Sports
UFC Vegas 117 and MVP MMA Proved Competition Is Great for Fight Fans
Saturday, May 16, 2026, will go down as a memorable day in MMA. You had two MMA cards going head-to-head simultaneously. While the UFC was focused on an Apex card with UFC Vegas 117, headlined by Arnold Allen and Melquizael Costa, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) promoted its first MMA card at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. That card featured the likes of Ronda Rousey, Gina Carano, Nate Diaz, Mike Perry, and Francis Ngannou.
And in an era of tribalism, die-hards, loyalists, attackers…watching both cards ended up being some of the most fun this writer had in a little while watching multiple events at once.
UFC Vegas 117
Were the names on the UFC Vegas 117 card the strongest? No. But were the performances memorable? Absolutely.
Faced with a rising contender and needing a win to remain relevant in the upper echelon of the featherweight conversation, Arnold Allen delivered. It was disciplined and calculated, it was wrestling-heavy, but not without some early striking where Allen’s boxing proved to be too much. It was a solid, all-around performance where Allen nearly swept the scorecards.
UFC Vegas 117 also saw Doo-ho Choi deliver an awesome finish of Daniel Santos. Juan Diaz, in his UFC debut, finished prospect Malcolm Wellmaker in upset fashion. Heck, history was made on the preliminary card when Alice Ardelean scored the first-ever capsule lock submission in UFC history.
MVP MMA
Was the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano fight uncompetitive? Yes, but I don’t know what you were expecting from a fight where someone was fighting for the first time in 17 years. But it was still an eye-catching matchup considering the long layoffs and legendary women’s MMA status of these two.
Plus, there were plenty of big names and fun fights. Nate Diaz and Mike Perry had an absolute war until Diaz’s corner was forced to stop the fight. Francis Ngannou pulled off a vintage Ngannou performance, complete with a devastating first-round knockout.
You also had a couple of hard-hitting finishes from Karate Combat champion Robelis Despaigne, who brutally stopped former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos, and former Bellator welterweight champion Jason Jackson, who needed just 22 seconds to put out Jeff Creighton.
Competition is a Good Thing
What’s the point of this? Is it about both cards delivering? Is it to shed light on the most important names from last night? Yes to both of those, but there’s something bigger here.
Look at the paydays from last night’s MVP card. Rousey, Carano, and Ngannou all took him over $1 million. Only champions have the chance to make that kind of money. The lowest-paid fighters? $40,000. That’s 3.5-4 times more than the UFC’s lowest-tier fighter pay.
An outlet like MVP MMA gives choice to fighters – they can choose to sacrifice some of the luster and brand recognition of the UFC if they’d rather have better pay earlier on in their professional MMA career.
There has also been criticism from fans and pundits about some of the cards the UFC has put on – an issue that has been on the rise since more and more cards were held, stretching back to the Fox days. Of course, the UFC has been the clear No. 1 leader in MMA for a long while now, and it has 7.7 billion reasons why they don’t need to worry.
But if MVP MMA can offer a true alternative, then maybe you’ll start to see a little more quality concern about the product. Maybe it means continued expansion of bringing more Fight Nights outside the Apex. Maybe there’s more spread of notable names.
And don’t think the UFC isn’t paying any attention. You think it’s a coincidence that they drop the Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway 2 UFC 329 announcement during this night – while Ngannou is doing his ring walk as well?
Monopolies are boring, and some MMA fans have felt the last few years has been recession-like at times. Competition and alternative products breed new life – and for some, MVP MMA’s card brought them back to the days of old.
A promotional war? That makes the fans winners.
Sports
Paul Skenes vs. Zack Wheeler headlines Pirates-Phillies finale
May 12, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches against the Colorado Rockies during the second inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images The Philadelphia Phillies have been riding high with a prolific offense, winning 14 of 18 games since making a managerial change.
That offense will be put to the test on Sunday afternoon, however, as the Phillies face reigning National League Cy Young winner Paul Skenes (6-2, 1.98 ERA) in the finale of their three-game series against the host Pittsburgh Pirates.
Philadelphia will send fellow right-hander Zack Wheeler (2-0, 2.55) to the mound.
The Phillies are at .500 for the first time since April 13 after posting 11-9 and 6-0 wins in the first two games of this series. Kyle Schwarber hit a pair of homers to continue his power surge in Friday’s victory, and Bryce Harper added a mammoth three-run shot on Saturday.
“Managing is really easy when you have really good players and they play well,” Philadelphia bench coach Dusty Wathan said.
Wathan was filling in Saturday for interim manager Don Mattingly, who was away from the team while attending a son’s graduation from Purdue.
Harper is 5-for-8 with a homer, five RBIs and two runs in this series for the Phillies, who have 91 runs over their past 18 games.
“That’s the team we are,” Harper said after Saturday’s game. “Basically, we didn’t have a great month of April. So we try to put that behind us as quickly as possible. (It’s about winning) series and months. Hopefully, we’ll be where we want to be in the end.”
Skenes enters Sunday’s contest after allowing just two hits over eight scoreless innings in each of his last two starts, wins against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies.
While crediting catcher Henry Davis for his success, the fireballing right-hander provided a self-deprecating remark during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“I don’t shake (off) a ton. I’m too stupid to call my own pitches, so I let him do it,” Skenes said of Davis, who has been behind the plate for all nine of Skenes’ starts this season. “He’s got my career in his hands every fifth day.”
Skenes, 23, is 0-1 with an 0.57 ERA in two career appearances (both starts) against Philadelphia. He has allowed just two runs (one earned) on five hits vs. the Phillies and has struck out 16 batters in 15 2/3 innings.
Skenes took a hard-luck loss on May 18, 2025, when the Pirates lost 1-0. He pitched a complete game and gave up just one run on three hits.
Wheeler, 35, picked up his second win of the season on Tuesday after permitting one run on six hits in 7 1/3 innings in a 2-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox. The Phillies have won all four of his 2026 starts.
A three-time All-Star, Wheeler is 5-1 with a 2.38 ERA in nine career appearances (all starts) against Pittsburgh.
The Pirates will look to solve Wheeler in a bid to avoid being swept in a series for the second time this season. They were brushed aside in a four-game set by the St. Louis Cardinals from April 27-30.
Pittsburgh rookie Konnor Griffin is riding a four-game hitting streak after joining Nick Gonzales and Bryan Reynolds with two-hit performances on Saturday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Brewers turn to another young pitcher in finale vs. Twins
Sep 21, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Robert Gasser (54) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Young pitchers keep coming up big for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Coleman Crow, 25, gave up only one run over five innings in helping the Brewers to a series-opening win against the Minnesota Twins on Friday.
Logan Henderson, 24, earned the victory one night later after allowing only one run and striking out seven batters in five innings.
Now comes the next young pitcher. The Brewers will turn to 26-year-old Robert Gasser, who will make his season debut as Milwaukee looks to finish a three-game sweep of the Twins on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Henderson said he and his fellow young pitchers support one another. They pitched together at Triple-A Nashville, and Henderson credits the organization with helping to develop them and showing trust in them.
“I think we have some really great arms,” Henderson said. “The organization has put a lot of trust in us. The defense is unbelievable. The guys we’ve got behind the plate are incredible. It’s just a next-man-up mentality.
“… I think it’s special. It’s cool to see that we have a lot of young arms in the room. It’s fun. We kind of just piggy-back off each other.”
The Brewers have won three games in a row and eight of their past nine.
The Twins, in turn, will try to spoil Milwaukee’s momentum in the season finale.
Minnesota has lost the first two games of the series by one run. The good news is that the Twins are staying competitive against the Brewers; the bad news is that the Twins are squandering key chances that can differentiate a win from a loss.
“I think we came into this series knowing that you cannot give away opportunities against the Brewers just because of the brand of baseball they play,” Minnesota manager Derek Shelton said after Saturday’s 2-1 defeat. “They capitalize on things. We had situations in the second and fourth (innings) that we did not capitalize on, and you can’t miss those.”
Twins right-hander Bailey Ober (4-2, 3.46 ERA) will look to help stave off the sweep. Ober is coming off his best outing of the season on Tuesday, when he fired a complete-game shutout against the Miami Marlins.
Ober allowed two hits, walked none and struck out seven in a 3-0 victory and needed only 89 pitches to earn his first career shutout. He now will go for back-to-back victories for the second time this season.
This will be Ober’s third career start against the Brewers. In his first two meetings, he is 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA and has 10 strikeouts in 11 innings.
Meanwhile, Gasser will make first start of 2026 and his eighth start since debuting with the Brewers in 2024. He went 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA in five starts that season and was 0-2 with a 3.18 ERA in two starts in 2025.
This will be Gasser’s first career start against the Twins.
Minnesota hopes to welcome back outfielder Byron Buxton, who has missed the past three games because of right hip flexor soreness. Buxton took part in some on-field work before Saturday’s game but remained out of the lineup.
“I haven’t been on the field in a couple days,” Buxton said. “Just to get out here and do some work definitely feels good. Growing in the right direction.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cubs, White Sox to battle in rubber game of crosstown slugfest
May 16, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami (5) celebrates in the dugout after scoring during the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images The Chicago Cubs and host Chicago White Sox have alternated lopsided victories to begin the first leg of their annual crosstown series.
Any kind of win will suffice on Sunday afternoon, however, as the clubs meet in the deciding game of a three-game weekend set.
Munetaka Murakami delivered his first career multi-homer game on Saturday to key an 8-3 victory for the White Sox, who regrouped from Friday’s 10-5 loss.
Miguel Vargas and Colson Montgomery went deep for the second straight night for the White Sox, while Andrew Benintendi also connected.
Vargas is hitting .406 with five home runs and 10 RBIs against the Cubs in nine games over the past two seasons.
“I just want to compete out there. I want to be the best I can be in the field,” Vargas said. “We’ve got a lot of excitement for this series, and I just want to be part of it with the boys. We had a good game today, and hopefully we’ve got another one tomorrow.”
The Cubs were out-homered 5-2 in Saturday’s loss, with Miguel Amaya and Pete Crow-Armstrong connecting.
“The ball was flying today,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I’m not saying that they hit any real cheapies. … They came out swinging. They played their tails off.”
The Cubs’ Alex Bregman joined Amaya with a two-hit game to extend his hitting streak to seven. Bregman is batting .333 (10-for-30) during that span.
The White Sox and Cubs will meet again for a three-game series in August at Wrigley Field.
On Sunday, right-hander Erick Fedde will try to pitch the White Sox to their fifth series victory in the past six sets, which would secure a 6-3 finish to a nine-game homestand.
Fedde (0-4, 3.77 ERA) was in line for his first victory on Tuesday before the bullpen squandered a three-run lead against the Kansas City Royals in a game the White Sox won 6-5.
Fedde scattered two runs and six hits in five innings, but the individual accomplishment didn’t seem to matter to him, as he called the team’s victory one “that kind of proves the growth of this team and where it’s headed.”
For the Cubs, right-hander Colin Rea (4-2, 4.68 ERA) will aim to regroup Sunday from a shaky outing in his most recent start.
After yielding two home runs in a 5-2 loss at Atlanta on Tuesday, Rea pledged to be more confident and resilient. He spaced five runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings against the Braves while recording just one strikeout.
“When they’re putting good swings on good pitches, sometimes it can make it tough to still trust it and still go after them,” Rea said. “And sometimes you think you’ve got to make a better pitch, or like a perfect pitch, and you don’t necessarily have to do that. You just have to continue to execute.”
Fedde is 0-3 with an 8.54 ERA in six career starts against the Cubs, with 28 strikeouts in 26 1/3 innings.
Rea has pitched to a decision-less record and a 2.45 ERA over 7 1/3 innings in two previous appearances against the White Sox, including one start.
–Field Level Media
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