Exclusive: New WWE Next In Line program class includes sons of Mark Henry, Scott Steiner
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John Cena warns media, he will ruin wrestling, he is the last real champion in WWE
After making history at WrestleMania 41, John Cena warns the media that he will ruin wrestling and he is the last real champion in WWE
Some wrestling royalty will be part of the next group of potential WWE stars.
WWE has revealed the fifth class of its Next In Line (NIL) program, USA TODAY Sports confirmed, with 12 former college athletes making the jump to the ring with the hope of one day being on the company's roster. The class was finalized the same night as Money in the Bank 2025 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
The 12 athletes come from across the country and played various sports, from football to hockey to lacrosse. The names that will stand out in the class are Oklahoma football player and wrestler Jacob Henry, the son of former World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry. Also on the list is former Jacksonville State receiver Brock Rechsteiner, the son of former world champion Scott Steiner. His uncle is Rick Steiner and his cousin is current WWE star Bron Breakker.
WWE new NIL class
Brock Rechsteiner (Jacksonville State, football)
Jacob Henry (Oklahoma, football and wrestling)
Meghan Walker (Nebraska, track and field)
TJ Bullard (Central Florida, football)
Madison Kaiser (Minnesota, hockey)
Garrett Beck (Grand Canyon, lacrosse)
Kerrigan Huynh (University of Central Oklahoma, track and field)
Fatima Katembo (LSU Shreveport, basketball)
Bianca Pizano (Michigan State, field hockey)
Gina Adams (Lynn University, basketball)
Hidetora Hanada (Colorado State, football)
Zuriel Jimenez (Columbia University, track and field)
What is the WWE NIL program?
Established in 2021, WWE introduced the NIL program as a way to identify future stars and prepare them for a career in wrestling. WWE sought college athletes through NIL deals. Former Miami basketball players Haley and Hanna Cavinder were part of the program.
While not every person that entered the program has turned out to be a WWE star, some have not only made rosters, but have turned out to be successful in the ring. That includes NXT Champion Oba Femi and NXT Tag Team Champion Tank Ledger.
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USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
'I know how it feels to struggle': Why former MVP Mo Vaughn coaches kids
Mo Vaughn doesn't allow himself to drive his son home from baseball games. It's because he hears his own father's voice. 'I know what it is to have that parent that's just constantly leaning on you,' the Boston Red Sox icon says. He chuckles. 'I'm walking out of 1995 when I'm hitting .300, running for the MVP, and he's still lecturing me," he tells USA TODAY Sports. 'And I just promised myself I wasn't gonna do that to my son. 'I would sit in the clubhouse because I would take an 0-for-4. I just didn't want to go through that conversation with him.' So much about the major leagues is fresh in his mind – the good, the bad, the painful. At one point, like his left-handed moon shots bound for the Fenway Park seats, his career seemed to be hurtling toward the Hall of Fame. Then it was curtailed by injury-plagued stints with the Angels and Mets. He had a distaste for baseball until he became a baseball dad to his son, Lee. He now had a reason to think about how much he loved and missed the game. 'All the things I've done, the trials and tribulations, the ups and downs and things that happened, all those thoughts and things about the past fell off,' he says. Since 2017, he has run Vaughn Sports Academy out of Boca Raton, Florida. About 100 youth teams, stretching up to New Jersey, play under its umbrella. He coaches Lee, 13, as well as the varsity at a local high school (Olympic Heights). On Aug. 17, Vaughn, 57, will also be a coach at the Perfect Game All-American Classic (8 p.m. ET, It's a showcase of some of the country's best prep players at San Diego's Petco Park. 'I've had so many people put their mouth on me from college,' he says. 'Everybody's always telling you what you can't do. The minor leagues telling you what you can't do. The major leagues are telling you what you can't do. And sometimes people don't even have the credentials to make those decisions. 'I look up and I say, man, thank God I ran into one or two guys that really helped me get on the path and be successful. … I know how it feels to struggle, but I also know how to fix it, too.' Here are his hard rules for success for young athletes: Being a sports parent starts with putting yourself in position to be 'productive,' especially after a game Vaughn can still see those steps at Edison Field, as the Angels' home ballpark was known in 1999. It was his first game after signing a six-year, $80 million deal with the Angels. He chased a foul ball toward the first base dugout and tumbled down them, damaging his ankle and knee. 'I'm the guy that never wanted to hang on too long,' he says. 'I never wanted to go out as someone said, 'Man, this guy played too long. He should have left.' When I knew I couldn't be Mo Vaughn anymore, it was time to go and it was a tough decision. 'I fell in the dugout after I left the Red Sox. That hurt, too. All of a sudden, five years later, I was out of the game. And that hurt, too.' He played his last big-league game at 35. 'I never retired. I walked out,' Vaughn says. 'I was going to get the hell away from baseball.' He ran a trucking company. He got into the affordable real estate business and was highly successful. 'People talk about, 'What do you do in retirement?'' he says. 'Man, we don't know what the hell we're doing. All we knew is what we wanted to be. So I had no answers.' All athletic careers come to an end at some point. But we carry the intensity of them, especially if you've won an American League MVP. It's why Lee rides with his mother, Gail, after her husband is done coaching the team. 'I need to cool down,' Mo Vaughn says. 'When we lose, I don't want to be talking to him about the game. At certain times, I gotta wait, give myself 24 hours, so I can be productive in his path moving forward.' COACH STEVE: Tips for the postgame car ride. (Hint: Don't be like Andre Agassi's dad) Be present when your kids play, but when you get home, put out a 'soft landing pad' Leroy and Shirley Vaughn, who were schoolteachers, were at all of their son's baseball, football and basketball games, even when Mo attended a boarding high school in upstate New York. 'Having him around, I think about it now, you'll get involved with some young people and they'll tell you, 'Yeah, my parents had to work, they can't come to the game.' And I was so lucky. 'I think it was important for me and helped me,' he says. 'Now, the whole football coach mentality, I'm not so sure that helped me, but just him being there and showing up … I think having that father-son connection, it's a great thing.' Leroy had an imposing frame – 6-3, 220 pounds – that followed Vaughn like shadow. He had been a football coach at a high school in Norwalk, Connecticut, where Vaughn grew up. When we become parents, we embrace the positive things our moms or dads did for us, but we are allowed to make adjustments. 'My son, what makes my relationship with him successful is that I do actually realize how hard it is to hit a baseball,' he says. 'Listen, my dad meant well. My dad always thought that he was helping me, but in the game of baseball, you gotta give people time and the ability to be in a place that when you start talking and making adjustments and doing things that they are fully open to what happened so they receive the information in the right way.' Vaughn's parents were around in Boston, New York and California, too, when he became a professional. We love to look into the stands and see our parents, no matter how old we are. But there's also a moment when they need to hold back. We feel their support from their presence alone. 'Give space, give time, realize that, 'Do you think this kid wanted to strike out with the bases loaded and lose the game?'' Vaughn says. 'Absolutely not. They already know. You don't have to reiterate it. You don't have to make them feel worse. 'Home should be an environment of positivity. You shouldn't have your son or your daughter playing softball, coming home feeling like, 'I can't be myself because I didn't have a good day today. I didn't have a good game, or I didn't get any hits, or I made an error.' Don't provide that. Provide a soft landing pad. The game is hard enough as it is.' 'You don't have to do this': We put ourselves out there for our kids' sports careers, but we also need to adjust with them When Grace -- Vaughn and Gail's oldest child -- took a heavy interest in tennis, the family relocated to Florida, where she could train with a world-class coach. But with the move, Vaughn learned an important lesson about parenting: We have to be able to pull back. 'I used to ask her, 'Do you want to do this?'' he recalls. 'I don't ever want my kids to feel the pressure they gotta live up to me and I tell them all the time: I've already played, I've already had my time. I played as well as I could for as long as I can. You are my kids. You don't have to do this.' 'But you always gotta ask those questions because you never know.' He found out she didn't want the everyday grind of becoming an elite athlete. She stopped playing tennis and is now in her third year at Barry University in Miami, studying sports management. We get to know our kids better when we allow ourselves to understand what they want. 'We're trying to figure out what are the right words, what are the right buttons,' Vaughn says. 'There's certain ways I gotta talk to my daughter to get the best out of her. There are certain ways I gotta talk to my son to get the best out of him. We're constantly playing like this shell game of what those words are as a parent. 'If you think that's hard, then you shouldn't be a parent, because that's what we're here to do is figure out what makes our kids tick and be successful.' Fortunately, he feels he doesn't have to push Lee with baseball. Even when you're talented, 'the magic is in the work' Vaughn was a 6-1, 250-plus pound first baseman. Lee, who also bats left-handed, plays the middle infield and is lean and quick. His father says he's gaining confidence and the ability to affect the game with his arm, speed and athleticism. 'I didn't work as hard as him,' Vaughn says, 'and damn sure didn't look like him.' Since he was about seven, Lee has done two days per week of strength and conditioning, two days of skill work and two days of hitting with his dad. 'It takes years to develop into a good baseball player,' Vaughn says. 'You're growing, your feet are getting bigger, you're getting taller. You gotta maintain your motor skills. You gotta get stronger. … 'He's put in the time and there's still much more wood to chop but I would tell parents that's it's a six- to seven-day-a-week thing.' The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends kids take at least one day off a week and two months off from a sport per year. Games especially can wear down young bodies. Vaughn believes their impact for kids is minimal. It's the repetition that builds familiarity with many things we do every day, even when it doesn't produce immediate results. 'I don't know what's gonna happen with my son,' Vaughn says. 'But I know one thing: He will have worked. And I think when you teach them that at a young age, they can go off and do anything and be successful. 'That's the thing in your life: How hard we gotta work each day. You know, we're working, we're running, we're lifting, we're hitting, and all of a sudden we (attain) that one thing, and we're like, man, it was all worth it. … The magic is in the work. There's no secret button for success. You gotta work, and know how to work. … 'When you're coaching young kids, you only got about 20 minutes, then you gotta move on because their mind's on something else. My little guys, it takes me 3-4 months for them to understand. Those same drills I do with high school kids they get it in a week.' COACH STEVE: When can teenagers start lifting weights? What about a private coach? 'Open your mind up to listening': That means you, too, Coach Vaughn likes to have coaches on his team who are dedicated to specific areas like pitching, catching and middle infield. 'I've always known that's the only way to do it right,' he says. 'You can never be a master of everything. I've had my own struggles at the big-league level, had to make changes, had to open my mind up to listening.' A lot of successful adults don't like to be wrong, especially if they're corrected by teenagers. But the best coaches, Vaughn says, will pay attention to what you're saying if they see a player is dedicated to getting better. If we don't know the answer as coaches, we can always consult others and get back to kids and their parents. 'Challenge your coaches,' Vaughn says. 'If you know something is being done wrong, you gotta challenge it. If you're having success, you gotta challenge it. And if there's a coach out there that's not able to bring you into a practice facility and show you what they're teaching, the reason why they won't do is because they don't know what they're talking about.' Don't rely on slivers of yourself on social media; provide a full picture to coaches Near the end of his career, Vaughn said he injected his knee with human growth hormone. According to former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell's report on peformance-enhancing drug use in baseball, which was released in 2007, former Mets clubhouse employee Kirk Radomski said he sold HGH to Vaughn. HGH was added to Major League Baseball's list of banned substances in 2005 but MLB prohibited the use of any prescription medication without a valid prescription in 1971. 'I haven't said a word to them about (the HGH use) but also they haven't asked me,' Vaughn says about his players. 'I would do anything to get back on the field. I don't even consider it really anything factual that it's a testament to what I did in the game, do for the game and in the game. It's just a part of time, in my opinion.' What we do consistently throughout our experiences, he believes, provides a full picture of who someone is. 'Anybody can make a reel of greatness,' he says about athletes promoting themselves on social media. 'We can show our home runs, we can show off our diving plays, we could look like Ken Griffey Jr. What people want to see is: How do you react when things are going wrong? What type of teammate are you? Do you support your people? Those are the things that coaches are looking for. 'It's easy to do things when everything's going right ... When it's hard tells all about you.' The All-American Classic -- where Vaughn is coaching along with other former All-Stars, including fellow baseball dads Ryan Klesko and Tom Gordon -- provides another chance this weekend. Maybe your son or daughter has a big sports tournament somewhere, too. Vaughn loves the Red Sox, but like all of us, he roots for his kids first. 'I get to sit around these guys that are trying to get to where I was and give 'em information and talk and encouragement and knowledge and those things,' he says. 'And I don't think (there's) a better opportunity.' Steve Borelli, aka Coach Steve, has been an editor and writer with USA TODAY since 1999. He spent 10 years coaching his two sons' baseball and basketball teams. He and his wife, Colleen, are now sports parents for two high schoolers. His column is posted weekly. For his past columns, click here. Got a question for Coach Steve you want answered in a column? Email him at sborelli@
Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Associated Press
College football 2025: What you need to know about the new season
College football stayed very much in the news throughout the offseason, with details emerging almost weekly about changes in the way the sport works, both on and off the field. With the kickoff of the 2025 campaign less than a week away, here's a quick cheat sheet on all that's changed (and also what hasn't): How come players are getting paid now? This has been developing for decades. It's rooted in a handful of lawsuits in which players sued to be able to profit from their name, image and likenesses — say, for instance, on the covers of a video game or the back of a team jerseys. Starting this season, the schools themselves will be able to pay the players directly for using their NIL, which further blurs the line between amateur and professionalism. What still isn't allowed is 'pay for play' — where a school simply signs a player to play for them — though many people argue these NIL deals are simply pay for play in disguise under the term 'revenue sharing.' There have been, however, persistent calls for players to be treated more like employees — for instance, through collective bargaining — and that figures to be the next big debate to play out. How much money do the players make? And who pays? Contracts range from several million dollars for top quarterbacks such as Arch Manning of Texas to four-digit deals for players far down on the depth chart. Schools are allowed to share 22% of a portion of their revenue this school year, which amounts to $20.5 million that has to be split among all sports, but mostly goes to football and men's basketball. Who pays? Well, often it's us, the fans, one way or another. Some schools are increasing the cost of tickets and ticket licenses; others are upping concession prices and a few more have added athletic surcharges to tuition bills. Most every big school has been hitting up boosters to fill in the gaps that the $20.5 million and added scholarship costs will create. Some sports departments are getting extra funding from government. Did Deion Sanders stay at Colorado? He did. Though there was speculation wide and far that Sanders might follow his sons Shedeur and Shilo out the door after two years, the coach insisted he was with the Buffs for the long-haul. Just as preseason camp was warming up, Sanders disclosed he'd been diagnosed with bladder cancer, which he said had been treated. 'I'm healthy, I'm vibrant,' Sanders said. His team? Who knows? Replacing a star quarterback and a Heisman Trophy winner in Travis Hunter is never a sure thing. The over/under on the CU win total this year is 6.5 according to the MGM Sportsbook. Why is Bill Belichick coaching in college? The 73-year-old, six-time Super Bowl winner with the New England Patriots said he was looking for a new challenge and a place to build a program the way he wanted, instead of the way NFL teams he interviewed with were telling him. He also cited the close connection he had to his new school, North Carolina, where his father served as an assistant coach in the 1950s. What about Alabama? The Crimson Tide's four losses in coach Kalen DeBoer's first season were the most since Nick Saban's debut in 2007. The Tide's hopes for a turnaround rest on quarterback Ty Simpson, who won the starting job this month after sitting on the sideline for his first three seasons in Tuscaloosa. Simpson is a rarity — a five-star recruit who didn't bail on his school in search of more playing time and potentially more money. Alabama's opener is Aug. 30 at Florida State. When do the games start? Things kick off Saturday, with Big 12 rivals Kansas State and Iowa State meeting in Ireland. Big games next weekend include No. 1 Texas at No. 3 Ohio State, No. 9 LSU at No. 4 Clemson and No. 6 Notre Dame at No. 10 Miami. Anything new about the College Football Playoff? This is the second year of the 12-team playoff. There will be four rounds of games, starting Dec. 19 and ending exactly a month later at Hard Rock Stadium near Miami. The five best conference champions will earn automatic bids into the tournament, but in a tweak from last year, the four best among them will not be guaranteed a top-four seed and a first-round bye. Instead, they'll be slotted in by how the 13-person selection committee ranks them. So, for instance, if Texas and Alabama are CFP No. 1 and 2 heading into the SEC title game and Texas wins a close one, but Alabama only falls to No. 4, the Tide would still get the 4 seed and a first-round bye. How to keep track of who's good and not good After Labor Day, the AP releases its weekly Top 25 poll every Sunday. The CFP selection committee starts releasing its weekly rankings the first week of November. Its last poll, on Dec. 8, will slot the teams into the playoff bracket. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: and
USA Today
15 hours ago
- USA Today
UFC 319 live results: Dricus Du Plessis vs Khamzat Chimaev fight stream, card highlights
Khamzat Chimaev doesn't like his chances of being part of a UFC event at the White House if it materializes. "Bro, look at my face," Chimaev, the Russian fighter with a thick, long beard, told MMA Junkie. But the odds of his becoming a UFC champion Saturday? Infinitely better. Chimaev will be the betting favorite when he fights middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis in Chicago. The bout scheduled for five rounds figures to be entertaining. Chimaev, 31, boasts wrestling skills that have led to comparisons to legendary Russian Khabib Nurmagomedov. He also has a spotless record – 14-0 overall and 8-0 UFC. Plessis, 31, has an impressive record in his own right – 23-2 overall and 9-0 UFC. Though his herky-jerky style has turned off purists, he'll be making his third title defense since winning the belt with a victory over Sean Strickland by split decision in 2024. USA TODAY Sports has everything you need to enjoy UFC 319, including updates, highlights and analysis: UFC 319: Time, PPV, streaming for Du Plessis vs Chimaev The highly anticipated clash between Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev will take place on Saturday, Aug. 16 and can be purchased on ESPN+ PPV. UFC 319 results Michal Oleksiejczuk def. Gerald Meerschaert by TKO Oleksiejczuk arrived to this fight with the equivalent of a hammer. Meerschaert came virtually unarmed. So you can guess how that middleweight bout ended. Oleksiejczuk scored two takedowns, and the second one with authority. He delivered hammer shots with abandon until the referee halted the fight at 3:03 of the first round. Oleksiejczuk, a 30-year-old from Poland, improved to 21-9 (9-7 UFC). Meerschaert, a 37-year-old from Wisconsin, fell to 37-20 (12-12 UFC). Gerald Meerschaert vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk: Round-by-round analysis Middleweight bout Gerald Meerschaert and Michal Oleksiejczuk will challenge not only each other but also the effectiveness of spellcheck. Oleksiejczuk throws a left while trying to gain control. Throws another and takes Meerschaert to the canvas but the referee intervenes and both men are on their feet. Not for long. Meerschaert misses a lazy takedown and the crowd boos. Oleksiejczuk responds with left hands and Meerschaert drops to the canvas. Then Meerschaert is up and he gets dropped again for real. Oleksiejczuk follows up with hammer punches before the referee stops the fight! It's Oleksiejczuk by TKO! Loopy Godinez def. Jessica Andrade by unanimous decision Godinez caught Andrade by surprise early with her fists – landing hard shots to Andrade's head in the first two rounds of their women's strawweight fight. Then it came down to survival. Andrade, known for her power punches, began to land with a thump. She opened a cut beneath Godinez's left eye, and the blood flowed as she tried to hold off Andrade and unleash a final flurry of punches. The judges scored it 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 for Godinez, who improved to 14-5 (9-5 UFC). Andrade, a 33-year-old from Brazil, dropped to 26-14 (17-13 UFC). Jessica Andrade vs. Loopy Godinez: Round-by-round analysis Women's strawweight bout Jessica Andrade and Loopy Godinez exchange punches early. Godinez connects with a hard left and so much for Andrade being the only power puncher in the octagon. Godinez scores with three more punches while Andrade moves in and eats another punch. Godinez increases her lateral movement as Andrade tries to load up. Godinez lands another right and then a right kick to the body. Godinez just a right and a left and Andrade just keeps marching forward and lands some big punches. Godinez, after being under siege for about 45 seconds, finishes it with a right. Godinez 10, Andrade 9 Andrade comes out swinging, strikes and Godinez takes her down and gains control in the half guard. Godinez landing punches and knees on Andrade, who finally gets free. Godinez gets hit and hits harder – a big left. Godinez takes an eye poke and needs a moment before the fight resume and she lands a right kick. Andrade lands a punch and this is turning brawl-like. Andrade is stacking and she eats a right and kick. Andrade marches and scores with her fists. Godinez fighting back but unable to get Andrade back to the mat. But she follows a big left with a knee. Godinez 20, Andrade 18 Andrade comes out swinging again. Andrade looking extremely aggressive. Godinez covering up more, then lashes out with a right. Andrade fights through it and lands a flurry of punches. Godinez landing enough punches and kicks to keep Andrade at bay – barely. Andrade has opened a cut over Godinez's eyes and Andrade is assaulting Godinez. Godinez sneaks in a right, but Andrade is not backing up. Godinez answers with a right kick. Godinez fails a takedown attempt as the round comes to a close with the two women brawling. The cheers with approval! Godinez 29, Andrade 28 Alexander Hernandez def. Chase Hooper by TKO Harnandez, apparently on the verge of losing the first round on the scorecards, took matters into his own hands. His right hand, to be precise. Hernandez throttled Hooper with a powerful right and, after Hooper fell to the canvas, followed up with more rights. The referee quickly stopped the lightweight bout with just two seconds left in the round. At 6-foot-1, Hooper appeared to have an important height advantage. But the 5-foot-9 Hernandez compensated with his fists. Hernandez, a 25-year-old from Texas, improved to 17-3-1 (9-7 UFC). Hooper, a 25-year-old from Washington, fell to 16-9 (8-4). Chase Hooper vs. Alexander Hernandez: Round-by-round analysis Lightweight bout Chase Hooper, at 6-foot-1, looks noticeably bigger against the 5-foot-9 Alexander Hernandez. The reach with his legs and arms is leaving Hernandez perplexed until he lands a right. Hernandez fires again with his fists and scores with a right. Hooper ties him up before Hernandez wriggles free. Henandez has grown more comfortable against his taller opponent. Hooper using kicks, then gets grazed by a right. Hernandez with a right and the fight is halted with two seconds on the clock! It's Hernandez by TKO. Darkkar Klose def. Edson Barboza by unanimous decision In their lightweight bout, Klose prevailed over Barboza thanks to a novel strategy. The foot stomp. Over the first two rounds, Klose stomped on Barboza's feet, to the point where Barboza looked unsteady on his feet – and vulnerable. Klose, in turn, blasted away with punches and left welts under Barboza's eyes. Not to mention noticeable swelling on Barboza's feet. The judges scored it 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 for Klose, a 37-year-old from Florida who improved to 16-3-1 (10-3 UFC) . Barboza, a 39-year-old from Brazil fell to 24-13 (18-13 UFC). Karine Silva def. Dione Barbosa by unanimous decision In a rematch of their 2019 fight, Silva avenged a loss to Barbosa with a victory by the same manner: unanimous decision. The crowd rewarded Silva with boos after the flyweight bout. The clock saved Silva in the first round, when it ran out while Barbosa looked close to submitting her by armbar. But in the third round, it was Silva who almost finished Barbosa by guillotine before Barbosa wriggled free. The judges scored it 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 for Silva, the 31-year-old Brazilian who improved to 19-5 (5-1 UFC). Barbosa, a 33-year-old Brazilian, fell to 8-4 (2-2 UFC). Joseph Morales def. Alibi Idiris by submission Morales turned in a scintillating performance over Idiris in the flyweight finale of The Ultimate Fighter 33. Morales dominated the first round, then owned the second, when he knocked down Idiris and submitted him by triangle choke at 3:04 of Round 2. Before it was over, blood was trickling down Idiris' nose as Morales exulted in victory. Morales, a 30-year-old from Sacramento, California, who entered the bout as a decisive underdog, improved to 13-2 (1-2 UFC). And with the victory, he earned a UFC contract. Idiris, a 30-year-old from Kazakhstan, suffered his first loss as his record fell to 10-1. Khamzat Chimaev keeps UFC, fans on toes Khamzat Chimaev will enter the ring to great relief considering he has pulled out of several big fights for a variety of reasons. He canceled three fights with Leon Edwards because he had COVID-19, according to the UFC. He also had to withdraw from a fight with Nate Diaz when he weighed in 7 1/2 pounds over the maximum weight of 170. He also withdrew from a fight against Robert Whitaker because of an undisclosed illness. Dricus Du Plessis relies on mind Dricus Du Plessis says he has used a mental coach for the past eight years and that it'll pay off when he fights Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319. Chimaev is expected to take Du Plessis down early, and the reigning middleweight champion shrugged it off. 'We are just weaponizing the mental aspect,'' he told UFC Unfiltered. 'I don't have any issues. It is just strategizing. How we approach (fights), because each opponent is a little bit different. 'Seeing how we can make this even more powerful. That is where my mental training comes in … winning the fight before the fight. 'Mentally, I cannot be broken. It is impossible.' Why Khamzat Chimaev is nicknamed 'Borz' In Chechen, the native language of the Russian republic where Khamzat Chimaev was born and raised, "Borz" means wolf. It is the national animal of Chechnya and generally represents strength and courage, attributes Chimaev has exhibited while going 14-0 as an MMA fighter. This week Chimaev got custom shorts featuring howling wolves on each side. UFC 319 press conference ignites crowd Khamzat Chimaev looked delighted. The source of his mirth was a boisterous crowd gathered in Chicago for the final press conference before he fights UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 on Saturday, Aug. 16. Boos drowned out Du Plessis as he tried to answer the first question. "Well, that was one of the best boos I've heard," Du Plessis said when the noise finally died down. "Well done, gents, well done." Read more about it from Josh Peter. UFC 319: Du Plessis vs Chimaev predictions Josh Peter, USA TODAY Sports: 'Dricus Du Plessis must drag Khamzat Chimaev into the fifth round to prevail based on his superior stamina. But Chimaev will end the fight sooner than that.'' Prediction: Chimaev by stoppage, second round. Andrew Richardson, MMA Mania: 'I trust Du Plessis and his team have proven their ability to game plan appropriately even complicated stylistic asks.'' Prediction: Du Plessis by KO. Alexander K. Lee, MMA Fighting: "When Chimaev is on, there isn't a soul in the world that can beat him in a fight, and I see no reason to deviate from that belief.'' Prediction: Chimaev by stoppage, first or second round. Din Thomas, ESPN: 'I think Khamzat's grappling pressure is going to be too much.'' Prediction: Chimaev wins. Drake Riggs, Uncrowned: 'Against Chimaev, the best offensive grappling is defensive, which is what the champion needs to showcase, as the relentless Chechen will waste no time going at him.'' Prediction: Chimaev wins. Trent Reinsmith, Forbes: 'Most of the talk around this fight is that if Du Plessis can survive the first round he should be able to take over with his striking and rack up points for the win, but that's a big if when it comes to someone as aggressive and explosive as Chimaev.'' Prediction: The betting pick is for Du Plessis to win a decision or via late knockout. However, a pick for Chimaev to win via early submission is not out of line. UFC 319 preliminary and main card start times UFC 319 odds: Du Plessis vs Chimaev fight card Fight card according to ESPN and all odds via BetMGM. (Odds as of Wednesday) Our team of savvy editors independently handpicks all recommendations. If you purchase through our links, the USA Today Network may earn a commission. Prices were accurate at the time of publication but may change. Gambling involves risk. Please only gamble with funds that you can comfortably afford to lose. 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