UR MAG

Dana Whiteloves a fight.

He picked one with the boxing establishment a long time ago. Then he added fuel to the fire Sunday, March 8.

During a press conference afterJai Opetaia defeated Brandon Glantonby unanimous decision to become the first champion of White's Zuffa Boxing, he belittled those running the sport as "rinky dink'' and inept enough for him to make some startling predictions.

"I'm going to sign everybody we think has the potential to be a world champion or that is potentially the best in the world,'' he declared.

Lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson and heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, are they on that list, a reporter asked.

"I'm going to (expletive) sign everybody,'' White replied, later adding, "All the biggest guys are going to be here.''

As the UFC's CEO, White already controlsmixed martial arts. He clearly intends to do the same thing with boxing. Even though Opetaia is the lone star White has signed to date.

But remember, Zuffa Boxing is only four right into its existence. And White likely is working with a blank check after partnering with Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority.

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Now about that rant, White said, "Listen, this sport is broken for a reason. Everybody is a bunch of rinky dink. I mean, it's the most (expletive) rinky dink thing that I have ever seen in my life. I don't know why I expected more from any of these people. But, boy, let me tell you what, (stuff's) about to get good.''

Zuffa Boxing is in good position thanks to its deal with Paramount+, which this year became the streaming home not only for the UFC, but also Zuffa Boxing. Which launched in January and only four fight cards into its existence.

Yet clearly White was irritated with the IBF – one of boxing's four sanctioning bodies. On Friday, the IBF abruptly announced it was reversing its plan to sanction the fight between Opetaia and Glanton. Not only that, the IBF stripped its cruiserweight title from Opetaia. It looked like a low blow. Or in MMA vernacular, an eye poke.

The move seemed designed to undermine the value of Zuffa Boxing's new belt, strapped around Opetaia after his victory Sunday. But maybe nothing more than another belt, further diluting world championships?

See energy and national pride overflow at World Baseball Classic

"I would say that's ridiculous,'' White said. "So what we're doing is, all the guys that fight for us, that will be the belt. There won't be any other belts. We'll have some situations where Jai wanted to fight for the IBF (belt). But this is all just getting started.''

Just the beginning.

And the end White's blast-boxing rant.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Dana White shares Zuffa Boxing takeover plan

Star tight end Travis Kelce wants to continue his NFL career after 13 years with the Kansas City Chiefs and could be open to playing for another team, The Athletic reported on Sunday.

Kelce, who will be 37 in October, has been selected to 11 Pro Bowls and is a four-time first-team All-Pro with Kansas City, which drafted him in the third round in 2013.

He has been weighing whether to return for this 14th season in the league and has debated retirement for the past two offseasons. One new layer this offseason is Kelce is set to become an unrestricted free agent after finishing his two-year, $34.25 million extension this past season.

The Athletic reported that Kelce's representatives are expected to talk with multiple teams.

Kansas City, while financially strapped by salary-cap issues, has been diplomatic in a wait-and-see approach with Kelce regarding retirement or another season.

"We've kind of prepared for either scenario," Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said at the NFL Scouting Combine on Feb. 24. "We're trying to position ourselves that either way, we have a plan moving forward."

Veach said he would be meeting with Kelce's representatives following the combine and "you need some sort of timeline and deadline," but called conversations with his camp "positive."

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Head coach Andy Reid said he routinely is in touch with Kelce, who is coming off a relatively down year in a Hall of Fame career.

He had 851 yards and five touchdowns last season, but 76 receptions was Kelce's lowest total since he had 72 in 2015. No. 2 tight end Noah Gray also is an unrestricted free agent.

"Travis is the best, he's an icon and hopefully he comes back," Veach said in the February interview. "We'll just kind of let that process play out. It's not your typical 27-year-old first-time-in-free agency.

"Travis has done everything. He's accomplished everything. He's about to get married, got a lot going on. We're just going to continue to have positive dialogue and see where this thing ends."

Prior to the 2025 season, Kelce admitted that he contemplated retirement. He also said his life has changed in some ways since he began dating the biggest pop star on the planet in Taylor Swift, to whom he is engaged.

Kelce, a three-time Super Bowl champion, is the Chiefs' all-time leader in receptions (1,080), receiving yards (13,002) and touchdown receptions (82).

--Field Level Media

After their final defeat in the Asian Women's Cup on Sunday, supporters of theIranian women's football teamcrowded around their bus shouting at police to "save our girls" as it pulled away.

Hadi Karimi, a human rights advocate and member of the local Iranian community, said supporters outside the bus could clearly see at least three players inside making the international hand signal for help.

"We're asking federal police, the government, Australian people, everyone. These girls are asking for help. They showing their hand, (the) SOS sign. This is very, very important. Their life is in danger," he said.

The players, who've been in Australia for a week, are at the center of growing calls for their exit from the country to be blocked for fear of persecution in Iran, their home country that's at war with the US and Israel under a hardline new supreme leader.

Before their first match last Monday, the players stood silent during the Iranian national anthem, a gesture they didn't explain but one that was interpreted by some hardliners inside Iran as a sign of treason.

Sources told CNN they were forced to sing the national anthem ahead of their next match on Thursday, and on Sunday, ahead of their final 0-2 defeat to the Philippines, they again sang the anthem and gave a military salute.

The women's plight has reached Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran's ousted shah, who also joined calls for the Australia government to ensure their safety, warning in a post on X that they'll face "dire consequences" if they return to Iran.

"As a result of their brave act of civil disobedience in refusing to sing the current regime's national anthem, they face dire consequences should they return to Iran," Pahlavi posted on X. "I call on the Australian government to ensure their safety and give them any and all needed support."

Defiance then silence

The Iranian women's team has been contesting the Women's Asian Cup in Australia during a week of turmoil for their country as the conflict with the US and Israel escalates to take in neighboring countries.

The war has disrupted international travel, and while flying to the Middle East right now is difficult due to airspace closures and the risk of airstrikes, supporters fear the women will be taken to a third country – perhaps China, Russia or Malaysia – before an onward journey to the Middle East.

Craig Foster, a former Australian international and human rights advocate, said "a vast range of organizations" had tried to speak with the women during their time in Australia but had been denied the opportunity.

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"No athlete group should ever be effectively held hostage by their own member federation and denied access to external support networks," he said. He said as the players had been knocked out the competition, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) had responsibility for their welfare.

"The first thing that the Australian football community is calling on them is to grant access to the players to safe, culturally appropriate support networks, so that they can privately and confidentially express if they are feeling unsafe and what they would like to see happen," he said.

CNN has reached out to the AFC and the Iranian Football Federation for comment.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong declined to comment on Sunday, when asked if there'd been any contact between Australian officials and the Iranian players. She said she didn't want to "get into commentary about the Iranian women's team."

"We stand in solidarity with the men and women of Iran and particularly Iranian women and girls," she told national broadcaster, the ABC. "Obviously, this is a regime that we know has brutally cracked down on its people."

At a post-match press conference on Sunday, Iran coach Marziyeh Jafari said the team was keen to return home. "Personally, I would like to return to my country as soon as possible and be with my compatriots and family," she said.

Karimi, who's also vice president of the Iranian society of Queensland, said supporters gathered outside the players' hotel and when they couldn't make contact them due to tight security, they sought help from local Australian police.

They were back there on Monday, keeping watch to see if the bus leaves with the players on board for the airport. "We want you to separate them from IRGC," he said, referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

"Separate them from Islamic regime members, and interview them," he said.

CNN's Patrick Sung Cuadrado and Christina Macfarlane contributed reporting.

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BEIRUT (AP) — The human rights group Human Rights Watch said in a report Monday that the Israeli military "unlawfully" hit a village in southern Lebanon with shells containing white phosphorus, a controversial incendiary munition.

Through geolocating and verifying seven images, Human Rights Watch said Israel fired white phosphorus using artillery at residential areas in the southern Lebanese village of Yohmor. It happened hours after the Israeli military warned the residents of the village and dozens of others in southern Lebanon to evacuate.

Human Rights Watch said it couldn't independently identify if any residents were still in the area or if anyone was harmed.

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The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the past, it has maintained that it uses white phosphorus as a smoke screen and not to target civilians.

Human rights advocates say the use of white phosphorus is illegal under international law when the white-hot chemical substance is fired into populated areas. It can set buildings on fire and burn human flesh down to the bone. Survivors are at risk of infections and organ or respiratory failure, even if their burns are small.

"The Israeli military's unlawful use of white phosphorus over residential areas is extremely alarming and will have dire consequences for civilians," said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch.

Organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said the munition was used in Israel's last war with Hezbollah, over a year ago, on numerous occasions in southern Lebanon while civilians were still present.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A massive avalanche of garbage at Indonesia's largest landfill killed at least five people and left several others missing after heavy overnight rain triggered a rubbish dump collapse, officials said Monday.

Indonesia Landfill Collapse

More than 300 search-and-rescue personnel, using heavy machinery and sniffer dogs, were deployed to the sprawling dump site late Sunday at the Bantargebang Integrated Waste Treatment Facility in Bekasi, a city just outside the capital of Jakarta. Rescuers worked cautiously amid unstable heaps of waste, said Desiana Kartika Bahari, who heads Jakarta's Search and Rescue Office.

She said the victims included two garbage truck drivers and two food stall sellers who had been working or resting near the landfill, while four people managed to escape the disaster. Rescuers, including police, soldiers and volunteers, were still searching for at least three people reported missing, Bahari said.

"We had not ruled out the possibility of more victims," she said, "We are still gathering data to confirm how many vehicles and workers were caught beneath the debris."

Photos and videos released by the National Search and Rescue Agency showed excavators digging through the collapsed mound, where several garbage trucks and small food stalls were buried.

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The National Disaster Management Agency's spokesperson, Abdul Muhari, urged strict safety protocols during the ongoing search, noting that weather forecasts for the next two days indicate potential rain across Jakarta and its nearby satellite cities.

He warned that the unstable collapsed material could trigger additional ground movement, putting rescue teams at further risk.

Sunday's deadly collapse renewed scrutiny of Bantargebang, a critical but overwhelmed landfill that receives most of Greater Jakarta's daily household waste. The site has faced repeated warnings about capacity, prompting national efforts to overhaul Indonesia's waste management system.

In January, asimilar collapse of garbageand debris buried or trapped workers in low-slung buildings at a landfill in the Philippines, killing at least four people, injuring a dozen and leaving more than 30 others missing.

In 2005, 31 people were killed and dozens went missing after a 7 meters (23 feet) rubbish dump collapsed following heavy rain, triggering a landslide that buried or damaged 60 houses in two West Java villages near the Indonesian city of Bandung.

Late last year, the government announced a two-year deadline to clear Bantargebang through an accelerated waste-to-energy project aimed at reducing chronic over reliance on open dumping. The initiative, backed by a new presidential regulation intended to streamline licensing and encourage investment, calls for converting refuse into electrical or thermal energy.