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Each week, ESPN.com writer Brett Okamoto provides his take on the hottest topics in the world of mixed martial arts. This week, Okamoto squares off with former UFC title contender and recently signed Bellator MMA fighter Chael Sonnen to debate the latest news and trends.?1.?Former NFL defensive end Greg Hardy has announced he will pursue a career in mixed martial arts. How much should MMA fans care about this?Sonnen:?They should absolutely care. One, its attention. We always like that. But two, when youre talking about that size of a guy, the level of athlete does matter. If a guy is big and a good athlete, he can pick this sport up fast. He couldnt do that in wrestling. He also couldnt pick up boxing. But when you throw it all together -- you know, Floyd Mayweathers comment on this was a big insult to us. Even though it was an insult and we all resisted it -- guys could do this sport quickly but cant do that with boxing because boxing is more of a science. As much as he meant it as an insult, he was still right. You can learn this really, really quick. MMA is different. Its a lot more wide open in terms of the rules. Most big guys that level -- the elite athlete -- they usually go into other sports. They go into the NFL and NBA. If you took one of those guys and he was really in it, yeah, were interested. Is he going to be a champion? No. But yeah, that interests me.Okamoto: Whether you care about it or not, its probably going to be hard to ignore it -- which is a little unjust in a lot of ways. If you look at Hardys history, this move seems, at least on the surface, to be more about a lack of opportunities in football than it does a real change in passion to MMA. Its hard not to view this as a money grab on his part. And whether that is a nice perk about MMA or a liability, money grabs can be had if youre bringing the right name value. I guess I dont like the idea of someone coming into this sport, perhaps getting a preferable matchup and getting paid well when he essentially ran himself out of the NFL. But I also agree with Chael in that, if he is serious about it, theres a halfway decent shot hell look respectable pretty quick.2.?Conor McGregor was fined $150,000 for his actions during a UFC 202 news conference in August, throwing water bottles at Nate Diaz. Is this penalty just or unjust?Sonnen: Ugh. Uggghhhhh. I think thats a little steep, man. I dont think anyone else would have gotten that fine. You look at what Conors making but thats not how thats supposed to work. The other side of it is, he might have got off easy. Here was the deal: I couldnt see where the bottles went. I could only see they were being thrown. The relevance there is, was a fan hit? I heard, and I cant confirm this, that not only was a fan hit, it was a child. I can tell you, from an entertainment standpoint, I thought it was fun. I thought it was funny. But then again, if I saw him hit a kid, Im not laughing anymore. At the time it happened it was pretty damn funny. Thats just the truth. But thats a stiff fine. Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones fought [at a news conference in 2014]. That was a spectacle and a disaster -- and their fines combined [$59,000] didnt represent $150,000.Okamoto:?Yeah, it seems a little high to me. The commission basically got to this number by taking 5 percent of McGregors purse. Back in 2014 with Cormier and Jones, the commission took 10 percent. So, simple math tells you how much bigger McGregors fight purse was for UFC 202 than what weve seen in the past. I understand the commission wanting to follow precedent. And in fact, I think its important for it to follow precedent. But in this case, common sense says that the sports disclosed pay structure has changed greatly since 2014. The precedent youre following came under vastly different circumstances. And for the record, I was at both the Jones-Cormier brawl and the water fight and I thought the brawl was worse. This seems like a lot of money for throwing a few bottles.3. Should?Dan Henderson?be upset at the scorecards after suffering a decision loss to middleweight champion?Michael Bisping?at UFC 204 in England?Sonnen:?So, I didnt see it. I would never miss a fight -- Ive only missed three UFCs ever, but I was at a wedding. I feel like Ive seen it. I read the play-by-play. Ive talked to a lot of people afterwards, some very biased who thought it was a robbery. I talked to one guy who has been with Dan since college -- theyre about as close as you get -- and I asked him, Who should have won? He said, I dont know. You could say Dan won -- Im fine with it. You could say Mike won -- Im fine with it. It was so close. It was such a great fight. I thought, coming from him, that carried a lot of weight. Im going to say no. The argument I heard is that the first round should have been a 10-8, and I can only speak historically -- those are unicorns. There are no 10-8 rounds. So, you cant count on that.Okamoto:?As I wrote about this week -- Hendo shouldnt lose any sleep on this one. For the record, I scored the fight 49-46 Bisping. That doesnt mean I didnt think the fight was close. I think you can make a case for a 10-8 first round for Henderson, and the fifth was very, very close. Ultimately, though, thats the best-case scenario I can make for him, which would be a draw. If you want to read more of my thoughts of the scoring, check out the Monday column. I also spoke to UFC welterweight and commentator Dan Hardy on scoring in general on the upcoming Five Rounds podcast.4.?Henderson announced his retirement after the loss. Do you believe that was his final fight?Sonnen: Yes, just from talking to him. I dont know how serious this retirement fight was from the jump. I dont know if he ever meant that. Thats one of those things you have to be careful about. Youre either in or youre out and sometimes you dont even know it. He might have surprised himself. A lot of people are saying he should be the middleweight champion right now, so theres no question he could keep fighting. In my own opinion, and from a little behind the scenes, if he lost that match he was going to go away. I dont know. From a financial standpoint, he doesnt need the money. From a goal-oriented standpoint, which is what got him in this in the first place, hes not getting another title shot. So, I think hes done. And I say that very sad. I dont know that I want him to be done, as a fan. Its an end of an era. I think hes done.Okamoto:?Ill agree, for the same reasons Chael mentioned. Im not sure why he would come back now. Originally, he fought out his contract at UFC 199. The improbable title shot brought him back into the UFC. Like Chael said, I dont see him getting another one of those. Losing a close fight on the scorecards might leave a bitter taste in his mouth, obviously, but as far as a way to go out, this is a good one, right? He fought the middleweight champion for five rounds at age 46. Even though its a loss, hes walking out on a high note. It never surprises me when fighters come back out of retirement, and that will hold true if Henderson returns, but if I had to guess, I think hell stay retired.5.?Chris Weidman fights Yoel Romero?on?Nov. 12 and?Luke Rockhold faces Ronaldo Jacare Souza?on?Nov. 19. As a fan, which UFC middleweight contender would you most want to see challenge Bisping next?Sonnen:?I dont know that either one is a guaranteed semifinal. I think it kind of depends on who wins. As far as the politics go, Jacare has to get a shot sooner rather than later. Its big business in Brazil. Sometimes it comes down to that. You can argue which guy is better or more deserving, and those are fair. But then you go to the next thing which is, What do people want to see? Getting a Brazilian into a title fight matters. Jacare is amazing and has had an opportunity taken away from him before. On the other side, I think if Weidman wins, theyre going to have to battle it out in the media. I dont think theyre in a hurry to get Rockhold back in there, personally. I think theres some moving parts. If I could pick from those four, I would like to see Weidman.Okamoto:?As far as who will get the shot, I think Weidman is the front-runner. As far as whom Id like to see fight Bisping -- I mean, this is a terrible answer, but I kind of dont have a preference. Theyre all deserving, really. The Rockhold angle interests me. I still feel, with all respect to Bisping, that those two could fight 100 times and Rockhold wins about 95 of them. Lighting struck for Bisping, and I shouldnt even word it that way. I dont see it as luck or chance. Hes a competitor and doesnt beat himself, so hes always a dangerous opponent. But Id be interested in a third fight. Weidman is still right there as far as considerations for best middleweight in the world. Souza, how long can we deny this man? If he beats Rockhold, I think you have to say hed be most deserving. Yeah, I dont know. Im honestly good with any of the four.Shoes Wholesale China Suppliers . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. Cheap Shoes China Free Shipping . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. http://www.shoescheap.net/ . 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The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer.DORTMUND, Germany -- Borussia Dortmund beat Legia Warsaw in a pulsating 8-4 victory on Tuesday that broke the record for goals scored in a Champions League match.The record was set in injury time when Marco Reus, who had earlier scored twice, unleashed a shot that was deflected into the net by Legia captain Jakub Rzezniczak. The 12 goals were one more than the total when Monaco beat Deportivo La Coruna 8-3 on Nov. 5, 2003.Shinji Kagawa scored twice for Dortmund, while Aleksandar Prijovic also got two for Legia.In the two matches against the Polish side, Dortmund scored a total of 14 goals, having won the first leg 6-0.The winner of Group F will be decided in the final round when Dortmund visits Real Madrid. Both teams are through to the round of 16. Dortmund has 13 points and Real Madrid 11. Sporting, which lost 2-1 to Real Madrid, has three points and Legia one.The scoring bonanza included a four-minute spell in the first half with three Dortmund goals, two of them from Kagawa.Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel made nine changes to the side that beat Bayern Munich over the weekend. Reus, the captain for the match, played his first game since a groin injury in May.Thats how you imagine a comeback after a long time. Im fine now, its great that I could play from the start, Reus said. But it was tough. Ive been out for a long time.Dortmunds final goal came from a pass by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the clubs top scorer, who came on with 20 minutes left. He did not score, although he hit the post.Aubameyang passed across the penalty area and Reus hit a low shot that struck Rzezniczak and slipped through the legs of Legia goalkeeper Radoslaw Cierzniak.Its fantastic for Reus, I am really pleased, Tuchel said. Ive never had such a game, though, so I dont reallyy know how to analyze it.dddddddddddd We scored a clear victory, but I really dont know what to say.Dortmunds reshuffled defense was caught out in the 10th minute, when Vadis Odjidja crossed into the area. Prijovic controlled the ball and then curled it inside the far post with the outside of his right boot.Dortmund replied quickly. Kagawa stooped at the far post for a rare header off a cross from Ousmane Dembele in the 17th. One minute later, Kagawa and Dembele swapped passes before Kagawa drilled in with his left foot. And in the 20th, Cierzniak tried to punch out a free kick, only for the ball to hit Nuri Sahin and bounce into the net.The action never stopped and in the 24th Prijovic got his second, shooting through the legs of a defender. Prijovic nearly had a hat trick, but hit the crossbar from point-blank range.The ball soon ended up in Dortmunds possession and Sahin fed Reus, who set up Dembele. Dembele fooled two defenders before shooting under Cierzniak in the 29th. Reus then completed the seven-goal scoring fest in the first half by tapping in a low cross from Kagawa.Reus got his second in the 52nd, again from close range from a Dembele pass, to make it 6-2.Michal Kucharczyk pulled one back for Legia, before Felix Passlack scored after a great run by Christian Pulisic, who crossed for Andre Schuerrle. His shot was blocked, but Passlack headed the rebound into the net.Nemanja Nikolic scored Legias fourth, before Rzezniczaks own-goal completed the win.A small group of Legia supporters made it into the stadium although UEFA had imposed a ban after Polish fans had created disturbances in the match at Real Madrid. ' ' '