Archive September 5, 2025

Francois Hollande, a former French president, was protected by Benoit Saint-Denis in 2016.

He has spearheaded counter-terrorism efforts, stopping terrorist extractions, and eradicating threats made by organizations like Boko Haram.

The 29-year-old spent five years in the French military, which ended in 2019, but the most difficult situation of his life was in the UFC, not the army.

Dustin Poirier ended Saint-Denis’ five-fight winning streak in the promotion in March, and he lost to Renato Moicano six months later.

Saint-Denis’ momentum was shattered as he fell from the title picture as a result of his defeats.

Despite having fought for his country before, he was unprepared for the attention a top UFC fighter would receive.

Saint-Denis tells BBC Sport, “Every year in 2024 was the hardest.”

“It’s the pressure,” he said. Despite all the hype and controversy surrounding massive fights, the ability to maintain the same passion and fire for the fight are all under pressure.

Saint-Denis revealed that he had largely been self-training for the fights without the assistance of a trustworthy head coach after Poirier and Moicano lost.

This was different from when he served in the military, where he learned impeccably to follow orders.

Being disciplined, able to have a plan, respect it, and stay close to it was important, Saint-Denis remarked.

He had what he needed in the UFC because he had mentored other members of the French army who helped shape strategy in the most difficult of circumstances.

Saint-Denis faced Kyle Prepolec in May after making the decision to work with Nicolas Ott.

He will next face Brazilian lightweight Mauricio Ruffy on Saturday at UFC Paris, and he will have a different perspective on combat when they meet at Accor Arena.

“Being disciplined, having a good head coach who values you as a person.” Saint-Denis praises his dedication to making a better fighter.

When he enlisted at the age of 18, Saint-Denis, who was born in southern France, joined the French Army Special Forces.

“The sub-Saharan region was where I spent the majority of my time working as a Special Force operator.” So Mali, Burkinabe, and Niger are all there. Saint-Denis claims that he primarily worked against Boko Haram.

The United Kingdom has designated Boko Haram as a terrorist organization, which operates in nations like Nigeria, Niger, and Mali.

Saint-Denis’ work primarily involved tackling the threatposed by organizations like Boko Haram.

“The arrest or the destruction of terrorist threats is going to be the talking point when we’re talking about counter-terrorism.” “Or preventing terrorist extractions in cities like Timbuktu, for example,” Saint-Denis claims.

Along with Hollande, his team was also tasked with defending significant members of the French government when they traveled abroad.

Saint-Denis is fond of his service to the French military.

He claims that it was drawn in and demanding, and that he eventually realized that he was a man because he had been disciplined and able to work hard to accomplish things.

“I loved it because it was very adventurous.”

Although fighting terrorism and competing in the UFC are completely different worlds with distinct pressures, Saint-Denis is not required to consider which is more difficult.

Great North Run

Date: Sunday, September 7th, 2018 Course: Newcastle to South Shields

After twice coming close to imitating her mother with victory, Eilish McColgan hopes the Great North Run this year will prove third-place.

The 34-year-old Scot defeated Liz McColgan’s best time last year on the route from Newcastle to South Shields.

However, the 2021 runner-up finished the race five seconds behind Mary Ngugi-Cooper, who had previously completed a stunning six-athlete sprint that year.

Everyone would genuinely enjoy a victory, of course. It’s a truly iconic race. My mother won the race, and legends of the sport have all won it, McColgan said to BBC Sport.

“I’ve been so close to each other.” In the end, I’d love to visit and claim the victory, which would be incredible. But I am aware that there is always a lot of talent.

On Sunday’s start line, along with 60, 000 other runners, will be joined by Kenyan New York marathon champion Sheila Chepkirui and two-time Great North Run champion Vivian Cheruiyot.

In the elite men’s race, Belgium’s Bashir Abdi and Kenya’s Abel Kipchumba, the country’s defending champion of the 2024 London Marathon, and the country’s Alex Mutiso Munyao, the country’s record-holder, will face off in the elite men’s race.

Following knee surgery, McColgan had a significant year already, with the marathon debut she had in London in April coming up in two years.

The British record-holder for 5K, 10K, and half marathons has been training at altitude in Font Romeu for the past two months, and the record holder has admitted that it felt like a “weight lifted” after a “really challenging” period.

“I just needed to get around a marathon and feel like I could do it,” McColgan said, noting that I never wanted it to become more of a mental illness.

After recovering from an injury at the height of her career, McColgan learned to trust her body once more. Between 2021 and 2023, she won Commonwealth 10 000m and national records on the track and road.

Her cautious training for the London Marathon this year paid off, breaking her mother’s Scottish record in two hours and 24 minutes, despite having to take a six-month break to recover from her knee problem.

When you’re in the best shape of your life, you’re always just a few inches away from pushing a little too hard, McColgan said.

McColgan has been chosen to compete in the November New York Marathon, but her selection is not guaranteed as she transitions to this most important year of her career.

With Paula Radcliffe’s British record of 2: 15: 25, on her radar, the immediate goal is to complete a sub-2:20 marathon before determining how much lower she can go.

According to McColgan, “I have broken all the other national records, and she has said there is no reason why breaking the British marathon record is not possible,” added McColgan.

The 13-mile Great North Run, which runs annually, begins in Newcastle city center, travels across the River Tyne, passes through Gateshead, and ends in South Shields by the sea.

Start times:

wheelchair at 10:20 BST-Elite

10: 25 BST – Elite women

BST 10:27 – Visually impaired

Denmark vs. Scotland: World Cup qualifying

Date: Friday, September 5th, 2019 Kick-off: 19:45 BST

Without a World Cup final, Scotland’s men have been out for 27 years.

That France summer of 1998. Romance and angst are alternated for two weeks. Brazil suffered a first-class defeat, Norway and Morocco suffered a humiliating exit, and Morocco also suffered a group stage exit.

Scotland have made their eighth final appearance, but since then they have been on a horrendous run that has bludgeoned the nation’s football team and plunged them into the unknown for the first time in decades.

Scotland hasn’t hosted a World Cup since the 1990s, according to some. An embarrassment

Is it, then?

61 nations have qualified for the finals since 1998. 25 of those qualified through European Union.

Who has made it, looking around? Both Wales and Ireland managed once, respectively. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Czechs all succeeded.

Has Scotland, however, fallen short of what people outside our borders would have anticipated over the years?

In essence, no.

Every European team that reached the World Cup since 1998 has a higher ranking than the Scots. In other words, Scotland would have been the worst team in Europe at any given tournament if they had succeeded.

What can we infer from this data? That Scotland are not expected to make the World Cups, which they have not done for some time. not just through the pessimism lens of Scotland.

Our ranking would have increased if the Scots had qualified for one, say, the World Cup in 2002, winning the extra points needed to get them there and possibly snatching the odd result, as suggested by some.

But those things fall under the category of “ifs, buts, and maybes.” They didn’t deserve to be there, given the success of the national team over the previous 27 years.

In 2019, Steve Clarke assumed the role of Scotland’s head coach and vowed to restore the nation to a major championship. He has won the European Championships final twice.

Although both were a damp squib with Scotland wheezing their way to an early exit on each occasion without really grabbing a punch on, well, anyone, it was no mean feat.

Under Clarke, the squad has continued to evolve, but in the last year, the focus has turned toward the future with the arrival of young players. Where has the supply of young talent that is entering the age groups been, though, as a glut of talented players is starting to wane?

The Scottish FA established seven performance schools in 2012 to showcase the best of Scotland’s young talent as they learn, develop, and succeed.

Billy Gilmour, who graduated from Grange Academy in Kilmarnock, was the only performance school graduate from last summer’s Euros to represent Scotland against Germany.

Some Scottish clubs, including Celtic, Dundee, Dundee United, Hearts and Rangers, have their own school partnerships in addition to the SFA.

For instance, Ben Gannon-Doak, Anthony Ralston, Aaron Hickey, Jack Hendry, and Kieran Tierney can be alumni of Celtic’s partnership with St. Ninian’s in Kirkintilloch.

Even if there is compelling evidence over the past 27 years that it will be difficult, anything is possible.

Many outstanding players have watched their international careers pass by unapologetically. McFadden, James Ferguson, Barry Darren Fletcher . . . . David Weir . Brown, Scott McGregor, Calum All fantastic players, some of whom were crammed into talent-stuffing squads that couldn’t do the job.

Although the headline may say two Euros were won, there have been some incredibly difficult situations in recent years.

Scotland never looked like it was deserving of winning any of those six Euros, despite making a slight exception to that last summer when they faced Switzerland. The score difference is 12-3 against.

The piece’s landscape, however, serves as a warning before entering World Cup qualifying against the Danes on Friday.

After a brave start to qualifying for Euro 2024, where Spain and Norway were defeated, a run of just one win in 16 came to an end. And that affected Gibraltar.

Scotland slingshot into this seismic campaign with only two defeats from their previous seven, thankfully, that run has been detained. Fans in Copenhagen will experience a sense of dread due to this team’s habit of turning on and off their mojo, most notably in the World Cup play-off against Ukraine in 2022.

With such a short qualifying period and such a short qualifying period, you believe even at this point in game one, some sort of positive outcome could be crucial. To topple the Danes, whoever Clarke chooses will need a brave effort.

However, it doesn’t extend to them. This team triumphed in Poland, beat the Norwegians in Oslo, and sucked the Spanish at Hampden. It has the potential to occur again. Clarke has a wealth of talent at his disposal.

Scott McTominay, Bologna captain Lewis Ferguson, and Scotland captain Andy Robertson, who has won the Champions League, are among the nominees for the Ballon d’Or. The left-back at Liverpool and John McGinn may consider this to be their final chance to grace the biggest stage of all.

It’s a group with heart and experience that now includes Lennon Miller from Udinese, Johnston, and Hibernian hotshot Kieron Bowie.