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‘It’s all going off’: Furious Chelsea & Leeds players clash after penalty drama (VIDEO)

Chelsea and Leeds United players were involved in a furious bust-up at full time after a controversial late penalty decided the result of their Premier League clash.

Thomas Tuchel’s men came out on top with a 3-2 win at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, putting them two points adrift of league leaders Manchester City and just a point behind second-placed Liverpool.  

The Blues suffered an early scare when Raphinha put away a 28th-minute penalty for the visitors, but Mason Mount scored on the stroke of half-time before Jorginho bagged a brace from the penalty spot.

Netted in the 94th minute, it was his second effort from 12 yards out that caused the most controversy after Joe Gelhardt’s equalizer had seemed set to earn Marcelo Bielsa’s side a hard-earned point.

In injury time, though, Antonio Rudiger went down after a soft challenge from Mateusz Klich, which saw the west Londoners awarded the chance to snatch victory, which Jorginho relished.

A scuffle then broke out past the full-time whistle which Rudiger was heavily involved in along with ex-Barcelona fullback Junior Firpo representing the Yorkshiremen.

The German was heavily criticized for “getting stuck in now after he’s thrown himself to the floor all game,” and “acting like a big, tough man” only when the match had finished.

But others approved of the confrontation in general saying that it was “exactly what you want to see”.

“All this hugging and laughing and joking with each other nonsense has to stop. Show a bit of heart and passion,” it was demanded.

“Proper football played in the right way with the right emotions. Love to see it.”

Supporters of the title challengers bickered among themselves on social media, but the irony in this had to be pointed out as all three of Chelsea, City and Liverpool had decisive penalties awarded to them on Saturday afternoon.

In the early kick-off, Pep Guardiola’s charges struggled to dispatch a Wolves outfit reduced to 10 men thanks to Raul Jimenez’s bizarre 31-second double booking.

On 66 minutes, however, Raheem Sterling converted a dubious penalty given after the ball smashed Joao Moutinho in the armpit. 

Over at Anfield, Steven Gerrard’s return should have been the main talking point in a meeting between the team now manages, Aston Villa, and boyhood club Liverpool.

And while Tyrone Mings was at fault for clipping Mohamed Salah, the Egyptian is not known for being the most honest player when it comes to winning penalties and did once more here before sealing another 1-0 win for the Liverpool from the spot. Additionally, Gerrard also felt that Salah fouled Mings first. 

With Saturday’s developments it stayed tight at the top as a usually decisive packed Christmas and New Year calendar which separates the men from the boys approaches.

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‘I gave birth, I’m the first mom champ’ – Pena after sensational Nunes upset at UFC 269 (VIDEO)

Julianna Pena says she should be considered the UFC’s first ‘mom champ’ after her victory over Amanda Nunes in a stunning bantamweight title upset in Las Vegas.

Pena submitted Nunes in the second round of their UFC 269 co-main event at the T-Mobile Arena, pulling off a shock that many claim to be the biggest in the history of MMA’s elite promotion.

The fight was a meeting between two mothers.

Pena gave birth to daughter Grace in 2018, and was joined in the Octagon by her daughter after her remarkable victory. 

Beaten rival Nunes is mom to daughter Raegan Ann – who was born to partner and fellow UFC fighter Nina Nunes in September of last year.

When asked whether she would like the UFC to create a ‘Baddest Mom on the Planet’ belt, Pena backed the idea while proclaiming that she, rather than Nunes, was the worthy recipient.

“The UFC absolutely needs to create a new belt for me, and it needs to be the ‘Baddest Mom on the Planet’,” said Pena at her post-fight press conference.  

“I’m not trying to take away anything from Amanda. She’s a wonderful mother, but I gave birth to my daughter, and I feel like for giving birth, I am the first mom champ.

“That to me is also a little feather in the cap.”

Some online appeared to take exception to the quote, with MMA pundit Luke Thomas calling it “an unforced error.”

Popular MMA journalist Ariel Helwani also raised the point in a tweet of his own – leading to a mixed reaction.

One thing beyond doubt is Pena’s new status as the UFC’s women’s bantamweight queen.

‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ weathered the pressure from Nunes in the first round before finding success with some heavy shots in the second.

That took the wind out of Nunes as she visibly fatigued before Pena secured a takedown and locked in a rear-naked chokehold at the 3:26 mark.

The defeat was a first for Nunes inside the Octagon in seven years, after ‘the Lioness’ had previously rampaged through the bantamweight and featherweight ranks on the way to becoming a two-weight champion.

She has now relinquished one of those two titles to Pena, who was winner of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ reality TV show in 2013 but saw her rise in the UFC stall due to injury and her maternity break.

The Spokane-born star, who is based in Chicago, had earned back-to-back wins to set up her shot at Nunes, although few had given her much of a chance against the all-conquering Brazilian.

UFC boss Dana White suggested that Nunes would have the option of an immediate rematch with Pena – and the American herself was open to the idea.

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Julianna Pena stunned Amanda Nunes in Las Vegas. © Zuffa LLC
‘I told you motherf**kers!’ Pena submits Nunes for ‘biggest upset in UFC history’ (VIDEO)

“We can do it next, I’m free next month, two months from now – whenever they want to do it I’m ready,” Pena, 32, said jokingly.

She added that she would first need some time with her daughter but vowed that “if [Nunes] wants to do a rematch, we can do a rematch.”

Nunes, 33, did not appear for her post-fight press duties but had been respectful towards her opponent in the Octagon after her defeat, signaling that much of the animosity that had characterized the build-up to the fight had been laid to rest.

READ MORE: Venezuelan Vixen: Meet the woman preparing for MMA’s most daunting challenge

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UFC champ Oliveira accused of cheating with glove move in Poirier win (VIDEO)

Charles Oliveira underscored his authority in the UFC lightweight division with a third-round submission win against Dustin Poirier in Las Vegas, but some eagle-eyed viewers claim his win is marred by an act of cheating.

Louisiana native Poirier’s second crack at the undisputed world title went much the same way as his first, ending as he tapped in submission to a fight-ending rear-naked choke.

READ MORE: Khabib reacts as Oliveira defeats Poirier to retain UFC lightweight crown in thriller

But if that first loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov was entirely without controversy, the same cannot be said for Saturday night’s contest with Brazilian submission machine Oliveira. 

After a first round in which he was the more dominant of the two, Poirier found himself entangled in Oliveira’s web early into the second as the champion attempted to maneuver various ways to attack his opponent’s right arm, emptying his box of tricks in the process.

But as Poirier attempted to slip away, footage suggests that Oliveira grabbed his glove – something which is outlawed in the rules of mixed martial arts – forcing Poirier to roll away rather than pull out of the move, and inviting the champion into a dominant position where he spent much of the remainder of the round pounding away with vicious elbows from the top. 

“He’s holding on to the glove in an illegal way,” commentator Joe Rogan declared on the broadcast. “See the way he’s holding the glove like that? He cupped his fingers underneath the glove to achieve that position.

“There was something to that position that made Dustin roll,” Daniel Cormier agreed. “I don’t know why he would have rolled instead of just keep pulling the arm back.“

“We’d have to look at it real closely but in my eyes that was what was happening,” added Rogan.

And with Poirier visibly affected by the ensuing shots ahead of being submitted a minute into the next round, some fight fans are crying foul.

“Easy round for Oliveira. Not sure what to say about the glove grab, but if that’s happened, that’s pretty bad to do,” wrote MMA insider Luke Thomas on Twitter.

“My problem is, rewatching Charles past fights he’s does a lot of dirty stuff like this,” said a second, while another commented on how the alleged incident was pivotal in leading to the eventual finish of the fight.

“It happened and it changed the fight completely,” they wrote. “Dustin pulls his arm out if Charles isn’t grabbing the glove. Instead he took him down and wore him out for 3 1/2 minutes.”

But while social media worked itself into a tizzy, Poirier himself wasn’t quite so convinced.

“[Coach] Mike Brown was asking before we got back to the locker room why I didn’t just slide my arm out,” Poirier explained in the post-fight press conference.

“I don’t remember the finger in the gloves but I was trying to pull my arm out and it felt like it was in there good but Mike did ask me in the locker room after why didn’t I just pull my arm out. I tried.

“I don’t know if his fingers were in my glove or not. I didn’t feel it.”

And with Poirier refusing to cast any blame towards his opponent, he was joined by several others online who said that Oliveira stayed within the rules throughout his first defense of his 155lbs crown.

“The ‘glove grab’ narrative is all Joe Rogan’s fault,” another fight fan chimed in. “Charles Oliveira grabs it for less than 2 seconds, immediately switches to wrist control (maintains ankle control), Dustin still wasn’t able to escape. And then rolls to get Poirier on his back.“

“Glove hold happened for at most three seconds, most of it was just holding the wrist and rapping the arm. Once the glove was grabbed Poirier was already rolling to get a better position which lead him on the ground either way,” wrote another.

“Doesn’t look like his fingers and in the glove he’s grabbing his wrist I think Poirier wasn’t complaining about it after the fight anyway,” said a third.

Either way, and despite the support from several sections of the fight community online, it will be scant consolation for Poirier who will wake up on Sunday morning with the grim realization that he has fallen at the final hurdle of the sport one more time.

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‘F**k!’ MMA juggernaut Harrison in disbelief as ‘mega-million-dollar’ Nunes fight collapses in front of her eyes (VIDEO)

UFC president Dana White has said that Amanda Nunes’ shocking loss to Julianna Pena has cost her a “mega-million-dollar” bout against Kayla Harrison.

In what many have dubbed one of the greatest upsets of all time in the elite promotion, the ‘Venezuelan Vixen’ handed the two-weight champion her first defeat in seven years via a second-round rear-naked choke after the pair had traded stand-up blows.

READ MORE: ‘I told you motherf**kers!’ Pena submits Nunes for ‘biggest upset in UFC history’ (VIDEO)

Pena submitted Nunes in a massive upset. © Getty Images



Watching in the stands at UFC 269 in Las Vegas was PFL lightweight queen Harrison, who is being lined up for a switch to the UFC and a potential lucrative superfight against ‘The Lioness’.

But while Nunes has only been relieved of her bantamweight strap and still has the featherweight one in tow that Harrison was tipped to challenge her for, White has thrown that possibility out of the window. 

“These are those things, man, for Kayla Harrison, the Amanda Nunes fight was huge,” he said at his post-event press conference.

“If they would have faced off it would have been a massive, mega-million-dollar fight…

“If Amanda Nunes had won tonight, the Kayla Harrison fight would be one of the biggest fights you would have ever seen,” added White, suggesting that the contest was now more off the cards than on. 

As some unlucky punter reportedly lost a whopping $318,000 backing Nunes, Harrison also knew what was at stake by letting out a long “f*ck!” at the T-Mobile Arena in the mad seconds that followed Pena’s victory.

Harrison is still in talks to join the UFC in 2022, but also negotiating with her are the PFL, who wish to keep their biggest female draw, as well as Bellator, where she could take on Cris Cyborg. 

Even if it has had the shine taken off it though, the Harrison-Nunes showdown isn’t completely dead in the water.

But while that might have been the first order of business next spring or summer, a rematch with Pena has to be next up, White suggested.

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‘Classy’ or ‘disrespectful’? Ukraine legend Lomachenko splits opinion with ring gestures (VIDEO)

Lightweight boxing legend Vasiliy Lomachenko was caught sending his opponent back to his corner and imploring his rival’s team to throw in the towel on more than one occasion during his latest win.

In his first fight since the summer, the Ukrainian earned a unanimous decision win over former IBF champion Richard Commey at Madison Square Garden.  

With scores of 117-110, 119-108 and 119-108 on the judge’s cards, it was a masterclass performance that put Loma in line to get back the division’s championship straps from George Kambosos Jr., who defeated the 33-year-old’s previous victor in Teofimo Lopez late last month.

But as communicated by the wide points margins, the bout perhaps could have been stopped earlier for the Ghanaian’s own good. 

Connecting with a 1-2 that rocked Commey’s head back, Lomachenko then showed his dazed foe where his corner was. 

On Twitter, the gesture was called “one of the most disrespectful things” on fan had seen in boxing. 

Later, in the seventh, there was more in store when Loma dropped Commey with a brutal left.

He gestured towards the corner again, but was this time appearing to ask Commey’s team if they wanted to throw the towel in.

They didn’t, and as the assault continued, Loma gave them the option one last time when Commey was on the ropes and Loma relented from delivering more crushing blows.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist was accused of being “arrogant” and “patronizing” for this, with one fan saying: “It’s cool to be a good fighter but that’s not cool.

“Be a professional,” he demanded.

However, others found it “genuinely classy” and said they had “massive respect” for the act, which is something that pundit Max Kellerman might agree with.

“Lomachenko didn’t have the stomach to finish a defenseless fighter, so he twice asked Commey’s corner to do the right thing, and stop the fight so he wouldn’t have to,” said Kellerman.

“They didn’t, and once Commey’s head cleared Lomachenko couldn’t. No good deed goes unpunished.”

Post-fight, the brawler himself explained the motives behind his behavior.

“I saw his situation,” he said. “It was very hard for him. That’s why I said: ‘Hey, stop the fight.’ He is a true warrior.

“He has a big heart and we continue and we show for people 12 great rounds.”

As a tearful Commey said he had let his country down, Lomachenko, who claimed the vacant WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title, made no secret of feeling he is more deserving of a shot at Kambosos than the likes of Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis.

“I will go anywhere I need to go to fight him,” he said, which could mean venturing to the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and The Ring king’s native Australia. 

“I need this chance.”