the summer, but with the season almost here, it’s crystal clear that one piece of transfer business remains unattended.

Spurs had Richarlison and Dominic Solanke in their ranks last season, with Kolo Muani able to play through the middle too. Now, with the ineffective Frenchman gone, the emphasis is on just Richarlison and Solanke.

De Zerbi remains unsure as to whether Richarlison actually wants to stay at the club, while Solanke has hardly played in pre-season – continuing to have injury problems that blighted his 2025/26 campaign.

Solanke can be the perfect No.9 for De Zerbi, if he stays fit, but there is a clear need for another striker to arrive at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer.

Central defence hint

There has been no sign of Micky van de Ven in pre-season so far. And with Cristian Romero departing the club for Atletico Madrid this summer, you would have thought the Dutchman would be the first name on the teamsheet at the back against Brentford.

New signings Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi were paired together in the 3-0 win over Hoffenheim on Saturday and played 81 minutes together.

It appears they will be the first choice pairing for the opening game of the season, with van de Ven edged back into contention as the weeks go on and increasing his minutes over time.

Sandro Tonali is the real deal

Action Images via Reuters/Matthew Childs

Tottenham supporters will be expecting a lot from Sandro Tonali, since he has become the club’s first £100million player – providing the add-on bonuses are met over time.

Speaking after the win over Hoffenheim on Saturday, football.london’s Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold said: “The 26-year-old will become Spurs’ metronome. He will dictate their rhythm, their tempo and the way that Roberto De Zerbi’s team will play. The Tottenham boss has wanted Tonali to play for him for years and finally he has taken charge of a club with the means and willingness to make it happen.

The Italian will have got up to speed with 90 minutes in that match and will be a key component of the way De Zerbi wants his Spurs team to play football.

Who else plays in midfield?

Action Images via Reuters

Tonali was joined in the middle of the park by Conor Gallagher and Lucas Bergvall on Saturday, with fellow new signing Mateus Fernandes, James Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Matar Sarr playing against the same opposition on Sunday.

De Zerbi has a wealth of options in that area of the pitch and it will be interesting to see who gets the nod alongside Tonali. If De Zerbi plays his 4-2-3-1 formation, you’d imagine Tonali will play in one of the more reserved roles, with Maddison, if deemed fit enough, the creative link to play in the 10. That means Bergvall, Bentancur, Fernandes, Sarr and Gallagher, as well as Archie Gray who filled in at right-back on Saturday, are all fighting for one other position. The strength in depth is hugely encouraging.

Attack needs work, but it could be very exciting

Jay Biggerstaff (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters)

If Spurs do sign a new No.9, they will not stop there. There are plans for the Lilywhites to bring in three new signings before the transfer window shuts, with two side forward also on the agenda.

It just would have been nice to get all of the business wrapped up before the season began, after starting the window so promisingly with that influx of defensive and midfield signings.

Tottenham are in advanced talks with Manchester City and Liverpool over the signings of Savinho and Cody Gakpo respectively and it would make for a very exciting frontline and squad in general if Spurs do get three attacking signings over the line before September 1’s deadline.

Few teenagers have packed more into their first few years of senior football than Aston Villa striker Brian Madjo.

Before his 18th birthday, the Villa forward had made a record-breaking professional debut in France, won three senior caps for Luxembourg, switched allegiance to England, and become the subject of a Court of Arbitration for Sport case against FIFA.

Following his opener in the 2026 Super Cup final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, the six-foot-four powerhouse truly announced himself to the footballing world.

Here is how his international situation actually works.

Which International Team Does Brian Madjo Represent?

Reuters

Madjo represents England. He was first called into the England Under-17 squad in August 2025 and scored on his debut against Venezuela the following month, going on to register four goals in his first nine appearances at that level.

Before that, he played senior international football for Luxembourg. All three of his caps came in friendlies in the first half of 2025, when he was still 16:

• Luxembourg 1-0 Sweden 22 March 2025
• Switzerland 3-1 Luxembourg — 25 March 2025
• Luxembourg 0-1 Slovenia — 6 June 2025

Those three appearances are what made his eligibility a talking point — and, indirectly, what later brought FIFA into a dispute over his club registration.

How Did Brian Madjo Play for Luxembourg Then England?

The short answer is that dual eligibility is extremely common, and FIFA’s rules clearly allow players to change association once, provided certain conditions are met.

The eligibility rules are principally underpinned by nationality. A player can qualify for a national team through birth in the country, through a parent or grandparent born there, or through a sustained period of residency. But one must first have the nationality (citizenship). Anyone whose family history crosses borders can therefore potentially hold eligibility for two or more countries simultaneously, and playing football for one does not permanently commit them to it.

The most crucial distinction comes in friendlies and competitive matches. Under FIFA’s regulations, only appearances in official competition — qualifiers and tournament matches — tie a player to an association. Friendlies do not. Given that every one of Madjo’s Luxembourg caps came in friendly games, he was technically never cap-tied, and the route to England remained a simple option. Even competitive appearances are no longer necessarily final at this point.

Since a rule change back in September 2020, a player who has featured in official matches at senior level may still switch if they played no more than three such games, all before turning 21, never appeared at a World Cup or continental final tournament, held the new country’s nationality at the time of their first appearance for the old one, and have waited three years since that last appearance.

The Declan Rice Comparison

The most familiar precedent in English football is Declan Rice. Born in London to a family with Irish grandparents, Rice played three senior friendlies for the Republic of Ireland during 2018 — against Turkey, France and the United States — having represented them throughout the youth grades.

Since all three games were friendlies rather than competitive fixtures, the switch remained available to him, and FIFA confirmed his change of association to England in March 2019. He made his England debut later that month. Madjo’s situation follows a near-identical logic: three senior friendlies, no competitive caps, a switch permitted.

Brian Madjo’s International Eligibility

Reuters

Madjo’s England eligibility is the most straightforward part of the story. He was born in Enfield, north London, on 12 January 2009, and is a British citizen by birth. That alone qualifies him for England under FIFA’s rules, and it remains the foundation of his current status. His wider background is far more layered due to his parents being from Cameroon — his father, Guy Madjo, was a professional footballer — and Madjo left England as a young child and was raised in Luxembourg.

He came through the youth systems at Marisca Mersch and Racing Union before joining FC Metz in France in 2023. That upbringing is what brought him into Luxembourg’s national setup: FIFA permits qualification through citizenship gained via long-term residency, and his formative years were spent entirely in the country.

He signed his first professional contract at Metz in July 2025 and made his senior debut against Strasbourg that August, aged 16 years and 217 days — the youngest debutant in the club’s history, beating a record set by Bernard Zénier in 1974. Aston Villa signed him in January 2026, on his 17th birthday, in a deal reported at around £10 million. That transfer is where his heritage created a genuine legal problem. FIFA blocked his registration in March 2026 under Article 19, the regulation restricting international transfers of players under 18 — a child-protection measure, not a punishment.

FIFA treated him as a foreign player on the basis that he had been raised and developed in Luxembourg and had moved to Villa from a French club. The exemption that once covered moves between EU member states no longer applies to English clubs following Brexit.

Villa’s counter-argument was that Madjo is English: born in London, a UK citizen, and by then already committed to England’s youth teams. The club took the case to CAS, which upheld the appeal on 4 August 2026, clearing him to play competitive football before turning 18. Now, his future is set in stone and now the youngster is being touted as a potential future Harry Kane successor, despite his age.