Mason Jones has become the latest Welshman to join the UFC after earning a four-fight deal. The Blaenavon fighter called for his chance in MMA’s premier series after becoming a Cage Warriors two-weight champ in September.

Jay Harris was made to battle all the way as he made a winning return to the ring in the MTK fight night. The Swansea fighter said he was ‘buzzed’ after a stinging left-hook from Marcel Braithwaite in the fourth round rocked him to his roots.

Shooter Amy Clinton has re-signed for Celtic Dragons for the Vitality Netball Superleague season. The former England U21 player, who joined from Loughborough Lightning last season, appeared in all three of the 2020 games before the COVID-19 suspension.

Gareth Bale has been warned he may have to get used to an uncomfortable subs’ bench as often as a “beautiful chair” at Tottenham. The suggestion was made by Spurs manager Jose Mourinho in the wake of Bale’s second debut for the club following his loan move from Real Madrid. Mourinho did not think the introduction of the Wales captain was the catalyst for his side’s late capitulation against West Ham.

Two Welshmen will be on the start line when the Vuelta a Espana begins on Tuesday in Irun near Bibao. Steve Williams and Scott Davies will both be riding for Team Bahrain McLaren, but for Williams just competing in a three-week Grand Tour has already been a major accomplishment and testament to teamwork, as he tells Owen Morgan. World Tour team cyclist Stevie Williams benefitted from a career-saving collaboration between Sport Wales and his Team Bahrain McLaren outfit which has helped him return from a long-term injury. One of Britain’s most promising young riders, Williams’ career had been put on hold for 18-months by a mystery knee problem shortly after signing for Team Bahrain McLaren – one of the sport’s top teams.

Chaz Davies signed off with Aruba.it Racing Ducati by storming to victory in the final World Superbikes race of the season in Estoril. The Knighton-born rider admitted there were tears on the grid before the start on the Portuguese track.

Tomas Francis will have more medals in mind this week as he prepares for a possible Heineken Champions Cup and English Premiership double with Exeter Chiefs. The Wales tight head prop will be missing from the international warm-up match with France in Paris this weekend because of club commitments. The Chiefs meet Wasps at Twickenham in what will be their fifth successive Premiership final.

Neil Harris says Cardiff City have established a foothold in the Championship after Sheyi Ojo’s first goal sealed a 1-0 victory at Preston. The victory lifted the Bluebirds up to 12th with seven points from five games – all their points coming away from home.

There were red cards at either end of the game of the day in the JD Cymru Premier League, but neither Barry Town United nor Connah’s Quay Nomads could conjure up a goal. The reigning champions went down to 11 men in only the second minute when defender John Disney was sent off for being the last man at the back when he pulled down Curtis Jemmett-Hutson. That immediately put the Nomads, who had lost their unbeaten record with a 1-0 defeat at arch-rivals The New Saints earlier in the week, under pressure and they rode their luck at the start of the second half.

Osian Pryce made a successful return to rallying after a coronavirus restriction-enforced eight-month layoff by finishing runner-up on the Goodwood SpeedWeek Super Special Stages. Contesting his first event in a Volkswagen Polo GTI R5, and without any pre-event testing, the 27-year old set second fastest time on all but one of the tight and technical stages to finish just 18.5 seconds behind WRC 2 regular Rhys Yates (Ford Fiesta R5).

Callum Sheedy grabbed much of the limelight on Friday night as Bristol Bears won the European Challenge Cup final. For Harri Morgan, it was a welcome opportunity to appreciate Sheedy the potential international rugby player, rather than a pawn in a game of rugby’s politics. It was the presence of a couple of Bears – of the Bristol variety – that spiked my interest when Wayne Pivac named his second Wales squad, ahead of an autumnal fixture list that will see Wales face off against opponents usually reserved for the spring. Nineteen-year-old Ioan Lloyd, who is still categorised on the club website under ‘integrated academy squad’, despite featuring 15 times for the first team in his first year out of Clifton College, was in there.

Jake Smith admits he had his eye on smashing Steve Jones’ Welsh Half Marathon record with his astonishing run in Poland. The 22-year-old lowered the mark set by Jones at the Great North Run in 1986 by 28 seconds just a couple of weeks after qualifying as a Welsh runner.

Steve Cooper has revealed he played no role in the talks that ended with Swansea City selling Joe Rodon to Tottenham for just an initial £11m. The Swansea head coach was reacting after seeing his team – without Rodon for the first time – lose their unbeaten start to the Championship season as they crashed 2-1 at home to Huddersfield. Cooper said Rodon came to see him on Thursday after returning from Wales duty and told him he would be keen to join Spurs if a deal could be done.

New world No 2 Gerwyn Price avenged his defeat by Devon Petersen to reach the third round of the European Darts GP. The 35-year-old brushed aside the South African 6-2 in Sindelfingen having had a first-round bye.

Chaz Davies sealed third place in this season’s World Superbikes Championship after taking second in Estoril. The Knighton-born rider shrugged off losing his place at Aruba.it Racing Ducati for next season with a fine ride.

Cardiff’s Jake Smith smashed Welsh distance legend Steve Jones’ national record at the World Half Marathon Championships in Poland on Saturday morning. Bermuda-born Smith, who recently became Welsh qualified, clocked a spectacular time of 60:31 to claim 18th place overall in Gdynia.

Neil Harris has hailed an ‘excellent’ transfer window for Cardiff City as chairman Mehmet Dalman up the pressure on the manager. The Bluebirds snapped up Wales flier Harry Wilson, keeper Dillon Phillips and Croatia centre-back Filip Benkovic on the final day of the window.

Joe Rodon has hailed Jose Mourinho as one of the biggest managers in football after completing a dream move to Tottenham. And the centre-back is relishing linking up with fellow Welsh internationals Gareth Bale and Ben Davies after signing a deal until 2025.

Joss Labadie has pledged to give his boss the perfect 40th birthday gift by getting Newport County back on the winning trail when they host Tranmere Rovers at Rodney Parade today. Michael Flynn’s men lost their unbeaten record at Cambridge last weekend, and top spot in League Two into the bargain, and Labadie is determined to make amends for that 2-1 defeat back on home turf. “Last week was disappointing and we felt we should have got something out of the game. We need to rectify things against Tranmere,” said Labadie.

There were 43 members and now there are 45 in the club of Welshmen who have won the European Challenge Cup. Callum Sheedy and Dan Thomas joined the lengthening list as they helped Bristol Bears win the title for the first time in their history. Their 32-19 win over Toulon in Aix-en-Provence set up a possible English double in Europe with Exeter Chiefs facing Racing 92 in the Heineken Champions Cup final at Ashton Gate on Saturday night.