UFC champion Jon Jones is facing a battery charge stemming from an alleged April incident in Albuquerque, New Mexico, ESPN confirmed Monday.

Jones, who holds the UFC light heavyweight title, is accused of inappropriately slapping a cocktail waitress at a strip club, pulling her down to his lap and kissing her neck, according to a report Sunday from KRQE television in Albuquerque.

The waitress told Albuquerque police that Jones put her in a chokehold and picked her up off the ground, per the news station. When she asked Jones to stop, she said Jones continued touching her until he decided to leave.

Jones spokesperson James Hallinan told KRQE that Jones was unaware of the charge until his team was contacted by KRQE. Per online court records, a letter sent to Jones by Albuquerque police was returned in June. A bench warrant was issued for Jones June 12 when he failed to show up for a bond arraignment. Jones paid a $300 cash bond Sunday. His next court date is not yet scheduled.

"Today, the media told Mr. Jones about a false accusation launched against him and that paperwork had been sent to an incorrect address," Hallinan said in a statement to KRQE. "However, after receiving the documents from the press, Mr. Jones immediately went to pay the small fee, and he, and multiple witnesses, stand ready to factually refute the malicious lies being told about him to the public."

Jones, an Albuquerque resident, tweeted about the situation Monday morning, writing he is "definitely not in any trouble."

"Don't be so quick to believe everything you read on the Internet," Jones wrote.

Jones, 32, has had issues with the law in the past. The UFC star pleaded guilty to a felony in 2015 on a hit-and-run charge and received probation and community service. In 2016, Jones violated his probation for alleged drag racing. The New York native's probation was up in March 2017. In 2012, Jones pleaded guilty on a DWI charge.

On top of the time he missed dealing with those incidents, Jones has missed Octagon time due to two failed drug tests administered by UFC anti-doping partner USADA over the last three years. Most recently, Jones was suspended 15 months for a positive drug test for a steroid metabolite in July 2017.

Jones (25-1, 1 NC) is coming off a successful title defense against Thiago Santos earlier this month at UFC 239 in Las Vegas. Jones has never really been beaten in MMA, with his only loss coming in 2009 by disqualification for illegal elbows. He is regarded as perhaps the greatest pound-for-pound mixed martial arts fighter of all time.

MORRISON, Colo. – Tommy Johnson Jr.’s first final round in his NHRA professional career came at Bandimere Speedway in 1991.

However, it took until Sunday at the 40th annual Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil for the Funny Car veteran to grab his first victory at the facility.

Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were also winners in their respective categories at the 14th of 24 races and the first of three races on the Western Swing for the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

Johnson raced to his second victory of 2019 and 19th in his career in the process, going 4.102-seconds at 308.50 mph in his Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to beat Bob Tasca’s 4.158 at 302.14 in the final round.

Johnson, who is second in points, had advanced to the finals in four different categories at Bandimere Speedway, including Funny Car and Top Fuel, but he came through on Sunday against Tasca.

He reached the finals with wins against Jeff Diehl, Jack Beckman and Cruz Pedregon.

“We made a great run last night – my quickest and fastest ever on the mountain – and it gave the guys confidence,” Johnson said. “I knew going into today we had a good racecar and my guys did a great job. We’re a much better team now and we’ve grown so much as a team, so it’s good to get it done. It wasn’t easy, but we finally got a couple breaks and we finally got it done here.

“The race has a lot of prestige and it’s so much different than all the rest we run all year. You want to win the unique ones, and this is definitely the most unique of our whole tour.”

Tasca, who has reached the final round at three of the past four events, knocked off Jim Campbell, Ron Capps and No. 1 qualifier and points leader Robert Hight to earn his 15th career finals berth.

Torrence maintained his dominant pace in Top Fuel, picking up his eighth win in the past nine races after going 4.044 at 270.21 in the final round in his Capco Contractors dragster to beat Clay Millican’s 4.126 at 267.64.

Torrence, the defending world champ and points leader, won for the second time in Denver and 35th time in his career, rolling to his ninth straight final round in the process.

To get there, Torrence, who qualified No. 1 in Denver and has already clinched his spot in the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship, beat Richie Crampton and Brittany Force.

“I don’t believe I’ve realized what we’ve been able to accomplish over the last couple of years, and when you’re in these moments you need to relish them and enjoy them because they don’t last forever,” said Torrence, who tied Don Garlits on the NHRA’s all-time wins list. “We’ve been able to maintain that consistency and the team we’ve assembled, we’ve been able to have these guys together for six years continuously. They’ve made the right calls and decisions, and they’ve given the crew chief the right car time and time again.”

Millican knocked off Doug Kalitta, defending event champ Leah Pritchett and Jordan Vandergriff to advance to his fourth final this season and 19th in his career.

Pro Stock veteran Anderson won for the second straight year in Denver, picking up his first victory of the season and 92nd in his career after going 6.950 at 196.96 in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro to beat Matt Hartford’s 6.965 at 196.96.

It marks Anderson’s first victory since this race a season ago and also fourth career win in Denver. He picked up round wins against Fernando Cuadra, No. 1 qualifier Richard Freeman and Deric Kramer to reach the finals.

“It’s been a year since I’ve been able to win a race, and the class is just tough,” Anderson said. “It says a lot about the class and what it’s about, so I’m proud. The race car was great, just like it was a year ago out here. Obviously, my Summit Chevy loves this racetrack and loves racing at a mile high. It feels wonderful to get the job done and everybody did a great job. They were flawless today.”

Hartford advanced to his fourth career final round and third this season with victories against Alex Laughlin, Val Smeland and Jeg Coughlin Jr.

Points leader Hines continued to roll in Pro Stock Motorcycle, picking up his sixth win in eight races this year by going 7.174 at 186.67 in the final round on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson FXDR to beat teammate Eddie Krawiec’s 7.222 at 186.38.

Hines, who extended his points lead, put together an impressive result in the debut race of the new FXDR, beating Cory Reed, Hector Arana and defending world champ Matt Smith en route to the win.

Krawiec reached the final round with victories against Karen Stoffer, Jerry Savoie and defending event winner Hector Arana Jr., but there was no stopping Hines as he earned his class-best fifth win in Denver and 54th career victory.

Hines, the winningest driver in the class, also became the first rider in Pro Stock Motorcycle to reach 500 career round wins on Sunday.

“Rolling out this new FXDR, it’s been so much work these last few months,” Hines said. “Bringing that motorcycle here, we didn’t know what quite to expect, but we put them both in the final round. You’ve got to have the full preparation and make sure your mind is right coming to these national events. Everybody in the class can step up at any time, and it seems like my bike has been in the right place at the right time in the right round.

“We just ride the wave when we can.”

Barcelona have started talks with Lionel Messi to extend the forward's contract until 2023, sources have told ESPN FC.

Messi, 32, is in the final two years of his deal and Barca are keen to get him to commit to Camp Nou beyond 2021. It would be the 10th contract he has signed with the Catalans since his first professional deal in 2004.

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Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu is leading the negotiations with Messi's father, Jorge, who also acts as his agent. There's a clause in Messi's contract to extend the terms by an additional 12 months until 2022, but Bartomeu is keen to reach a completely new agreement to tie him to the club for four more years, when he will be 36.

The Spanish champions are happy with how the initial talks have progressed. Bartomeu is aware Messi's main interest is not only financial and hopes to offer him the best squad possible as Barca continue to seek their first Champions League trophy since 2015.

The Barca president told ESPN FC in an interview in April he planned to offer Messi a lifetime contract at some stage, despite the fact his mandate ends in 2021. Messi last renewed in 2017, although for a while there was some uncertainty about his future as he was allowed to move into the final 12 months of his contract.

The club announced the deal in June, with Messi's father penning the terms of the agreement before Neymar's world-record move to Paris Saint-Germain, but it wasn't until November that Messi eventually signed the contract.

That was the ninth professional deal and the eighth contract renewal Messi signed with the club, lifting his release clause to €700 million. Messi signed his first professional deal in 2004, extending twice in 2005 and again in 2007, penning terms until 2014 with a €150m release clause.

A year later, following the departure of Ronaldinho, he signed another new deal and, in 2009, after helping Pep Guardiola's Barca win the treble, he signed a seven-year deal with a €250m buyout.

Despite having a contract until 2016, at the beginning of 2013, Messi signed another new deal and then extended again in 2014, just before the World Cup, before signing his most recent deal in 2017.

Messi has always maintained that he would like to end his career "at home" in Barcelona.

Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets both signed extended terms last season, leaving Rafinha as the only player in the squad who is out of contract next summer. Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal and Luis Suarez's deals all expire in 2021, like Messi's.

Sadio Mane will return to Liverpool after a two-week break following the club's Community Shield fixture against Manchester City.

The 27-year-old's season only ended on Sunday following Senegal's 1-0 defeat to Algeria in the Africa Cup of Nations final.

He is now on holiday, but will only have a brief period of relaxation before reporting to Melwood on August 5 -- a day after the Reds tackle Pep Guardiola's men in the curtain raiser for 2019-20.

"He is in good shape," manager Jurgen Klopp told Liverpoolfc.com.

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"Obviously they had a celebration in Senegal and I'm happy about that because it showed that they respect the competition and saw the second place as a success, which is nice.

"He is now on holiday, not the longest one -- he will be back on August 5, after the Manchester City game.

"That means he had two weeks. There is four or five days to prepare for Norwich, 10 days for Chelsea [in the UEFA Super Cup]."

BOSTON -- Jurgen Klopp revealed the initial diagnosis for Yasser Larouci is positive following Joris Gnagnon's appalling kick on the left-back during Liverpool's 2-1 defeat to Sevilla at Fenway Park, but further assessments are needed.

The 18-year-old received extended medical attention and was stretchered off the pitch on 80 minutes after the French defender hacked him -- an offence that drew a straight red card.

The teenager, who has had an an impressive pre-season as he makes his case to deputise for Andy Robertson, has hopefully evaded a long-term injury.

"It looks like he was lucky but, of course, how it always is with these things we have to wait a little bit," Klopp said on Larouci, who departed the stadium on crutches, with his right leg in a brace.

"He [Gnagnon] hit him full throttle and, in that moment, [if it was] a little bit different position where he hit him, then it's done.

"I don't know 100 percent. It looks like he was lucky, but I only spoke quickly to the [doctor] and that's what he said, but but we have to see.

"Yasser couldn't keep on playing, so that's the first not-so-good sign, but in the dressing room it was OK, similar how it looks to Harry [Wilson].

"Harry got a knock on his jaw and a finger in his eye, so not too cool. He should be OK as well but couldn't carry on as well. That's the situation."

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Gnagnon tweeted his regret over his actions post-match, which read: "I would like to apologise publicly to the player and to Liverpool. The foul was an odious act, the likes of which should never be seen on a football pitch. My prayers go to the player and to his family."

Sevilla manager Julen Lopetegui spoke to Klopp after the final whistle to check on Larouci and admitted Gnagnon knew he'd made an awful tackle and decision.

"I was worried about the player, but I asked Jurgen and he said he's OK," the former Real Madrid boss said.

"Gnagnon was very worried. He knows it was a bad tackle, a bad decision. The most important thing is for Larouci to be OK."

Klopp was so furious over the dangerous play in the game that he declined to comment afterwards.

"[It's] much too early in the season to create headlines with saying the things I think about the situation," he said.

SINGAPORE -- The contrast between the start of Manchester United's last two summer tours cannot have been more stark.

A year ago in Los Angeles, the first words out of Jose Mourinho's mouth were: "The preseason is very bad." This time in Perth, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer set a much more positive tone.

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"It's been very good so far," he said with a smile -- something that always seemed to be missing from the United camp this time last year. Already it has been a tale of two tours. More intense on the pitch but more relaxed off of it.

Last summer's preparations didn't work for Mourinho and he was gone five months later. Solskjaer will only discover whether he has got it right once the serious games begin, starting with Chelsea at Old Trafford on Aug. 11 but he is, at least, trying something different.

For the players, it has been tough. Solskjaer and his coaching staff put the post-March slump down to a lack of fitness with the sports science department reporting that running stats -- including distance covered during games and the number of short sprints -- dipped sharply after the impressive start to Solskjaer's reign.

Fourteen wins from 17 games was followed by two from 12. High-intensity pressing and front-foot football only works when there is energy to do it. Three muscle injuries in the space of 20 minutes during the goalless draw with Liverpool at the end of February was a warning sign that the squad had hit a wall after switching their style of play halfway through the season. Simply put, Solskjaer says he believes they ran out of steam.

He has looked to remedy that with a preseason built around improving fitness. During nine days of training at the WACA cricket ground in Perth, the players took part in 14 sessions -- including one the morning of the first tour match against Perth Glory. Each session has started with injury prevention exercises to guard against a repeat of last season's problems and each player has been given an individual programme to follow in the gym devised by head of athletic training services Richard Hawkins and strength and conditioning coach Charlie Owen. Some of the players have admitted privately the changes "were needed."

Jesse Lingard's stats -- monitored by head of sports science Ed Leng -- have been particularly impressive. He reported back to Carrington early having trained while on holiday. The training has been more intense than 12 months ago but the atmosphere away from the pitches has been far from it.

In LA last year, one staff member wondered why Mourinho was standing so close during an early morning chat before realising it was because he was trying to smell for alcohol. This time, staff members have felt relaxed enough to enjoy a drink the night before games. The club even put on a poker night for staff at the casino attached to their Crown Towers Hotel in Perth and gave players real £20k chips in exchange for a £10 buy-in to add to the fun.

The players, meanwhile, have spent their free time in the team room that comes equipped with a ping pong table and computer consoles. FIFA (obviously) is the game of choice while Andreas Pereira is the man to beat at table tennis.

On an afternoon off in Perth, a few members of the squad went shopping at Gucci. Paul Pogba and Victor Lindelof went to Cottesloe Beach. Because of the increased attention in Singapore they were advised to keep a lower profile and the day after the 1-0 win over Inter Milan, Pogba, Lindelof, Marcos Rojo, Juan Mata and David De Gea had a quiet lunch at the iconic Marina Bay Sands hotel.

It's not all been smooth sailing for Solskjaer, though. After agent Mino Raiola's public declaration on the eve of the tour that Pogba wants to leave the club, there was genuine concern the France international might not turn up for the flight to Australia. But he did and, to his credit, the midfielder has slotted back into the group and trained hard.

One source told ESPN FC he has been the "life and soul" of the trip -- although the club have had to remain cautious and decided against letting him answer pre-authorised questions from local media at an Adidas event. In fact, it is Romelu Lukaku, rather than Pogba, who has caused the biggest headache for Solskjaer after an ankle knock ruled the striker out of the first three games of the tour amid interest from Inter Milan.

The Belgian was unavailable to play Inter but was spotted clutching one of their shirts as he left the National Stadium in Singapore. He wants to go but United want their money and there are serious doubts about whether the Serie A side have it.

Mason Greenwood, still only 17, has been one of the highlights after scoring his first two senior goals, including the winner against Inter. United have come to Australia and the Far East as much for commercial reasons as anything else but they have had to be careful about cashing in on their latest star. He was escorted out of stadium by a senior member of the communications team after his goal against Inter to make sure he wasn't tempted to talk to journalists. In-house television channel MUTV didn't get to speak to him either in an effort by the club to make sure he is not placed under too much pressure.

United's tour started on the world's most luxurious jet, a custom built plane that seats 88 first class passengers. The trip has taken nearly a year to plan with a dedicated team of six staff looking at every detail down to the size of the beds in the hotels.

Solskjaer, along with coaches Kieran McKenna and Michael Carrick and the rest of the backroom staff, have designed training sessions aimed at fixing specific problems encountered last season. He can only hope it has provided the right platform for a better season than the last.

India A 237 for 2 (Gaikwad 99, Gill 69, Iyer 61*) beat West Indies A 236 (Rutherford 65, Ambris 61, Saini 2-31, Deepak Chahar 2-39, Rahul Chahar 2-53) by eight wickets

Brisk fifties from the in-form trio of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer led India A to an eight-wicket win over West Indies A in the fifth and final unofficial ODI in Antigua. The win completed a 4-1 series victory for the visitors.

India A only needed 33 overs to get to their target of 237. Gill dominated a first-wicket stand of 110 with Gaikwad, hitting eight fours and three sixes in a 40-ball 69 before being dismissed by the offspinner Rahkeem Cornwall. Gaikwad batted on until India were only 15 short of their target, and fell one short of a hundred, having hit 11 fours and three sixes in his 89-ball innings. Iyer, who put on 112 for the second wicket with Gaikwad, was unbeaten at the finish on 61 off 64 balls (3x4, 2x6).

Having chosen to bat first, West Indies A made an excellent start, Sunil Ambris' 52-ball 61 (7x4, 2x6) giving them early momentum before India A's bowlers combined to effect a collapse from 77 for no loss to 103 for 6. Sherfane Rutherford then made 65 off 70 balls (4x4, 4x6) combined with the lower order to haul West Indies A to 236. Khary Pierre contributed an unbeaten 35 off 34 balls before he ran out of partners with 2.2 overs still left in the innings.

Seamers Navdeep Saini and Deepak Chahar, and legspinner Rahul Chahar - all of whom had earned call-ups to India's white-ball squads on Sunday - picked up two wickets each.

The method of Afghanistan A's dominance of their hosts Bangladesh has surprised selector Habibul Bashar, who said that their brand of cricket has been more patient. Currently, Afghanistan lead the five-match one-day series 2-0 after their four-wicket win in Chattogram on Sunday, having already won the two-match four-day series 1-0.

Bashar said that he was impressed by the way they played mostly cricketing shots during their tricky 279-run chase, which was anchored by Ibrahim Zadran's 127 off 149 before Sharafuddin Ashraf and Fazal Niazai blasted 37 runs in three overs to complete the victory. Bashar also said that Afghanistan played by the book during the four-day matches, the first of which they won by seven wickets.

"This Afghanistan side is playing a different brand of cricket, which has surprised me," Bashar told Kaler Kantho, a Dhaka-based Bengali daily. "Their main team usually slogs the ball. They start going for big shots, but this team doesn't play like that. They are playing in the traditional way, which is very different for them. Even when they went for big shots in this game, they didn't just slog. They played good shots. They took 86 off the last eight overs against experienced bowlers like Shafiul [Islam] and [Abu Jayed] Rahi. This is a group of really committed cricketers."

On the flip side, however, Bashar said that he was worried about the home side's performance in the series so far. There are thirteen Bangladesh capped players among the 14 who have played in the two one-dayers, including World Cup squad members Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahman, Rubel Hossain and Abu Jayed. From this squad, Anamul Haque and later Farhad Reza have been added to the senior side that is touring Sri Lanka currently.

Most of these players, according to Bashar, were picked on the back of excellent domestic showings from the last season, but it hasn't reflected in what is considered a step below international cricket.

"I am also wondering where the problem is," Bashar said. "This team is made up of proven performers at the domestic level. They have scored runs and taken plenty of wickets, but I can't figure out why they have been unable to perform against Afghanistan A.

"It is a matter of prestige, but also worrying, isn't it? The batsmen who played in the four-day matches all have 150-plus innings under their belt. They are now playing at almost the highest level, just below the senior team. They are in the A team because they have done well in domestic cricket. If they can't do well at this level, how will they do well at the next step."

Bangladesh A still have a chance to make a comeback in the three remaining one-day matches, to be held on July 24, 27 and 29.

Jos Buttler is a World Cup winner now but just days before the final against New Zealand at Lord's, the fear of failure was haunting him. Thoughts of how he would ever play cricket again if England were to lose were creeping into his system.

Confounded by those demons, Buttler sought out the team psychologist David Young.

"I had played in eight finals before Sunday and lost seven of them," Buttler told The Daily Mail. "I'd played in lots with Somerset, the Champions Trophy with England [in 2013] and when we lost the [World] T20 [final] in Kolkata [in 2016] and I knew how much it hurt watching the other team lift the trophy. I didn't want to feel that pain and that regret again.

"What was scaring me was if we lost, I didn't know how I'd play cricket again. This was such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a World Cup final at Lord's. It felt like destiny and I was thinking: 'If it doesn't happen, I will have no motivation to pick up a cricket bat for a very long time.' When I was talking to David, I knew the answers.

"I knew all I could look after was the stuff I could look after, and I needed to get into my zone, which allows me to perform the best I can. But what happens if it goes wrong?"

Buttler had a similar feeling midway through the World Cup when it looked like pre-tournament favourites England might not even make the semi-finals, having lost to Sri Lanka and Australia back-to-back.

"Before the India game, I was struggling with coming to terms with the prospect of us getting knocked out," Buttler said. "We'd been favourites, so highly fancied by everyone, and there was the danger that four years of playing such good cricket was going to come to nothing.

"Think about what people will say about us as a team, think about how they will call us chokers, everything else they will say. I remember seeing a comment -- maybe it was the one that got Jonny Bairstow wound up -- about how it would be the biggest failure because of how much had gone into this World Cup. I was struggling with the thought of that."

In the final, Buttler played a crucial role, first with the bat by scoring 59 and adding 110 for the fifth wicket with Ben Stokes, and then by completing the run-out dismissal of Martin Guptill off the last ball of the Super Over to seal the win for England.

Talking about his feelings just before that last ball, with New Zealand needing two to win with Guptill on strike, Buttler said: "If you're watching the game from the outside, you must think all the players must be so nervous as Jofra Archer is coming in to bowl that last ball. But as a cricketer, it's where you want to be. You're in the middle, you've got some control. You've done it time and again. Just because it's a final, it's still the same thing, collecting the ball and taking the stumps.

"You're on autopilot really. I felt very in-the-moment. Guptill pushed it off his legs and once I saw it going straight to Jason [Roy], I thought: 'If we get this right, we can win this'. I knew Guptill would be a long way out. Under pressure, nothing is simple but I knew it should be simple.

"When Jason picked it up, there was no thought he might misfield it. None of those thoughts happen. He picks it up, throws it to me and I take the stumps. I had to come down the pitch a little bit but I knew that as long as I collected the ball cleanly, I would have time to get to the stumps because he was a long way out.

"If I knew Guptill was going to be closer, I may have been more anxious or rushed it, but I knew I had some time to play with, so it was just as simple as making sure I got it in my hands."

While the Super Over ended in a tie, England became the winners based on the boundary count. The euphoria that followed, to Buttler, felt like the best time of his career.

"I knew the moment I broke the wicket, that was it. Both gloves went [off], I threw my hat in the air. I was running around and Moeen Ali was aeroplaning past me and Jofra was on the floor miles away. Those feelings justify everything. That moment lasts for 20 seconds, maybe, and it is just the best time of your cricket career.

"I'm 28 and for however long I have left in my career, I would just enjoy it and think: 'That happened'."