PISCATAWAY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 14, 2023--

Conor McGregor’s UFC return is edging closer. McGregor has not fought since suffering a broken leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021, but he returned to the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s (Usada) testing pool on 8 October. The end of that saga has also sparked the end of the UFC’s relationship with Usada, which said on 11 October that it would not renew its partnership with the UFC in January, claiming that the organisations’ relationship was made ‘untenable’ by McGregor’s situation. It was announced in February that McGregor, 35, would fight Michael Chandler this year, but McGregor remained absent from the Usada pool for months; in order to compete in the UFC, athletes must have been in the pool for six months while returning zero positive test results and at least two negatives. The UFC and McGregor hinted that he might be granted an exemption, something that Usada spoke out against in early October. “We can confirm that Conor McGregor has re-entered the Usada testing pool,” said Usada CEO Travis Tygart. “We have been clear and firm with the UFC that there should be no exception given by the UFC for McGregor [...] Unfortunately, we do not currently know whether the UFC will ultimately honor the six-month or longer requirement because, as of 1 January 2024, Usada will no longer be involved with the UFC Anti-Doping Program. “Despite a positive and productive meeting about a contract renewal in May 2023, the UFC did an about-face and informed Usada on Monday 9 October that it was going in a different direction. We are disappointed for UFC athletes, who are independent contractors who rely on our independent, gold-standard global program to protect their rights to a clean, safe, and fair Octagon. The UFC’s move imperils the immense progress made within the sport under Usada’s leadership. “The relationship between Usada and UFC became untenable given the statements made by UFC leaders and others questioning Usada’s principled stance that McGregor not be allowed to fight without being in the testing pool for at least six months.” If Usada were to renew its relationship with the UFC in January and McGregor were to honour its stipulations, that would put his earliest return date at some time in April – when UFC 300 is expected to take place. McGregor even told TNT Sports on 28 October, while present at Tyson Fury’s boxing match with Francis Ngannou, that April was being discussed with the UFC. However, the end of the UFC-Usada partnership in January theoretically means that McGregor can return any time after that, without having to concern himself with drug-testing rules. That could change now that the UFC has partnered with a different drug-testing organisation, Drug Free Sport, but that remains to be seen. UFC 298 is expected to take place in February, with UFC 299 likely to be staged in March. McGregor could therefore feature on either card, in theory, and some fans and pundits have argued that UFC 300 will conjure enough hype as it is – without needing McGregor to be involved. In other words: UFC 300 can be sold with other high-profile match-ups, while McGregor’s return sells itself; or: UFC 300 does not need McGregor, and the Irishman does not need UFC 300. McGregor is still expected to face Chandler, with the 37-year-old American having held out for the icon’s return despite its ongoing delay. Since the announcement of McGregor vs Chandler, McGregor has in fact talked up potential bouts with Justin Gaethje and old rival Nate Diaz, though the latter is no longer signed to the UFC. Furthermore, UFC president Dana White has insisted that Gaethje will not be next for McGregor. There is less certainty around the weight at which McGregor will return, however. After winning the featherweight title in 2015, McGregor collected the lightweight belt in 2016 to become the UFC’s first ever dual-weight champion, but he has also competed at welterweight three times, trading wins with Diaz in 2016 and stopping Donald Cerrone in 2020. While there is no expectation for McGregor to fight at featherweight again, and although Chandler typically fights at lightweight, McGregor has hinted that he could return at middleweight – having bulked up significantly while recovering from his broken leg. McGregor suffered that injury in his second straight defeat by Poirier, who knocked out the Irishman in January 2021. The pair, who contested those bouts at lightweight, previously clashed at featherweight in 2014, with McGregor knocking out the American. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Usada ends UFC partnership over ‘untenable’ Conor McGregor situation Kamaru Usman to face Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 after Paulo Costa withdraws Charles Oliveira replaced by Alexander Volkanovski in Islam Makhachev fight

Ferrari NV and Cie de Saint-Gobain SA will join the euro area’s main stock benchmark as of Sept.

As speculation over who will be named the next James Bond reaches fever pitch, Paapa Essiedu is warning film fans not to bet on him being cast as the super-spy.

The net worth of the typical U.S. household grew at the fastest pace in more than three decades from 2019 through 2022, while low interest rates made it easier for households to pay their debts

Jose Altuve hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning and the Houston Astros, after getting into another bench-clearing scuffle with the Texas Rangers, rallied for a 5-4 victory in a wild and testy Game 5 of the AL Championship Series

Scotland manager Steve Clarke is focused on finishing their Euro 2024 qualification campaign on a high after sealing their place in Germany amid a hat-trick of defeats. A 2-0 loss in Spain was sandwiched by friendly defeats against England and France, but five wins from their opening five games in Group A proved enough for a second successive qualification for the European Championship finals after the Spaniards won in Norway. With a five-month international hiatus to follow, Clarke is eager to ensure Scotland come away from their final competitive matches with points against Georgia and Norway before next summer’s tournament in Germany. Speaking ahead of Thursday’s clash in Tbilisi, Clarke said: “The idea with the friendly matches against England and France was to test ourselves against the best and see where we measure up. “Obviously with the results we had, we still have a bit of work to do. We will try to stay humble, respect our opponents and just try to improve all the time. “Listen, we want to get back to winning ways. It’s not very often in the reign that I have had, apart from the early stages, that we have had consecutive defeats like we have had recently. “It would be nice to think in the remaining two games we can pick up more points. “I have always said we want to get as high a points tally as possible and (we have) two more games to try and do that.” Scotland have lost their previous two games in Georgia, defeats which ultimately prevented them from qualifying for Euro 2008 and 2016. Clarke’s side have shown the ability to break such negative runs, for instance securing the first play-off success and ending a 23-year wait for a major tournament appearance. “Listen, in sport what’s past is past, there is nothing we can do to affect that,” Clarke said of the history in Tbilisi. “All we can do is affect the future, the next game we play. “We have always tried to improve results no matter who we are playing against.” Georgia lost 7-1 at home to Spain in September but they beat Cyprus 4-0 in their most recent qualifier and are assured of a Euro 2024 play-off place thanks to a Nations League campaign which included big wins in Bulgaria and North Macedonia. Clarke said: “When you go away from home against a team like Georgia, it’s going to be a difficult environment, a difficult game for us, because they are a very good side. “The one game they lost heavily was against Spain and that’s a little bit of an anomaly in recent games, because all their games have been very competitive. And we expect that on Thursday night.” Clarke is without the likes of Angus Gunn, Andy Robertson, Kieran Tierney, Aaron Hickey and Che Adams, but he hopes players such as Josh Doig and Lawrence Shankland can seize the opportunity that injury list presents. “Over the course of my tenure I have always tried to look a little bit deeper,” he said. “There will be some squads like this one where we have a number of players missing. But I always say it’s a chance for someone else. “If everyone else can do better it makes my selection more difficult going into next year. The selection will be difficult. I have to find the right 23 for next summer. “For now, some boys are in the squad with the chance to make a big impression, not just on me but the rest of my staff and the rest of the country. Let’s see how they perform in the game.” Hearts goalkeeper Zander Clark and Motherwell captain Liam Kelly are vying for competitive debuts after both played 45 minutes against France to win their first caps. Clarke, who also has Rangers reserve Robby McCrorie in his squad, was not giving anything away on his stand-in choice. Speaking from Scotland’s training camp in Antalya, Turkey, he said: “The three goalkeepers have trained very well, as they always do, and between now and kick-off I will obviously have to choose one.” Read More Francis Ngannou ranked as top-10 heavyweight by WBC after impressive debut Niall Huggins excited to make Wales bow following ‘horrendous’ period Virat Kohli hits record century as India post huge score in semi-final Jon Rahm says it is ‘mainly my fault’ that he cannot catch Rory McIlroy in Dubai Man arrested over death of ice hockey player Adam Johnson bailed by police Ex-Chelsea keeper Petr Cech joins Belfast Giants as ‘temporary emergency cover’

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Ankur Banerjee Another day, another surprise hike. After

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has completed his controversial move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq. The 33-year-old, who posted a farewell message to Reds fans on Wednesday, brought to an end a 12-year stay at Anfield in which he won every major trophy by finalising a deal with reported wages of up to £700,000-a-week. Liverpool are due to receive an initial £12million from the Saudi Pro League club, who posted on social media: “A leader. A warrior. We’re simply thrilled to have him. Henderson is ETTIFAQI.” Henderson was seen training with his new team-mates at a camp in Croatia in a fan video posted on social media, which will have caused Liverpool some embarrassment even though it was hastily deleted. In their own statement Liverpool said: “We can confirm @JHenderson has completed a transfer to Al-Ettifaq. “As his Anfield chapter now comes to a close, everyone at the club wishes to place on record their thanks and gratitude for everything Jordan did for us during his 12 years as a Red.” The England international will be reunited with former team-mate Steven Gerrard who is Al-Ettifaq manager. However, his move had attracted criticism due to his long-time support of LGBT+ issues and the Premier League’s Rainbow Laces campaign. Homosexuality is illegal and punishable by death in Saudi Arabia, while the state stands accused of a host of other abuses including placing harsh restrictions on women’s rights and the right to political protest. “Jordan Henderson is of course free to play for whoever he chooses, but we would urge him to examine Saudi Arabia’s human rights record and be prepared to speak out about human rights violations in the country,” Amnesty’s UK economic affairs director Peter Frankental told the PA news agency last week. Pride in Football, a network of LGBT+ fan groups, said in a statement: “When you see someone who has been an ally so publicly transfer to a club in a country where LGBT+ people are attacked and imprisoned, it is disappointing. “Good luck in Saudi Arabia Jordan, but you have lost the respect of so many people who valued you and trusted you.”

Prosecutors investigating the former president's handling of classified files obtain an audio tape.

Hearts striker Lawrence Shankland and his Hibernian counterpart Kevin Nisbet have both been included in the Scotland squad for the next month’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against Norway and Georgia. The Edinburgh-based pair take the places of Stoke’s Jacob Brown, who missed the end of the Championship season with a hamstring issue, and Southampton forward Che Adams, who recently suffered a recurrence of the ankle injury he sustained in Scotland’s win over Cyprus. Shankland, who previously made four appearances in 2019 and 2020, was called back into the fold for the Spain game in March and he has kept his place at the end of a season in which he has scored 28 goals for Hearts. Nisbet, who won all of his 10 caps in 2021, is recalled for the first time since damaging his anterior cruciate ligament in February 2022. The 26-year-old has scored 12 goals for Hibs since returning to action in December. Rangers defender John Souttar is recalled after missing much of the season through injury. The 26-year-old, who has not played for the national team since last summer’s Nations League defeat in Ireland, takes the place of Norwich City centre-back Grant Hanley, who has been sidelined with an Achilles problem since early April. Blackburn centre-back Dom Hyam has retained his place after earning a late call-up for the last camp in March, while Steve Clarke has opted for consistency in the goalkeeping department with Angus Gunn, Zander Clark and Liam Kelly again called up in the absence of Craig Gordon, who remains sidelined as he tries to fight back from a double leg-break sustained on Christmas Eve. Scotland, who are top of Group A with two wins from their two games so far, face Norway in Oslo on Saturday, June 17 before welcoming Georgia to Hampden three days later. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

The Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-2 for their fourth straight victory