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Each week, Brett Okamoto provides his take on the hottest topics in the world of mixed martial arts. Hes joined this week by UFC middleweight Derek Brunson. Brunson (18-3) will face Robert Whittaker on Nov. 26 at UFC Fight Night in Melbourne, Australia.1. Interim UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo has requested a release from the UFC, citing a lack of respect from the promotion. Should the UFC grant his release?Brunson: You know what? Jose Aldo is probably one of my favorite fighters of all time, but I do not side with him on this one. If he was complaining about wanting more money, thats different. But youve got a guy who held the belt and lost it -- Im not really big on instant rematches. I think you should win a couple fights. It always depends on how your division looks but ... I think its worse for guys like Frankie Edgar. Edgar went on a roll and steamed like five or six guys in a row. He had a title shot, but Conor [McGregor] wanted to go up a weight class. Frankie was like, OK, Im not sitting around for a year. He fought Aldo and loses a close decision. That wasnt fair to him. If anybody should be complaining, its Frankie. Guys want to fight Jose. Sometimes you just have to handle your business. It seems like he just wants that belt back, and I think if he were to beat Max Holloway, boom, hed get his title shot.Okamoto: Hard question to answer in a short space, but theres two sides to this, really. I can easily understand why Aldo feels the UFC has disrespected him in the past. When he pulled out of a fight against McGregor last year at UFC 189, the promotion sort of hung him out to dry, basically accusing him of exaggerating the injury. Dana White has criticized him for not finishing more of his one-sided fights. He says the UFC lied to him about a McGregor rematch, which I wouldnt find shocking if proven true. At the same time, as Derek points out, the timing of his demand seems very, very much linked to McGregor. And if Aldo is mad that he doesnt have the same leverage as McGregor, he partially has himself to blame. Im not saying he needs to be something hes not and trash-talk the way McGregor does, but theres a reason McGregor is able to push boundaries Aldo never did.2. UFCs Alex Oliveira scored a controversial win over lightweight Will Brooks last weekend, after coming in 5.5 pounds overweight. What should the penalty be for missing weight that badly?Brunson: I think 20 percent of a guys purse going to his opponent is good for maybe, like, 2 pounds. As you start going up more, it should start raising the percentage. Something like 30 percent for 3 pounds, 50 percent for 4. Five pounds? Thats a lot. You know what weight youre contracted at. If you miss by that much, 5 pounds might be too much to even let them fight. If I had been Will Brooks, I wouldnt have fought. Thats just ridiculous and unprofessional. Thats almost a different weight class. Look at the fight. The guy was pressing him against the cage. That guy was strong and that much stronger with those 5 pounds.Okamoto: I think Derek just laid out a pretty perfect plan. Because as it is, theres really not THAT much of a deterrent to continue to cut if you have a pretty good idea you wont make it. In other words, if I know Im missing weight and the penalty is the same whether its 2 pounds or 5, Im probably leaning 5, right? So creating tiers of how much is forfeited based on how much youre over is a good idea. And anything above 5? Call the fight. As a promotion or commission, take that decision out of the fighters hands who did make weight. Because theyll always elect to fight. Its too hard to turn it down. Take away that pressure and make the decision for them. And pay them too, which the UFC is pretty good about.3. Match-make the UFCs bantamweight division and -- looking even further down the line -- predict who will hold the title at the end of 2017.Brunson: Thats a crazy division. That belt is going to switch hands a lot. I would make Dominick Cruz vs. Cody Garbrandt. Then Id make John Lineker vs. Bryan Caraway. I think both those guys are deserving of a big matchup. The winner of Caraway-Lineker gets a title shot. Youve got [T.J.] Dillashaw kind of sitting out there, its tough. Like I said, I dont like instant rematches. If you had the belt and lose it, I think you need to win a couple fights. Because youve got other guys working for a title shot, and if the second fight between the top two is good, then youre going to feel like you need to do a third. As far as whos holding it at the end of next year, Ive got to go with Cody Garbrandt.Okamoto: I know the people want Cruz vs. Garbrandt. Thats what the masses are calling for. But to me, you have to give Dillashaw this fight. Im still not convinced Dillashaw lost to Cruz when they met in the beginning of the year. Ive watched that fight multiple times -- and its one of the most even fights Ive ever seen in the Octagon. To deny Dillashaw a rematch after a fight that close -- AND after he went on to take a tough matchup against Raphael Assuncao at UFC 200 -- I just dont see how you do that. Once upon a time, Garbrandt was supposed to fight Lineker. I think that is an absolute money fight. Put that on the same card as Cruz vs. Dillashaw II. And champion at the end of 2017? Wow, thats tough. Cruz.4. Whos had a better career: Michael Bisping or Dan Henderson?Brunson: Bispings been steady for all these years, but Henderson has been around and been able to stay and compete at a high level against younger generations who looked up and idolized him. I guess Id have to go with Henderson. He won belts in Pride and Strikeforce. Now hes going for the UFC belt. Yeah, Id have to go with Dan Henderson.Okamoto: This question sure got a lot harder to answer in 2016. I mean, you still have to give a small edge to Henderson -- but Bisping has more years left and well see what the answer is after those. Hendo is pioneer status. Hes fought the greatest fighters of two generations. The middleweight Pride champion during his prime years. The Strikeforce era in which he beat Fedor Emelianenko. Fight of the Year candidate against Mauricio Shogun Rua in 2011. The man has fought the best of the best for nearly 20 years. I dont think it takes away anything from Bisping, who will go down as a legend in his own right, to say Hendo has him slightly beat at this point in their respective careers.5. Following UFC 204, who is next in line for a shot at the middleweight championship?Brunson: Derek Brunson, of course [laughs]. The middleweight division needs new blood. Youve got [Ronaldo Jacare Souza], hes everyones front-runner for a title shot. Hes fighting Luke Rockhold. Realistically, the next title shot will probably come out of that fight, but Jacare is only on a one-fight win streak. Yoel Romero beat Jacare, but then Romero popped for [performance-enhancing drugs]. So its kind of like Jacare is only on a one-fight win streak and Romero popped for PEDs. Do you reward them for that? Romero is my only loss, and I was winning that fight until the end.Okamoto: I agree with Derek: It has to be the winner of that Nov. 19 showdown between Rockhold and Souza. The perception is Rockhold slipped on a banana peel when he lost to Bisping in June. Souza has certainly done everything one could ask for to get a title shot, and a win over Rockhold would thoroughly cement his status as a No. 1 contender. The winner of a Nov. 12 fight at UFC 205 between Chris Weidman and Romero is in play as well, but I still lean toward the Rockhold/Souza winner. All four will be trying to make a statement that month, thats for sure. Cheap Soccer Jerseys Authentic . 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"Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. Soccer Jerseys Outlet .J. -- Marshawn Lynch said Thursday it will be good to get back to football after the Seattle quiet talking running back wrapped up his final mandatory media session of Super Bowl week. LONG POND, Pa. -- Chris Buescher sat in his Ford, hoping that the fog would stick over Pocono and the cloud over the rookies middling season would start to lift.Buescher idled in his car, then stood with his arms folded on pit road.I tried not to get my hopes up, he said.Buescher emerged from the fog to become a surprising winner in Mondays shortened Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway. He is now on the verge of being in the mix for NASCARs championship after not finishing better than 14th all season before Monday.Imagine a title push that kicks off with Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson and little-known Buescher in the field.The plan was to always make the Chase, Buescher said. Were that much closer now.Hes not there yet. Buescher is six points behind David Ragan for 30th to reach the cutoff needed to become eligible for the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.Buescher, who drives for underfunded Front Row Motorsports, was the beneficiary on a rare Monday race postponed a day by rain. With nasty weather punishing the track, NASCAR called the red flag with 22 laps left and parked the cars on pit road. Buescher was as much a spectator in the No. 34 Ford as the few fans left in the stands, though NASCAR let drivers get out of their cars after about 10 minutes as they waited out gloomy conditions.Im a little scared to get out, Buescher said.No need. He was declared the winner after about an 80-minute delay. He was doused with beer and water in a makeshift victory lane celebration inside a garage stall, his Ford covered on rainy pit road instead of bathed in confetti.Brad Keselowski was second, followed by Regan Smith, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart. Jeff Gordon finished 27th driving for the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr.There are two major requirements to making the Chase: One is winning a race and the other is being in the top 30 in points. Buescher will need to find a way to climb higher over Ragan in the final five races before the Chase field is set.Buescher won twice last season in the Xfinity Series and won the series championship. He will spend 2016 as basically the fourth Jack Roush driver because of a shared technical alliance between the organizations.He finished 30th or worse 10 times this season. Ragan had Front Rows only victory 118 races ago in fall 2013 at Talladega.Veteran crew chief Bob Osborne gambled with the decision to keep Buescher on the track while others made pit stops with 28 laps left. Once the cars were halted, Buescher and his crew rooted for the rain and fog to stick around. At one point, the 23-year-old Buescher, a former ARCA champion, rested against a fence and was swarmed by fans and photographers wanting a picture before the race was even called.Im trying to remember every rain dance Ive ever learned, he ssaid in the car.ddddddddddddBuescher is now on the brink of becoming the first Chase bracket buster. Led by four-time winners Busch and Keselowski, there are 11 slots seemingly set for race winners, and Buescher would make 12. Jamie McMurray, Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman, and Kyle Larson are among the four winless drivers battling for the final four spots.This is going to change our whole year right here, Buescher said.Drivers with a Chase spot secured enjoyed Bueschers feel-good victory that broke up the recent Toyota hot streak.I told him, `If I couldnt win, it was cool to see him win, Keselowski said.NASCAR defended dragging out the decision to call the race, even as severe storms hit a track where a fan was killed by a lightning strike in 2012.We never lost the track, said Steve ODonnell, NASCARs chief racing development officer. I think most NASCAR fans want to see a complete race.Here are other items of note from Mondays race:SO CLOSEWith rain looming toward the halfway point, Larson and Dillon engaged in a thrilling five-lap battle for first. Larson kept his tight lead with a timely block of Dillon just two laps shy of the halfway point. Dillon dipped low and briefly snagged the lead, only for Larson to snatch it right back at the halfway point that made the race official.But Larson and Dillon took their door-to-door battle on the high line, allowing Joey Logano to swoop low and seize the lead in one of the most exciting mid-race moves of the season. Logano, the 2015 Daytona 500 champion, pulled away in the fog -- but Elliott got loose and turned Logano into the wall with 55 laps left in the race and sent his 22 to the garage.FLAT TRUEXMartin Truex Jr. run up front from the pole was a short one, the former Pocono winners race derailed by a flat right front tire. Truex led 16 laps early until the tire blew and forced him to pit road for repairs. He had multiple issues once he returned to the track and finished 38th.Truex has one win this season and won the June 2015 Pocono race. Truex said his No. 78 Toyota was strong enough to contend for a victory.A lug nut spun off, hit the ground, bounced behind the wheel somehow and knocked the inner valve stem off, he said.GORDONS RUNJeff Gordons track record for wins remains at six. Gordon, filling in for Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the second straight week, battled a seat belt issue and finished 27th. Earnhardt missed his third straight race because he suffers from symptoms of a concussion. Hendrick Motorsports has not said who will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet on Sunday at Watkins Glen.UP NEXT:Logano is the defending race winner at Watkins Glen. ' ' '