nds a lead elbow that basically sends Alves nose up into his forehead. Carlos ends up winning and you see his face is covered with another mans blood and hes smiling. Hes looking out over the crowd, screaming, blood all over his face.Thats Carlos in the Octagon. Outside of it, hes nice as can be. Insi

There was a kind of symmetry to this tri-series, which started and ended with a capitulation by Zimbabwes batsmen. The difference, for captain Graeme Cremer, was that this time around his team made Sri Lanka work much harder for their win. Defending 160, Zimbabwe took a wicket with the first legitimate delivery bowled and Sri Lanka toiled for 38 overs for their six-wicket victory.When we went out there, we said even if they get our score one wicket down, well make it as hard as we can for them, Cremer said. We werent going to go searching for the wickets, but we wanted to put them under pressure and make it the hardest 160 theyve scored. That was our goal.Cremer had Kusal Mendis caught in the deep for 57, while left-arm quick Brian Vitori - who was not originally part of Zimbabwes squad for this series - nipped out three wickets at the top of the order. Vitoris was one of three surprising changes Zimbabwe made to their XI for this match. Malcolm Waller was brought back, without making much impact, but Tarisai Musakanda, the 21-year-old Mid-West Rhinos batsman, sprinted to an eye-catching 36 on debut.We hadnt really put on a big total [previously], so we felt that maybe just changing it up a little bit, and putting up something different to all the innings that Sri Lanka have had might work, coach Heath Streak explained. Musakanda is someone weve been holding back, but we just felt it was the right time. They didnt know much about him, and he showed exactly what hes got.I think hes got a bright future. Im very happy with him. And then Vitori, we picked him for exactly what he showed today. We felt we needed him. (Dhananjaya) De Silva and (Kusal) Perera have been really damaging up front, and we got them both early, so that paid off.Vitori had played for the Zimbabwe A side against Pakistan last month, before heading to Cape Town to fulfill a club contract. Because of this, he was not originally included in Zimbabwes tri-series squad, but had been training with the group since his return from South Africa. He had a contract in Cape Town, and wed wanted him to stay but he had to go down and fulfill that, Streak explained. But he managed to get back here, despite missing out on the Test series. And hes been practising and bowling with us here in the nets with the boys, and giving all our batters a hard time, so we felt that maybe he could do that to the opposition. Cremer conceded that, in hindsight, bowling first might have been Zimbabwes best choice upon winning the toss. The weather forecast for the match hinted at rain, with the afternoon looking particularly iffy. As it turned out, Zimbabwe batted through gloomy low cloud and rain, while Sri Lankas batsmen had the benefit of bright sunshine that dried the pitch and eased batting conditions.In hindsight, we probably could have bowled first, Cremer said. But the way it looked this morning, we thought it would only get worse or stay how it was. The wicket was a bit sticky this morning, so it took a lot of turn. But it looked really good to bat out there this afternoon. Its just one of those things. We couldnt predict that.Unpredictable weather aside, Streak suggested that 240 would have been a defendable total on this pitch. It was a wicket that over 600 runs had been scored on recently, Streak said. It was still quite dry, although obviously with a bit of rain, it got a little bit tacky. Despite that, no-one really got out, other than Masakadza, to an unplayable delivery.It wasnt a 300 wicket by any stretch of the imagination. We could have got to 240 or 250 if wed batted a bit more sensibly, and if wed done that it could have been a different story today. Weve got to move on and take the good part of the series with us, and learn from the things that we didnt do so well, and make sure we dont repeat them in the future.Despite Sundays defeat, Cremer was positive about Zimbabwes overall performance through this series. The hosts were able to knock West Indies out of the competition, while batsmen Sikandar Raza and Craig Ervine have found some form, averaging 54.33 and 36.75, respectively, across five innings.Were still trying to find the right combinations, Cremer said. Streaky has just come in [as coach]. I havent been captain for that long. So were trying to find the right XI for the conditions we play in, whether we go away or we play here. A lot of positives. Weve got a lot of young guys coming through. Carl Mumba is a bright prospect. Musakanda of course. PJ Moor is still really young in international cricket, and we know he can play at this level. Raza played really well in a few innings. Its good to see him back in a bit of form. Sean Williams showed signs today that hes starting to get back into it. So were quite excited for the couple of months ahead.Zimbabwe will - hopefully - be starting their domestic season at the beginning of December. Their next scheduled assignment is away, to Sri Lanka, in June, but coach Heath Streak insisted that other fixtures would be added to the calendar in the new year.Weve got some tours that were working on, between now and [Sri Lanka], Streak said. Well definitely have some cricket between now and the time we got to Sri Lanka next year. Guys have got provincial cricket, and well get together as a national squad where opportunity arises. There is a lot of specific stuff that we want to work on and keep improving. Ive spoken about fielding, but there are all sorts of things that we need to put in place. There will be a lot of cricket early next year.Custom Hurricanes Jersey China . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. Authentic Custom Hurricanes Jersey . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.customhurricanesjersey.com/ . Belfort (24-10) needed just 77 seconds to down Henderson in the headlining bout of Saturdays "UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson" event at Goiania Arena in Goiania, Brazil. The fight served as a rematch of the pairs 2006 meeting, which Henderson won by decision. Cheap Custom Hurricanes Jersey . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed. Custom Hurricanes T-shirts . The Vikings announced Thursday that Priefer will be one of seven holdovers from the previous staff, along with offensive line coach Jeff Davidson, wide receivers coach George Stewart and others. Norv Turner will mark his 30th year of coaching in the NFL as the offensive co-ordinator, as widely reported for weeks, and George Edwards will be the defensive co-ordinator.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 middleweight contender and current analyst?Brian Stann to discuss all things MMA. Stann (12-6), a former WEC light heavyweight champion, retired in 2013 after a seven-year career.?1.?Is womens strawweight contender Paige VanZant a future pay-per-view draw for the UFC?Stann:?Yeah, I think she is. It would take her doing more things on network television, though. Its not going to be just from her fights. When she was doing Dancing With the Stars, in my regular day job my employees thought I was really cool because I had met Paige VanZant. Thats how big she got by doing that show. I call fights all the time. I come back on Sunday and on Monday, my employees couldnt care less. But Paige VanZant doing Dancing With the Stars? Theyre like, Do you know Page VanZant? Oh my God, what is she like? She really rose to prominence on that show.Theres something about her. She has that it factor and a win like her last one, in a fight she was not winning, to come out of nowhere and land that kick -- shes an athlete, a gamer and she has got the personality.Okamoto:?I think its too early to tell. Selling pay-per-views isnt easy. At any one time in the sport, there are (maybe) only three or four names that can consistently do so. Does VanZant have a lot of potential? Of course. Id be hard-pressed to find many prospects with more potential than VanZant, but in addition to showing up on other mainstream platforms, winning is a major piece to this. Her knockout over Bec Rawlings was spectacular and an example of what shes capable of athletically, but we still have no idea whether shell be a champion or not.The chips are falling into place for her to be a PPV draw, but so much more has to happen before she gets there. Id say her chances are 50-50 -- which, when you consider how rare PPV stars are, thats pretty high.2.?UFC president Dana White has hinted that?Jon Jones might be back soon in a fight against Anthony Johnson. With light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier also ready for a fight, what is the matchup to make?Stann:?I think its DC vs. Rumble [Johnson], and you do a rematch between Jones and Alexander Gustafsson. People have wanted to see that rematch for a long time and its a fight that would get Alex excited again.Having known Jon, I just think there needs to be something that helps this guy to stop taking things for granted. Regardless of what went wrong or what ends up being proven [with his UFC 200 failed drug test], he ingested something he should have known not to. At this point, people know, If Im going to take something, I need to make sure its clear. Jon continues to cost himself, the sport and the fans -- and I think allowing him to jump right back in and fight for a title -- while its definitely the fight that sells the most -- I think for his longevity, he has got to learn from this. It just seems he always finds a way out. Fighters are calling him Teflon Jon now. When that happens, you can fall back into that groove where you take things for granted and Id really like to see Jon not do that.Okamoto:?I have to agree with Stann. Stylistically, which fight would I want most? Probably Jones-Johnson. We havent seen it yet. I would like to see it, just like thousands of others would like to see it. But thats the problem with Jones in the past two years: We dont get to see him fight.Jones has the right to defend himself regarding the failed drug test -- well see how that all unfolds. But regardless of what happens with that, I have a hard time arguing against a fight between the champion (Cormier) and a deserving contender (Johnson) being next. And while the UFC promotes that matchup, I love Stanns idea of a rematch between Jones and Gustafsson. Even Jones has said he wants that fight again. Win-win.3.?Following Demian Maias submission win against Carlos Condit, who deserves the next 170-pound title shot, Maia or Stephen Thompson?Stann:?I think its Stephen Thompson. He has generated a ton of hype behind him. Blasting Johny Hendricks the way he did and then getting a dominant win over Rory MacDonald?--?maybe not as definitive as the Hendricks win, but Rory has been the next-best guy for some time now and Wonderboy [Thompson] handled him very well. I think he legitimately deserves the next shot.The run Maia has been able to put together is incredible, but I think its actually beneficial for him to wait. I think he matches up better against Wonderboy than he does against [current champion] Tyron Woodley. He should wait and see what the results are of [a Woodley-Thompson] fight; maybe hell end up getting a bbetter stylistic matchup.dddddddddddd. Maia is a fighter and hes going to try to take out anybody, but with his game, I think it would be much more difficult to do that to Woodley than it would against Thompson. We dont know that for sure, but thats what Ive seen on tape.Okamoto:?What Maia has done during this six-fight win streak is basically unheard of -- fighting this level of competition and consistently taking essentially zero damage. But all these calls for a Maia title shot -- I think its people only remembering what they saw last. Thompson, to me, is the obvious choice for No. 1 contender. And thats nothing against Maia, its just the way it is.In 2016, Thompson has fought the higher-ranked competition and his seven-fight win streak is actually longer than Maias. I see no issue with Maia waiting, if thats what he chooses to do, but as I wrote in a piece earlier this week, I think thats a bit of a gamble. Its always dicey waiting for a title shot, especially in a division that is welcoming back names like Nick Diaz and (potentially) Georges St-Pierre.4.?Will former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis win the featherweight title at some point in his career?Stann: Yes. I think its an excellent move for him and typically, when guys make moves like this and go looking for a second run at another weight, I look at how many miles they have on them. I dont think Anthony has a lot of miles on him. He had some injuries, but those can be bad luck.I thought he was fighting bigger guys for a long time. Cutting down to 145, hes the same size he was at 155. I watched him warm up and talked to his camp. His coach, Duke Roufus, told me hes hitting just as hard at this weight and hes fast. What hurt him at 155 was that guy who could hold him against the fence and wrestle him, neutralize him. Thats going to be a lot harder to do at this weight. And when you look at the elite guys at 145 -- Conor McGregor, Max Holloway, Jose Aldo -- thats not their game. Thats not what they do. They typically prefer to stand and strike.Okamoto:?Tough one. Ill side with Stann and go, Yes. Pettis is such a skilled fighter, how can you bet against him? His path to a title shot wont be a long one -- nor should it be, really. The UFC will move him through the line quickly, based on his name value, and even though he did hit that 0-3 skid at 155, hed be deserving of a featherweight title shot with perhaps as little as one more win. Holloway shouldnt lose his place in line, but its hard to not get excited about a potential fight between Pettis and Aldo -- or McGregor, if the champ stays in the division.5.?Condit has publicly stated hes considering retirement. Should he do it? What is the most memorable moment of his career to date?Stann: Ive got no issues with Carlos retiring. He has been fighting for a long time. Once a fighter starts to think about it, its typically a good idea to hang it up. I think we have a tendency to try and stretch our careers too far. Carlos is a really bright guy who will have a lot more to do in life than fight. Hell be remembered as one of the very best of the welterweight division and one of the most fun fighters to watch, ever.The moment that sticks out to me was when I called his fight against Thiago Alves [in May 2015]. He was coming off a substantial layoff after he hurt his knee and he was rusty. It was one of those fights where I was saying, Alves looks sharp. Carlos just might not be able to turn the ignition tonight. Then, in typical Condit fashion, he lands a lead elbow that basically sends Alves nose up into his forehead. Carlos ends up winning and you see his face is covered with another mans blood and hes smiling. Hes looking out over the crowd, screaming, blood all over his face.Thats Carlos in the Octagon. Outside of it, hes nice as can be. Inside, hes a savage.Okamoto:?No opinion, really, on whether its time for Condit to hang them up. His ability to take a punch doesnt appear compromised, so hes not in jeopardy of becoming one of those fighters youre actually squeamish to see take a shot. If his fire has gone out, then by all means, thanks for the memories, best of luck in the next chapter. I have a hard time believing Condit will leave the sport off of that fight -- a loss to Maia that was so quick it barely felt like a fight had taken place at all. I could certainly see him being selective when it comes to accepting an opponent, though. It has to be a motivating fight in some way.Best Condit moment? The Dong Hyun Kim flying knee knockout stands out as his best finish. That moment was made for a poster on a kids wall. ' ' '