The 19-year-old had been on the rise already and started garnering greater national attention when she won the Rogers Cup at home in Toronto earlier this summer. Now with her triumph in the final major of the season, Andreescu should claim the Lou Marsh Award as the country’s top athlete and become the newest household name the country pins all of its tennis hopes on going forward.

Because that’s what happens up here in Canada in just about every sport outside of hockey: someone shows flashes of potential or enjoys a little success and they’re instantly adopted as “The Country’s Greatest Hope” in that particular sport and saddled with lofty, often crippling expectations.

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Now, Andreescu has done more than show flashes of potential — she steeled herself away to defeat the greatest female tennis player of all-time in her first Grand Slam final — and deserves to be a major national story every time she steps onto the court. However, numerous others have been ticketed for greatness and thrust into the spotlight quickly, only to fail to live up to the grand projections and struggle under the weight of an entire nation.

The search for Canada’s “next big thing” in the mixed martial arts world was ongoing even when Georges St-Pierre was still reigning over the UFC welterweight division, but has only intensified since his departure.

The latest competitor to be cast in the role is Brad Katona, the 27-year-old Winnipeg native who won the featherweight competition on Season 27 of The Ultimate Fighter as a member of Team Cormier and followed it up with a dominant effort against Matthew Lopez in his sophomore showing at UFC 231 five months later.

It was his second fight on Canadian soil in as many appearances and as he readies to make it three straight home games in the Octagon when he takes on Hunter Azure on Saturday in Vancouver, Katona has turned his setback in Ottawa into an opportunity to examine his preparation and fine tune the process in hopes of getting back into the win column.

“It wasn’t that we underestimated him, but were we under prepared? Yeah, if you’re looking at it, because we weren’t able to shut it down or get up as much as we wanted to get the fight in our favor, you would have to say we were under prepared,” Katona said, offering an honest and earnest assessment of his preparations and performance against Dvalishvili.

“I went back to the drawing board, took a detailed look at things and said, ‘Is this what a world championship camp looks like?’ Before my last fight, I would have said, ‘Yes,’ but you go back and look at the changes that I’ve made since and it doesn’t compare.

“Everything is on a new level and I’m excited to show everything that we’ve been working on,” continued Katona, who has lived in Dublin and trained at SBG Ireland for the last two years. “I feel we’ve gotten significantly better and taken a big step in the right direction, not just for this fight, but for in a year’s time when all this work really comes together and I can show I’m one of the best in the world.”

None of what the promising Canadian said is delivered with derision or disrespect; it’s simply the factual analysis of a cerebral, analytical fighter who has a degree in engineering. He’s sat down with his head coach John Kavanagh and scouted Azure, taking note of tendencies, studying the way his last several fights have played out in order to get a feel for what the undefeated prospect will have to offer on Saturday.

And in their assessment, there should be plenty of opportunities to get a finish, though how it happens is up to Azure.

“You know, John said something earlier this week that stuck with me — ‘My opponent chooses how he loses,’” Katona began when asked for an assessment of how the fight plays out. “I’m going to go out there and throw a whole bunch of problems at him and I’m very confident that something is going to sneak through.

“I’m going to be trying (to finish) and he just needs to choose which door to open,” he added. “There are a lot of opportunities for a quick finish, but that’s not necessarily our choice. That’s his choice; it’s on him and he gets to decide.”

Long before American Top Team had seemingly every belt under the UFC banner, “Fighting out of Davenport, Iowa” seemed to be the most common string of words in Bruce Buffer’s vocabulary.

Long before CM Punk was a commentary standout, Miletich was behind the mic.

On Saturday, September 7, the UFC Hall of Famer will be on UFC FIGHT PASS talking us through the fights at CES MMA 58.

For Miletich, a returning member of the CES MMA commentary team, it takes very little convincing to make him jump at the opportunity to watch tomorrow’s superstars in action. In fact, it’s his love for the up and comers that perpetuates his love for mixed martial arts long after his fighting and coaching career have come to an end.

“I just appreciate the grass roots of the sport,” Miletich said. “It’s less disingenuous, for lack of a better word. I think when large amounts of money are involved, people tend to love things less. The grass roots is when people are more passionate. It’s when they’re doing it because they love it. That’s what I love.”

From the grass roots of his own career and beyond, it was never about choosing a glamorous career for Miletich. Fame was never on his mind and being rich was fastened tightly in the backseat. The college dropout, forced to leave school to take care of his mom began fighting to prove that he could be the absolute best at what he did with no room for negotiation.

“When I decided to be a world champion was when I was sitting in the basement of a house that had a leaky basement,” Miletich said. “I had to leave college early to take care of my mother. I was derailed, basically in what I wanted to pursue in life. So, when I decided to be a fighter and be a world champion, there was no other option. So, I loaded a 9-millimeter and put it in my sock drawer in my dresser and every time I fought I though about that gun. For me, there was no option. I knew I was going to be a world champion.”

As a man who fought his way out of depression and a situation he knew he wasn’t destined for, Miletich finds himself turned off by fighters without the love or fighting and the process of becoming the best. His demand for passion in sports is so strong that his interest in other sports has diminished to nothing and for a handful of years now, it’s strictly the hungry rising stars that catch his eye. In fact, by the numbers, Miletich’s eye for budding talent speaks for itself.

“I think we ended up putting over 90 kids on TV,” Miletich said. “Around 30 in the UFC but between all the different organizations 90 and 14 world champs.”

Now retired from coaching, Miletich still has the same eye, same passion and same loyalty to those who love to fight which is what draws him back to CES MMA time and time again.

“I try to keep up with the results of their shows,” Miletich said. “I’m good friends with a lot of them over there like Bessette, Robello, a lot of the other guys who have fought for them are real cool guys. It’s a funny crew out there.”

The “funny crew” combined with his natural longing to coach is also enough to get the invested, loose-lipped veteran to drop some memorable quotes that may give some a peak into what Miletich Fighting Systems may have sounded like.

“I’ve actually gotten frustrated during the broadcasts,” Miletich said. “A few times I’ve actually let it be known that I was frustrated. One kid gave up the mount four or five separate times during the fight, which was just uncalled for in my mind. It was ridiculous. I was shaking my head. I just said it on air. I said, ‘he’s giving up mount like a hooker on rent day!’ Yeah, I got in a little bit of trouble for that line, but I at least got my point across.”

The athleticism eventually escapes and now retired for over a decade, the 51-year-old has seen that come and go. The knowledge continues to grow with every moving performance Miletich sees. There are many commentators out there but only one man with the resume of Pat Miletich. Strap in and find out why the man who won’t leave the house for anything less than the most devoted comes back to CES MMA almost every show.

Catch CES MMA 58 on Saturday, September 7 at 5:00 p.m. PT ONLY on UFC FIGHT PASS!

The more you talk with this international superstar, the more you realize she knows what she’s talking about, but above all, that she’s passionate about it in part because that passion started really early in her life.

“When I was a kid, like a little girl, like six, seven, eight, nine years old, English boxing was everything to me,” she said. “I spent a lot of time in front of the television. I was a kid who got into a lot of fights, so watching boxing and having that energy channeled in a professional way somehow healed my own hurts in a way because I got to watch others take it out in a way that seemed noble and admirable. I didn’t have a father in the house, so watching great fighters like (Thomas) Hearns and (Muhammad) Ali and Joe Frazier. Those guys, to me, were strong images of strong black man that I was missing in my own household, and that’s how I viewed them.”

Like so many others, her pugilism passion evolved towards MMA to the point that we could have seen her inside the Octagon if times would have been different. 

“I remember ‘Thrilla in Manila,’” she said, recalling the third fight between Ali and Frazier. “I was nine years old. That was the biggest event of my whole life. I knew it was bigger than everything, and those moments impacted me, so, as I grew, I feel like if MMA, women in MMA were a viable sport like it is now when I was 10 years old, I’ve probably would have taken that path as a way to channel my own hurts, my own demons, my own pains, would have found a positive way to channel that.”

And if you are wondering what kind of fighter she would have been, there is no doubt in her mind. 

“Would have been a striker!” she said. “Would have been the best outlet for some of my anger frustrations I had as a kid. I think I would have chosen MMA over English boxing because there so many art forms that are at play, and I think that’s what for me makes the sport so exciting. When women became a part of MMA, Ronda Rousey, and Miesha Tate, and Cat Zingano, all those girls came to the scene, I was widely excited by that. And I thought (if) this would have been an opportunity for me when I was younger, I definitely would have. I just connected to it. I’m still happy to see these women doing what they are doing in such a big way, and anything I can do to support it, I’m always looking to do.”

So, it was just a matter of time for her to get her hands in a project involving two of her biggest passions, and even take it further, because her next film, Bruised, will mark her debut as director. She has started camp properly for it, researching the mind and motivations of MMA fighters, spending time with them not just training, but looking deeply at their processes. 

“I really connected to my own self,” Berry said. “This MMA ability to adapt and change and be fearless and take risks, and I feel like I’ve been able to do that throughout my career. Again, it’s another adaptation, it’s figuring out ‘OK, what is my second half of my career? What am I gonna do now?’ Directing this movie and fighting and in all of that, (I) feel a bit less freefalling. You go from what you believe in, and you take risks, and that is the quality I think of any great fighter: always risking. I could be better. Never quitting.

“I was at the Cris Cyborg fight when Amanda Nunes knocked her out. I couldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams that fight would have gone down like that. I don’t know who would have won, you know both are amazing athletes, but you just don’t expect that to happen – or with Askren and Masvidal. So, the thing I love about the sport is anything can happen at any time.”

It’s fair to say that she will have a good team behind her in this project, a couple of golden “corners” one could say. 

“I just love the sport and I support all the women of the sport,” she said. “What they do is pretty incredible to me. In my movie, Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko are gonna be part of it, and that means the world to me because they are both amazing champions in their own way.”

In these times when “Fight like a girl” is becoming more of a compliment that an insult, Berry, like any other woman inside the Octagon, will be brave enough to show herself open and real to the big screen. 

“It’s been a privilege,” she said. “I’m not only learned so much about their process, which was fascinating to me, but I also been able to get inside and close with some of these women, and I learned about their heart, and I learned about why they’re fighting. More than men, women have real tangible reason why they are fighting. They are dealing with some of their hurts, their demons, their past. They are fighting for something I found really deep. And I’m not saying that men don’t, I just spent more time talking with women because I’m a woman playing an MMA fighter, and so what I’ve learned was that my film had to incorporate that reality in some way to make it resonate and feel real, because for a woman to enter a bloodsport like this, it doesn’t feel like it’s in our DNA. We’re nurturers. We’re caregivers. We carry the babies. So, I’m fascinated when I hear stories of different women why they chose to do this. There’s always a deep story behind it. And I knew that had to be sort of the cornerstone of what this film is all about, because it’s about a woman from a woman’s point of view and directed by a woman and written by a woman.”

Same as all UFC fans around the world right now, Berry can’t help but to express her excitement for the UFC 242 main event that will unify the lightweight title between the undefeated champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and interim champion Dustin Poirier. 

“I wish I could be in Abu Dhabi,” she said. “I don’t know much. I’m just gonna tell you my humble opinion. I don’t think you bet against Khabib. Probably only lost one round in his whole life since he started. How do you bet against that? But Poirier is a great striker, and he’s got power, and he has the talent to pull something out and shock us, and that’s what I love about the sport. He could actually do that. There’s a possibility, which makes it a great fight and something everybody wants to see. It’s really hard for me to pick up favorites. I’m rooting to see a good fight. I’m rooting for something that would be exciting.”

It’s been nearly a full year since Nurmagomedov made Conor McGregor tap in Las Vegas. Since then his profile has only grown and fans cannot wait to see the fighter from Dagestan get back to mauling 155-lb challengers. But the man who will be standing across from him on Saturday is no push over. In fact he’s one of the most determined men in the sport. Poirier has worked his way up, brick by brick for a chance to prove that he’s the best in the world – and on Saturday he’ll finally have that opportunity.

Watch Poirier and Khabib Unify The Lightweight Belt at UFC 242

UFC 242’s co-main event should be just as explosive as Edson Barboza and Paul Felder run it back. The first match-up between these two was a firefight, with Barboza pulling ahead on points and earning a unanimous decision. But after years have gone by, it’s clear that both fighters have evolved into even more dangerous mixed martial artists. Buckle up, this one is going to be fun.

The rest of the card is littered with fighters on big-time win streaks such as Islam Makachev (6-fight win streak), Mairbek Taisumov (7-fight win streak), Carlos Diego Ferreira (4-fight win steak) and Andrea Lee (3-fight win streak). It’s not going to be a card you’ll want to miss.

Get ready for UFC 242 by watching the past performances of some of the card’s biggest stars and prospects. Watch the whole collection here: https://www.ufc.tv/category/ufc-242-fights-to-watch

Don’t miss out on the action. Catch UFC 242 live. See start times here.

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“I feel great after this fight because I finished him, I made him tired, I made him tap,” said the lightweight champion, who submitted McGregor in the fourth round last October, apparently putting a decisive stamp on a rivalry that got ugly before and after the UFC 229 bout. That doesn’t mean Nurmagomedov wants to forgive and forget with the Irishman.

“Right now I’m good, but this one is never finished,” he said. “Even if we see (each other) somewhere, we’re gonna fight, one hundred percent.”

Well, maybe there is still a little drama, but today, the rivalry with McGregor is the furthest thing from the mind of “The Eagle,” who has pressing business with interim champion Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi. It’s another one of those fights that gets the butterflies scrambling in the stomach of fight fans, and as the buzz gets deafening on the lead-up to fight day, it’s a reminder of how life has changed for Nurmagomedov in the last two years. 

Already one of the top lightweights in the game and one sporting a perfect record that is as impressive as his attack on fight night, Nurmagomedov’s profile took off in the lead-up to UFC 223, when he won the title by beating Al Iaquinta, and it hit the stratosphere with the McGregor fight. Now, everyone knows who the Dagestan native is, and they’re tuning in to watch him fight and paying attention to his every move. That takes some getting used to for someone who isn’t in the habit of chasing the spotlight. But while his life is a lot different than it used to be, one thing remains the same.

“A lot of things changed,” he admits. “Big attention, a little bit of pressure because a lot of people know me. But I saw a lot of champions, when they become champion they changed because they don’t train like how they did before. You have to stay focused, stay hungry, stay training hard. You can’t change because then a lot of young guys, hungry guys are gonna come and change you. If you want to be in this sport, you have to focus one hundred percent. If you lose something, somebody is gonna beat you.”

That’s something Nurmagomedov won’t let happen if he has anything to do with it. If Poirier is the one to put a loss on that 27-0 record, it will be because he was the better man in Abu Dhabi on September 7. It won’t be because Nurmagomedov was enjoying life as a celebrity. He’s a fighter, first and foremost, and he believes this isn’t a mindset you can learn.

“I think this is what you have inside, you can’t change it,” he said. “But a lot of people don’t have this.”

Nurmagomedov has it. So does Poirier. That’s why this is one of the biggest fights of 2019. And the 30-year-old expects nothing less from his second title defense in the UAE.

“It’s gonna be a good, tough fight for me too because he has good experience, more than 20 fights in the UFC, but he has to be ready for my pressure,” said Nurmagomedov. “Maybe he thinks it’s gonna be like a kickboxing match or Muay Thai match. No. I’m gonna try and fight him everywhere inside the cage and he has to be ready.”

Poirier is as ready as he’s going to be for this fight, and that’s what Nurmagomedov wants. But beyond that, the Russian powerhouse isn’t interested in what “The Diamond” has planned for him.

“I never think about what my opponents think,” he said. “I don’t care about this. I always focus on myself. I have to be ready for a five-round war, five rounds of a very tough fight. What he thinks about, I don’t care. When I go to the cage, I’m gonna do my thing. My goal is always the same: catch my opponents, maul them, make them tired, talk with them and make them tap.”

That may be worse than being the victim of a quick knockout or submission. Add in his matter of fact demeanor, and Nurmagomedov is quite the intimidating figure, even if there is nothing but respect between the two – at least for now.

“I respect him like a fighter, like a human being,” said Nurmagomdeov of Poirier. “But when I go to the cage, I can’t respect him.” 

And when it’s over?

“There can only be one king of the jungle.”

Don’t miss the epic Champ vs Champ live battle. Find your start time here.

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