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TJ Dillashaw hasn’t competed in the UFC since he attempted to dethrone then-featherweight king Henry Cejudo in the UFC on ESPN 1 main event back in January 2019. After suffering a TKO loss, the bantamweight champion was hit with a two-year suspension and forced to relinquish his title as a result of a positive drug test.

Plenty has changed in his short break away from the UFC, with Cejudo moving up and taking his place at the top of the bantamweight division. But despite plenty of competition at 135 pounds, Dillashaw says he was told he’d step right back into title contention when he returns to the Octagon in less than a year.

“I was told I would get that title fight when I came back, but that doesn’t mean anything,” Dillashaw told MMA Junkie. “I made a mistake – I don’t own rights to anything. But if it was my choice, it would be title fight, if not top-five to prove I should get that title fight. I think that makes sense.”

Cejudo is currently slated to fight Jose Aldo at UFC 250, but called on Dominick Cruz — who hasn’t fought in more than three years — as his potential replacement. Should Dillashaw not step right back into title contention, he may have his work cut out for him with emerging bantamweight standouts such as Marlon Moraes, Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan.

UFC president Dana White was adamant about keeping his events up and running throughout the COVID-19 outbreak before ultimately postponing three events beginning in mid-March. Since then, he’s maintained the organization would hold UFC 249 despite other sports organizations continuing to halt normal business operations. That card appears to be at the finish line with Monday’s announcement of Tony Ferguson against Justin Gaethje in the main event emanating from an undisclosed location on April 18.

But UFC 249 is just the first step in White’s apparent master plan to keep his business thriving, telling TMZ Sports late Monday that he is “a day or two away” from closing a deal for a private island where he can hold fights during the coronavirus pandemic.

During the interview, White acknowledged he has the UFC 249 venue for two months, where he plans to host fights every week. From there, if he secures the private island, he’ll be able to host international fighters on private planes. White is guaranteeing that they’ll be tested for COVID-19 and the UFC will ensure fighters will be healthy coming into their bouts, but there will certainly be understandable questions about whether they can do so effectively.

Should White get clearance, this could open the door for some of the summer’s most anticipated fights, starting with Henry Cejudo’s scheduled return to the Octagon against Jose Aldo at UFC 250.

Here are your quick and dirty, editorial-free WWE Raw results for April 6, 2020. The Raw after WrestleMania featured a WrestleMania rematch for the Raw Tag Team Championship, a replay , and more. Make sure you’re here tomorrow for the complete Best and Worst of Raw column.

WWE Raw Results:

1. Asuka defeated Liv Morgan by submission with the Asuka Lock.

2. Raw Tag Team Championship Match: The Street Profits (c) defeated Angel Garza and Austin Theory by disqualification when Zelina Vega interfered. Like at WrestleMania, Vega and her team attacked Ford, and like at WrestleMania, Bianca Belair made the save. Belair, who is officially a Raw Superstar now, challenged Vega to a one-on-one match.

3. Bianca Belair vs. Zelina Vega was a No Contest (we think) when the teams at ringside started fighting again. Montez Ford suggested they have a six-person tag team match.

4. The Street Profits and Bianca Belair defeated Angel Garza, Austin Theory, and Zelina Vega. Belair pinned Vega after a KOD.

– In a post-match interview at WrestleMania, Bobby Lashley said he needed new management, or a “new wife.”

5. Aleister Black defeated Apollo Crews. Black won a long, competitive match with Black Mass.

6. Ricochet and Cedric Alexander defeated Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch. Ricochet pinned Lorcan after hitting the Recoil, which is now TJP’s Detonation Kick.

7. Seth Rollins squashed Denzel Dejournette.

8. Nia Jax squashed Deonna Purrazzo. This was Jax’s return from injury. She finished off Purrazzo with Paige’s Rampaige DDT.

– Boneyard Match highlights!

9. Humberto Carrillo defeated Brendan Vink with a moonsault.

– In a post-match interview at WrestleMania (filmed in the ring, for some reason), Drew McIntyre thanked Paul Heyman for giving Brock Lesnar bad advice. He was interrupted by, of all people, the Big Show, who brought a referee with him. Show talked trash to McIntyre until he accepted a match, but McIntyre refused. Show slapped him, so he agreed. For the WWE Championship.

10. WWE Championship Match, at WrestleMania: Drew McIntyre (c) defeated The Big Show with a Claymore Kick.

With the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing, the folks at ESPN are airing a 16-player NBA 2K Tournament and the first match that was broadcast featured the No. 1 seed Kevin Durant taking on the No. 16 seed Derrick Jones Jr. on Friday evening. Ultimately, Jones Jr. emerged victorious by a breezy margin, but an interesting subplot has emerged from the otherwise harmless event.

Reuters brings word that offshore bookmakers were prompted to suspend betting action on the event before it was officially set to begin because, well, the matches were prerecorded and, with particular regard for the match between Durant and Jones Jr., results may have gotten out before the broadcast.

“It became clear that somebody knew something, and that the results had been leaked,” said David Strauss, head oddsmaker at MyBookie.ag. “That’s a nightmare scenario for us. When a result is compromised, we close the lines and look for the info ourselves.”

Once this information became clear to MyBookie.ag, SportsBetting.ag and others, action was suspended on the match. According to the Reuters report, it became obvious that something amiss, as Durant (the installed favorite) wasn’t getting much attention on the market against the much less famous Jones Jr.

It is important to recognize that these offshore outlets are not sanctioned to operate in the United States because, if they were, the option to make lines on this particular event would not have been available. Still, offshore sites are attempting to make their living on action that is otherwise strange, simply because there aren’t a lot of live sports to book at the moment.

In the grand scheme, this isn’t something that will greatly impact the handicapping world around the NBA because, again, this would not have been an event sanctioned to take action in legal books around the country. Still, it is something very interesting to note in that the tournament is ongoing and the majority of people likely assume that the games are taking place live, whether the goal is entertainment or a little bit of offshore betting action.

Entertainers, from musicians to late night hosts to celebrity chefs, have been thinking outside the box during this pandemic of ours, firing up their webcams and trying to keep us — and themselves — from going stir crazy. One of the more inventive — and kind — examples of this came from Matthew McConaughey. As per CBS News, the Oscar-winning thespian decided to treat a bevy of quarantined seniors to a game of bingo, hosted by him.

A number of residents at the nursing home known as the Enclave at Round Rock Senior Living, located in Round Rock, Texas, are no doubt, as most seniors, lonely and scared; those above 70 are most susceptible to the effects of Covid-19, and they’ve had to forego visits from guests and loved ones to stay safe. Back in September, members of the home’s Bingo group decided to invite the native Texan movie star to join one of their games. This time he was available, virally.

Video from the Bingo game was posted to the home’s Facebook page, which you can watch here, and it finds McConaughey — surrounded by his mom Kay, his wife Camila, and their kids — calling out numbers as every participant plays from the safety of their rooms. Winners got to ask the actor any question they liked.

McConaughey has been an outspoken advocate of social distancing and staying home. In mid-March he posted a video in which he pleaded for unity and hope, reminding us that “every red light eventually turns green.”

As per BuzzFeed, the end of their virtual Bingo home, the residents of Round Rock Senior Living thanked McConaughey by each holding up a green cards expressing their love for what he did.

(Via CBS News and BuzzFeed)