MACON, Ill. – Fresh off a victory on Friday at Lincoln Speedway, Erik Vanapeldoorn completed the weekend sweep in the Hornet Challenge on Saturday at Macon Speedway.

The race began with Greg Garrison and Mike Eskew exchanging the top spot. Garrison took off and raced away. However, a caution flag led to a restart and Garrison fell through the group as he was driving around on a flattened right-front tire.

That’s when Vanapeldoorn, who started 15th, seized the chance and took the lead. He held serve for the rest of the race, earning the $1,000 payday as a result.

Other winners on Saturday evening at Macon included Tyler Day (micro sprints), Dakota Ewing (pro late models), Terry Reed (street stocks), Tommy Sheppard Jr. (modifieds) and Tim Hancock Sr. (pro modifieds).

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – Brian Brown notched his 47th career win at Knoxville Raceway Saturday night during the 410 sprint car main event.

The Grain Valley, Mo., driver bested Matt Juhl early in the non-stop event, and pulled away to the $4,000 win in the Brian Brown Racing No. 21.

Juhl shot out from his starting spot outside row one to lead early in the 20-lap 410 feature. Brown, who started fourth, was all over the leader in short order. On lap three, he slid in front of Juhl in turn three and took the point for good.

Lynton Jeffrey was also on the move, and bested Juhl for second on lap five.  Terry McCarl was moving forward as well, and claimed fourth from Justin Henderson on the seventh circuit.  The leaders entered lapped traffic on lap eight, and by the halfway point, Brown’s lead over Jeffrey was a straightaway.

Though the leader had checked out, the battle for second between Jeffrey, Juhl and McCarl was a showstopper lasting a good 10 laps.  McCarl had the momentum late, grabbing third with two to go, and second coming for the white flag. Austin McCarl entered the fray as well, claiming fourth on the last lap.

Brown was 5.7 seconds out front at the checkers, ahead of Terry McCarl, Jeffrey, Austin McCarl and Juhl.

“Our car is just so good,” said Brown, who was using the event to prepare for next week’s World of Outlaws event. “It’s just not much fun running that bottom. But you’re not going to win the bigger races this summer just blasting around the top. I made a conscious effort to watch video and run the bottom when I can. We’re glad to be back here on a Saturday night. This is home. You guys are my fans. We’re not going to put to much pressure on ourselves (next weekend). If we get our car good like it is and I drive smart, we can beat anybody in the country. We just have to do our best.  We’re not going to overthink it.”

In other action, Carson McCarl held off Clint Garner in a late restart to record his first 360 sprint car win, and his first since his 305 championship season in 2011 at Knoxville. Matthew Stelzer had a serious challenge from Mike Ayers, but persevered to win his fourth straight main event with the Pro Sprints presented by Pace Performance.

Mexico and Monterrey defender Miguel Layun revealed the real reason he was unable to feature for El Tri at the Gold Cup this summer was because he had to undergo surgery for a cancerous tumor.

The 30-year-old had previously said that a kidney infection required surgery and kept him out.

Layun and his wife underwent a general health check-up a few weeks ago when doctors found "a little surprise," as the former Sevilla and Watford explained in a video on his social networks.

The initial diagnosis was a cyst, but the doctor called Layun back for further tests.

"There became a doubt about whether it wasn't a cyst, but actually a tumor," said Layun in the video, without mentioning any more precise details. "When they mentioned the word tumor and that it could be cancer, you don't perceive it it in the same way. It was a malignant tumor, we were talking cancer."

"In the end it was completely removed (and) I can say that I had cancer and that it is now cured," he continued.

Layun went for a final examination on Friday to make sure the cancer had disappeared and said the event "shook" him and has changed his outlook on life.

"I'm happy, I'm more motivated than ever, I want to enjoy life more than ever," said Layun, who has been given the green light to play once his rest period is over.

The former Club America player also stated that he will look for a way to help those without the financial resources to go for regular check-ups.

PORTO, Portugal -- Raheem Sterling looked to have cracked the Virgil van Dijk code during the closing stages of England's Nations League semifinal defeat against Netherlands in Guimaraes on Thursday.

For a split second, the England forward seemed to have broken clear of the Dutch centre-half having beaten him to the ball and gone past him near the halfway line. During the 2018-19 season, one in which Van Dijk played a pivotal role in Liverpool's Champions League triumph, no opponent was able to take him on and beat him. Not once did a player dribble past Van Dijk -- not even Lionel Messi during the epic Champions League semifinal doubleheader last month. But here was Sterling, the Football Writers' Footballer of the Year, slipping away from Van Dijk, who ended the campaign with the other individual award in English football, the PFA Player of the Year.

Yet just as Sterling appeared to have beaten his man, Van Dijk recovered and reclaimed the ball to keep his remarkable record intact.

Van Dijk has made 58 appearances for club and country this season and, with one more 90-minute match on the horizon, he has the chance to go through an entire campaign without one player being able to go past him with the ball. But that final 90 minutes before a deserved holiday happens to be the UEFA Nations League final against Portugal in Porto on Sunday -- 2:45 p.m. ET on ESPN -- and he arguably faces the biggest test of all when he goes up against Cristiano Ronaldo.

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Even at 34, Ronaldo remains locked in his seemingly endless battle with Messi for the distinction of being regarded as the best player on the planet. While Messi waits to take the field at this summer's Copa America with Argentina -- all of it live on ESPN+ in the U.S. -- Ronaldo's impressive hat trick against Switzerland in Wednesday's 3-1 semifinal victory highlighted his enduring ability to turn a game on its head.

Ronaldo showcased his dazzling talents against the Swiss -- his pace, trickery, power and skill on the dribble -- so Van Dijk really will face the acid test of his defensive credentials at Estadio do Dragao. But there is more at stake for Van Dijk this weekend than merely the safeguarding his record of resisting all attempts to dribble past him this season.

Eight days after lifting the European Cup with Liverpool following the Champions League final victory against Tottenham in Madrid, the 27-year-old can make it a Euro double by helping Netherlands become the first winners of the Nations League. But on a personal level, Van Dijk can also hammer out his claims to become the leading contender for this year's Ballon d'Or by keeping Ronaldo quiet on Sunday.

The race to win the Ballon d'Or is perhaps as open as it has been for over a decade but Van Dijk is firmly positioned among the front-runners and could become the first defender to claim the prize since Fabio Cannavaro received the award in 2006 after captaining Italy to World Cup success. Luka Modric broke the Ronaldo-Messi stranglehold on the award by winning in 2018, becoming the first player outside the modern game's two great icons to win the trophy since Kaka in 2007. Van Dijk is now emerging as the favourite to top the voting this year, with Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman backing his captain to claim a rare victory for a defender.

"He deserves the Ballon d'Or," Koeman said. "Everyone is often focused on players who score or create goals, or produce decisive goals. But if there is ever a moment to give the Ballon d'Or to a defender, it is now.

"Messi is the best player, but I also think you should win big trophies such as the Champions League to be in the picture for the Ballon d'Or."

Van Dijk already has the Champions League in the bag, and some would argue that he had Messi in his pocket during the semifinal second leg at Anfield, when Liverpool's remarkable 4-0 victory overturned a 3-0 first-leg defeat to send them to the final. But Ronaldo will still believe he should be the front-runner for this year's Ballon d'Or after becoming the first player to win domestic titles in England, Spain and Italy following his move to Juventus this season. The former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward is an outsider for this year's award, with Juventus stumbling at the quarterfinal stage in the Champions League, but he will do his cause no harm if he can lead Portugal to Nations League success.

Van Dijk's Liverpool teammates Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah will also be in the frame for the Ballon d'Or, and Messi, having helped Barcelona to the La Liga title, cannot be discounted. But if he can resist Ronaldo's unique talents on Sunday and help the Dutch to victory in Porto, Van Dijk will become the favourite to win the Ballon d'Or. He has made defending look like an art form at times this season with his strength, pace and reading of the game making him a majestic figure at the back for Liverpool and Netherlands.

If Ronaldo can't beat him on Sunday, who can?

Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer has been awarded an MBE for services to cricket in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

Coetzer, 35, has played 52 ODIs and 48 T20Is alongside scoring 4404 runs in his first-class career and more than 5000 in List A cricket. He is Scotland's all-time leading run-scorer and made their first World Cup century, against Bangladesh, in 2015.

He led the team to their historic ODI victory over England in Edinburgh last year.

"It's very special and a huge honour to be awarded an MBE," he said. "It's not something you ever consider, and it was a huge shock to hear the news. A special thank you to my family, friends and colleagues who have played a huge part in supporting me in my cricketing journey.

"Huge credit must also go to all my amazing team-mates, coaches and back room staff who have helped guide and shape me towards this special award. I couldn't have done it without every one of you."

Tony Brian, the chairman of Cricket Scotland, said: "This is a richly deserved award for one of Scotland's best and most iconic cricketers in the 250 years of the sport.

"Kyle has been an inspirational player and captain who has led the men's team through its most successful period ever including the never to be forgotten win against England in June 2018."

CHICAGO -- Valentina Shevchenko's first title defense ended in highlight-reel fashion.

Shevchenko blasted challenger Jessica Eye with a left head kick 26 seconds into the second round that knocked Eye out cold in the co-main event of UFC 238 on Saturday night at the United Center. Shevchenko successfully retained the UFC women's flyweight title with the spectacular knockout.

Eye was down and unconscious for about a minute, and when she came to she was unaware of what had happened.

The only other head-kick knockout in a women's UFC title fight was by Holly Holm, when she defeated Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 in 2015.

Shevchenko landed two takedowns in the first round and completely dominated the first five minutes in top position. Near the end of the round, Shevchenko went for a kimura submission, but Eye managed to escape and survive until the bell.

Early in the second round, Shevchenko went for a left kick, making it seem as if it were targeted for Eye's midsection. Instead, the kick went to the head and Eye was not prepared for it. The blow landed and Eye immediately crumpled to the canvas on her back.

Shevchenko (17-3) has now won three straight and her only losses in the UFC have come against Amanda Nunes, who holds the UFC women's bantamweight and featherweight titles. Before Saturday, the Kyrgyzstan native had not scored a TKO/KO in her UFC career. Shevchenko, 31, is the sixth fighter in UFC championship history to notch a head-kick knockout.

Eye (14-7, 1 NC) saw her three-fight winning streak snapped. The 32-year-old Cleveland native had not lost since moving down to flyweight from bantamweight.

CHICAGO -- What was turning into a classic bout ended in a way no one really wanted.

Tony Ferguson defeated Donald Cerrone by TKO at the end of the second round Saturday at UFC 238 when it was ruled by ringside doctors that Cerrone could not continue. Cerrone's right eye was swollen shut after a dominant second round by Ferguson.

It was a back-and-forth, bloody encounter until that point between two of the best lightweights and most popular fighters in the world.

At the end of the second round at United Center, Ferguson landed a right hand on Cerrone's face after the bell. Referee Dan Miragliotta ruled after watching a replay that, though the punch landed, it didn't hit Cerrone in the eye, but the nose. Miragliotta said it therefore was not a foul that directly caused the finish and Ferguson would win by TKO.

Had Miragliotta ruled the foul caused the finish, it would have been a disqualification or no contest.

"The punch had nothing to do with it," Cerrone said afterward. "That was the fight I think everybody wanted. I don't quit, I don't back down. I just want to keep fighting."

Cerrone won the first round, bloodying Ferguson with hard jabs and right hands. In the second, Ferguson took over as the body kicks he landed in the first round began to add up. Ferguson landed a barrage of jabs and straight rights to bust up Cerrone's nose and leave him bloody. Ferguson also smashed Cerrone with a spinning back elbow.

The end of the round and the way it finished marred what was becoming one of the year's best fights.

"It's not how I wanted the fight to go," Ferguson said. "It's really emotional in here."

UFC president Dana White said at the postfight news conference that Cerrone was transported to the hospital because of a broken right orbital bone.

Ferguson (26-3) is the pretty clear-cut No. 1 contender to the lightweight title after the victory. But the 35-year-old nicknamed "El Cucuy" said he would be OK with a Cerrone rematch next.

"We can throw it back, I don't mind doing that," Ferguson said. "I really don't. He's a hell of a f---ing fighter."

Cerrone (36-12, 1 NC) had his three-fight winning streak snapped with the defeat.

NEW YORK -- Gennady Golovkin entered the ring to face unheralded Steve Rolls on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden well aware of what had transpired one week earlier when huge underdog Andy Ruiz Jr. pulled a massive upset by knocking out England's Anthony Joshua.

Rolls said all week that he was inspired by Ruiz's performance as he attempted to author his own monumental upset in the same ring, but GGG would have none of it.

Instead, Golovkin, the former unified middleweight world champion, scored a massive fourth-round knockout in their super middleweight bout contracted at 164 pounds before an announced crowd of 12,357.

Golovkin, one of boxing's biggest stars, was participating in his first nontitle fight since 2010 and returning from a nine-month layoff following his disputed majority decision loss to rival Canelo Alvarez. Their rematch cost Golovkin his unified middleweight title and ended his division-record-tying run of 20 consecutive defenses.

The fight against Rolls was something of new beginning for Golovkin, who was in his first fight with trainer Johnathon Banks after parting ways with longtime trainer Abel Sanchez. It also kicked off a six-fight, three-year, nine-figure deal with sports streaming service DAZN, which signed him after the expiration of his contract with HBO as the network exited from the boxing business at the end of last year.

Golovkin followed Alvarez to DAZN hoping to set up a third fight with him in September, and it is likely he will get it, although Alvarez's handlers at Golden Boy Promotions told ESPN earlier Saturday that they will sit down with Alvarez next week to go over their plans for his fall fight.

"I feel great. I feel like a new baby. Right now, I feel completely different because I came back to my knockout. I love knockouts, and I love New York. It was a great night all around," said Golovkin, who was saddled with a hugely controversial draw against Alvarez that most thought GGG won when the pair met for the first time, in 2017.

With Rolls violently dismissed, the question was, "Who's next?" The answer was as expected as the outcome of the fight.

"Everybody knows. The fans know who they want me to fight next," Golovkin said. "I'm ready for September. I'm ready for Canelo. Just bring him, just ask him. I'm ready. If you want big drama show, please tell him. I'm ready to bring back the big-drama show."

But does Golovkin believe the third fight will happen?

"I believe, because this is boxing. This is boxing business. Why not? The next fight will be amazing for us," Golovkin said. "I feel right now like the people's champ. It doesn't matter for me. I want to beat him, but [the belts don't] matter. I'm the people's champion."

From the outset, Golovkin went after Rolls (19-1, 10 KOs), 35, of Toronto, who was facing his first name opponent; Rolls hung in for a few rounds but ultimately could not take GGG's power.

Golovkin went to the body late in the first round and sunk in a hard left hook and then a left hook to the head that got Rolls' attention. Golovkin continued the same line of attack in the second round and landed clean punches, but Rolls landed his own clean shots, including a left hand that snapped Golovkin's head straight back.

Golovkin began to get closer and closer to Rolls in the fourth round.

Golovkin (39-1-1, 35 KOs), 37, a Kazakhstan native fighting out of Santa Monica, California, backed Rolls up with a right hand and seemed to sense that he was hurt. He let his punches fly as Rolls looked to cover up and bob and weave to avoid the incoming salvo. But Golovkin eventually got in a massive left hook that landed on Rolls' chin and dropped him face first to the canvas. His eyes were glassy, but he tried to get up before eventually collapsing in a heap into the ropes; referee Steve Willis waved off the fight at 2 minutes, 9 seconds as the fans celebrated.

"He gave it a good go, a really good go, and he hurt GGG once in that second round," Rolls' promoter, Lou DiBella, said. "When you give it a go against a great fighter, you leave yourself open, and he got caught. I'm proud of him."

According to CompuBox statistics, Golovkin landed 62 of 223 punches (28 percent) and Rolls connected with 38 of 175 (22 percent). Banks said he was pleased with what he saw from GGG in their first fight together but said there is room for improvement.

"It's always good to get a knockout. I liked what I saw in the ring for the short amount of time we had in camp, but we can do better with a full camp," Banks said. "We're going in the right direction."

That direction is likely toward the third showdown with Alvarez.

On the undercard

• Super middleweight Ali Akhmedov (15-0, 11 KOs), 23, of Kazakhstan and promoted by Golovkin, stopped Marcus McDaniel (15-1, 2 KOs), 35, of New Orleans, with ease in the third round to win a vacant regional title. Akhmedov backed McDaniel into the ropes and landed several punches to drive him to the mat. McDaniel beat the count, but when he turned his back and walked away, referee Benjy Esteves stopped the fight at 1:41.

• Welterweight Brian Ceballo (9-0, 4 KOs), 25, a five-time New York Golden Gloves champion from Brooklyn, routed Bakhtiyar Eyubov (14-1-1, 12 KOs), 32, a Kazakhstan native fighting out of Houston, in an action-packed fight. The judges had it 80-72, 79-73 and 78-74 for Ceballo, who stepped up in competition, looked sharp and pasted the slower, defensively deficient Eyubov with combinations. But Eyubov never stopped plowing forward looking for a big punch.

• Junior middleweight Israil Madrimov (3-0, 3 KOs), 24, a big-time prospect and former amateur standout from Uzbekistan, battered Norberto Gonzalez (24-13, 13 KOs), 38, of Mexico, in a one-sided sixth-round knockout. Gonzalez, in his second fight in eight days, was game, but when Madrimov, who fights out of Indio, California, rocked him in the sixth round and unloaded numerous follow-up punches, referee Shawn Clark stopped it at 49 seconds.

• Junior middleweight Charles Conwell (10-0, 7 KOs), 21, a 2016 U.S. Olympian from Cleveland, handily outpointed Courtney Pennington (12-3-3, 5 KOs), 32, of Brooklyn, to win a vacant regional title on scores of 97-92, 97-92 and 96-93. Pennington was docked a point for holding in the fifth round and suffered a cut over his right eye from a punch in the eighth round.

• Exciting middleweight prospect "White Chocolate" Nikita Ababiy (5-0, 5 KOs), 20, of Brooklyn, needed only 41 seconds to stop Juan Francisco Barajas (5-1, 3 KOs), 29, of Mexico, putting him away with a left to the body.

CHICAGO -- Henry Cejudo has an Olympic wrestling gold medal. He has the UFC flyweight title. And now, one of the best combat sport athletes of all time has added some more gold to his collection: the UFC bantamweight title belt.

Cejudo, 32, stopped Marlon Moraes via TKO with ground and pound at 4:51 of the third round Saturday night in the main event of UFC 238 at United Center. The bout was for the vacant bantamweight title forfeited earlier this year by TJ Dillashaw because of a failed drug test.

"I'm not champ-champ," Cejudo said in an impassioned postfight speech. "My name is Triple C -- Olympic champion, flyweight champion of the world and now bantamweight champion of the world. I'm the greatest combat athlete of all time and I just stole the title of best pound-for-pound fighter too."

Moraes clearly won the first round. It looked as if his speed would give Cejudo trouble all night. He was throwing lightning-fast combinations and landing. Cejudo had some reddening on his right cheek from punches and his lead leg was getting messed up by Moraes kicks.

But in the second round, Cejudo said he saw Moraes change. He said Moraes was throwing with too much power and running out of gas.

"His demeanor showed everything," Cejudo said.

Cejudo was bloodied in a wild round. But he landed big knees to Moraes' head in a Thai clinch. The two traded haymakers as the round came to a close. In the third, Cejudo took over. He busted up Moraes' nose with punches, crushed him with a knee to the body, took him down and took top position. Moraes rained elbows and punches down on Moraes until referee Marc Goddard stepped in to stop it.

Afterward, Cejudo said he had a "hit list." He called out former bantamweight champions Dominick Cruz and Cody Garbrandt, as well as legend Urijah Faber. "The Messenger" said he also wanted to go up to featherweight and fight for a third title there.

"I want to start getting paid," Cejudo said. "I want to start making heavyweight money."

Cejudo (15-2) said he had a severely sprained ankle heading into the fight but overcame it despite the pain. The Arizona resident is just the fourth fighter in UFC history to hold two titles simultaneously (Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier and Amanda Nunes are the others).

McGregor tweeted his congratulations to Cejudo, who has won five straight bouts.

Congratulations Henry Cejudo! Welcome to the club ? https://t.co/xF2BHGfr9n

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) June 9, 2019

Moraes (22-6-1) saw his four-fight winning streak come to an end. Before Saturday, the 31-year-old New Jersey resident had only one loss since 2011.