out of Paul McGinleys life.It certainly took two years out of Darren Clarkes playing career.

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 UFC lightweight Al Iaquinta to debate the latest news and talk about the UFC belts changing hands, Nick Diazs return and more. Iaquinta (12-3-1), 29, hasnt fought since a split-decision victory over Jorge Masvidal at UFC Fight Night 63 in April 2015 in Fairfax, Virginia.1. Seven UFC champions have lost their title in 2016. Why?Iaquinta: The level of fighting is getting so competitive now. One little mistake, thats all it takes to lose. As time goes on, people get better and better. Technology and training is improving. I think its going to be harder for these champions to hold on to their titles and have those long reigns they did years ago.Okamoto: Because divisions are deep and the sport is evolving. I agree with Al all the way. Were not watching striker vs. grappler anymore. Were not seeing one athlete who knows how to cut weight against one who doesnt cut at all. Everything is a science. There are a lot of ways to lose. One style doesnt beat every other style around it. It used to. Anderson Silva set a record 12 consecutive title defenses with takedown defense, pinpoint counter-striking and debilitating mind games. That worked for years. Then he ran into Chris Weidman,?a composed, athletic middleweight with a collegiate wrestling background and a good pressure offense, and Silva went down in consecutive matches. Current UFC champs are facing well-rounded, elite competition on a nightly basis. Its hard to win every time when thats the case.2. In these dangerous times for a champ, who is the safest to maintain his or her belt? Who is the most at risk?Iaquinta:?[Flyweight]?Demetrious Johnson is definitely the safest. Hes had the belt for so long. That 125-pound division hasnt caught up yet. Hes so far ahead. Eventually, there might be a younger guy we might not have even heard of yet, comes out of nowhere and beats him, but not right now. And you know what? [Heavyweight]?Stipe Miocic, actually. Hes still improving. Hes been around, but hes still getting better. I know thats one of the hardest divisions to hold on to a title, because at heavyweight, you get hit with one shot, thats it. But I think hes going to have [Alistair] Overeems number [at UFC 203 on Sept. 10]. I think hell hold on to it. Who is most at risk? I think Conor McGregor is going to have a very tough time going back to 145 pounds. Im going to say either he tries to defend it and loses or decides not to go down. I think its more likely he just vacates the belt.Okamoto: Safest: strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Frankly, Jedrzejczyk could have an off night and still beat most of the contenders shes apt to see in that division. Something very, very wild would have to take place for her to lose the belt at this point. Nearly as safe: Demetrious Johnson. Everyone else, as far as Im concerned, is pretty vulnerable. Most at risk? Hard to say when we dont know who some of these champions are fighting next, but in general, I dont expect long title reigns out of lightweight Eddie Alvarez, welterweight Tyron Woodley?or?middleweight Michael Bisping. Those divisions are loaded. Expect those belts to bounce around.3. Who should newly crowned UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodleys first title defense be against?Iaquinta: Its gotta be Wonderboy (Stephen Thompson). I went into the fight this weekend pretty much watching to see who was going to fight Wonderboy next. Recently, nobody has been able to touch him. Hes putting people away, making them look like amateurs. So, I think thats the fight thats got to happen. Wonderboy is the No. 1 contender and he might have been more deserving of a title shot than even Woodley was.Okamoto: One-hundred percent, Thompson. I actually have Thompson ranked No. 1 in the welterweight division, ahead of Woodley. Thats no knock on Woodley, and its very, very close, but in my opinion, Thompson deserves the No. 1 rank based on their respective resumes. Since January 2015, Thompson is 3-0 with two finishes, and two of his wins were against Johny Hendricks?by knockout and Rory MacDonald?in a five-round decision. Woodley is 2-0, with a split decision against Kelvin Gastelum and then the knockout over Lawler. Like I said, were splitting hairs, but I have Thompson as my No. 1 welterweight. He deserves the shot, clearly.4. Nick Diaz is a free man. His 18-month suspension ended on Aug. 1. Whom should he return against?Iaquinta: I would love to see Nick Diaz have a rematch against Robbie Lawler. I remember watching that fight years ago (April 2004). Nick Diaz kind of came out of nowhere, Lawler was getting the hype. That was, what, 10 years ago probably? Twelve? Both of these guys are still at the top of the game. Neither of them are ever in a boring fight. The lead-up to that fight would be fun. I think its a great matchup. I could see it going the same way as the first one, but Lawler has matured a lot. I think he went real crazy on Diaz the first time and kind of walked into a punch. It might be more of a technical fight on Robbies end. As far as who wins, I dont know. Its just a fight Id love to see. Im a fan of both guys.Okamoto: Theres no question at all, its Robbie Lawler. This rematch has been 12 years in the making. Its been talked about as if its some mythical creature, like something we all caught a brief glimpse of and have quietly searched and longed for ever since. Diaz told me hes not interested in the fight, because Lawler is coming off a loss. I love the attitude. That mentality right there -- call it delusion if you want, maybe theres some truth in that -- but thats what makes the Diaz brothers so popular. Everybody needs me more than I need them. Its great. In reality, of course, it doesnt hold up. Diaz hasnt won a fight since 2011. If anything, its Lawler who should be asking for a higher-ranked opponent. Hopefully, when the dust settles, this is the matchup Diaz returns to.5. Were eight months into 2016. Who is the current front-runner for fighter of the year?Iaquinta: Wonderboys gotta be up there, right? I think hes gotta be the guy. Tyron Woodleys only fight was the win against Robbie. Im trying to think of who else -- nothing. Ive gotta go with Wonderboy.Okamoto: Michael Bisping, by a landslide. Very, very good chance its Bisping when we hit Dec. 31, too. Were possibly looking at a year in which a 37-year-old Bisping will have defeated Anderson Silva in a five-round fight in February, knocked out Luke Rockhold in the first round of a middleweight championship fight in June, and defended the title once against Dan Henderson in front of his hometown of Manchester in October. Well see about that last one, obviously. Im not taking anything for granted in this sport, not with the way 2016 has gone. But what a chapter this has been in Bispings career. Cheap Arsenal FC Jerseys .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. Cheap Tottenham Hotspur FC Jerseys . All of the scoring came in the final 20:04. Lucic scored on a power play at 15:46 of the third period, when he tipped a shot over Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen for a 3-1 lead. http://www.cheapsoccerjerseysoutlet.com/?tag=cheap-egypt-jerseys .1 million pounds ($61.2 million) on Saturday, giving the beleaguered English Premier League champions a major lift. Cheap Inter Milan FC Jerseys . -- Arizona knocked off some quality opponents, rolled over a few overmatched ones and grinded out victories even when things didnt go so well. Discount Soccer Jerseys For Sale . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. DENVER -- The lights went out at the Pepsi Center. And no, the power outage had nothing to do with Damian Lillards shooting.It only appeared that way since he was shooting lights out.Lillard scored 37 points, including the go-ahead floater with less than a second remaining in overtime, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets 115-113 on Saturday night in a game that featured a 28-minute delay in the fourth quarter due to a power surge.Lillard blew past big man Kenneth Faried in the lane and floated in a shot with 0.3 seconds left. Lillard had tied the game on a runner in regulation with 2.1 seconds remaining.Denver led 90-85 with 9:18 remaining in the final quarter when a bank of lights went out near the ceiling. The teams shot jumpers until the game was restarted. Portland shot lights out in its return to the court -- the Nuggets not as much, especially down the stretch when they squandered a nine-point lead.That was one of the craziest games Ive been a part of, with the lights going out, us playing a great game, Lillard said of a contest that lasted 3 hours, 18 minutes. They played a great game, and us finding a way back in a short amount of time, forcing overtime, being down in overtime and us just finding a way. I think that speaks to our resiliency as a team.CJ McCollum had seven of his 23 points in overtime to provide a spark for Portland.We essentially told the team after the lights (went out), it was a nine-minute game, Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. We won that, and then we won the five-minute (overtime) game. To have a good season you have to find ways to win games like this.Nikola Jokic led six Denver players in double figures with 23 points and he had a career-high 17 rebounds in the home opener for Denver.Trailing 70-59 at 9:35 of the third quarter, the Nuggets went on a 17-0 run to take a lead that held up until Lillards layup off an inbounds pass from Mason Plumlee.Wilson Chandler had a chance to seal the game in the closing seconds of regulation but missed two free throws.If I make those free throws, game over, Chandler said.Really, though, it was a combination of facttors.dddddddddddd. Like with 52.7 seconds remaining in regulation and Faried came up with a steal, only to turn it back over by throwing a bad pass. Lillard turned that mistake into a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 104-99 and give Portland a chance.Turnovers, missed free throws, poor execution, Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. Give them credit, they hung around and stole a game on the road, which is what good teams do. For us, going to keep our heads up. Weve got to learn from this.Denver honored Dikembe Mutombo at halftime by retiring the No. 55 jersey of the finger-wagging, shot-blocker extraordinaire. The team even brought out their Rainbow Skyline throwback uniforms for the occasion.TIP-INSBlazers: C Festus Ezeli (left knee) missed the game. ... The Blazers are 6-1 in their last seven games in Denver. ... Plumlee finished with 13 points. ... McCollum had 10 rebounds and a career-high three blocks.Nuggets: F Darrell Arthur (left knee) and G Gary Harris (groin) didnt play. The Nuggets were down a stalwart perimeter defender in Harris. ... G Emmanuel Mudiay had 21 points.NO TIMEOUTThere was no way Lillard was calling a timeout with the game on the line in OT since Denver had three big men on the court. Instead, he drove right past Faried.If we called a timeout they could have adjusted, put maybe a defensive team in and got more wings out there, Lillard explained.MORE MUTOMBOMutombo became the fifth player in team history to have his jersey raised to the rafters, joining Byron Beck (40), Alex English (2), Dan Issel (44) and David Thompson (33). Coach Doug Moe had No. 432 raised up to the roof, too, in commemoration of his franchise-record number of wins.In addition, the team presented Mutombo a $50,000 check for his foundation and a painting of him lying on the court, clutching the ball over his head, after the eighth-seeded Nuggets upset top-seeded Seattle during the 1993-94 postseason.UP NEXTBlazers: Host Golden State on Tuesday night.Nuggets: At Toronto on Monday night. ' ' '