thing or two about life as a professional

TORONTO -- Another chapter to the post-Georges St-Pierre welterweight story will be written at UFC 171, with No. 2 contender Carlos (The Natural Born Killer) Condit taking on Tyron (The Chosen One) Woodley. The title recently vacated by St-Pierre will be on the line at the March 15 card in Dallas when No. 1 contender Johny (Bigg Rigg) Hendricks faces No. 3 (Ruthless) Robbie Lawler (22-9 with one no contest). Hendricks (15-2) is coming off a controversial split decision loss to St-Pierre at UFC 167 last month. The Condit-Woodley winner could become the next title contender. The 170-pound championship has belonged to St-Pierre since he won it back from Matt (The Terror) Serra at UFC 83 in Montreal in April 2008. St-Pierre (25-2) beat Condit at UFC 154 in November 2012. Condit (29-7) has beaten Martin (The Hitman) Kampmann and lost to Hendricks since then. The Condit-Woodley announcement Tuesday means that seven of the UFCs top 10 welterweights have fights scheduled. Condit was due to meet No. 8 Matt (The Immortal) Brown last Saturday on a televised card in Sacramento but the fight was called off when Brown (20-11) was sidelined with a back injury. The unranked Woodley had campaigned on Twitter to be Browns replacement. Woodley (12-2) is coming off an impressive first-round TKO win over veteran Josh Koscheck. The 31-year-old from St Louis went 8-0 in Strikeforce before losing via fourth-round TKO to Nate (The Great) Marquardt in a title bout. He opened his UFC account with a first-round stoppage of Jay Hieron before losing a close decision to Jake Shields. Shields, ranked seventh among 170 pounders, is expected to meet Hector Lombard at UFC 171. Montreals Rory MacDonald, ranked fourth, is to fight No. 6 Demian Maia at UFC UFC 170 on Feb. 22 in Las Vegas. And No. 10 Tarec (Sponge) Saffiedine takes on Hyun Gyu Lim on a televised card Jan. 4 in Singapore. The only ranked welterweights currently without fights are Brown, No. 5 Jake (The Juggernaut) Ellenberger and No. 9 Kampmann. Other UFC welterweight matchups already announced include: -- Bobby Voelker versus William Macario and Siyar Bahadurzada versus John Howard at UFC 168, Dec. 28 in Las Vegas. -- Luiz Dutra versus Kiichi Kunimoto, Jan. 4 in Singapore -- Adlan Amagov versus Jason High, Jan. 15 in Atlanta. -- T.J. Waldburger versus Mike Pyle, UFC 170, Feb. 22 in Las Vegas. -- Alex Garcia versus Sean Spencer, UFC 171, March 15 in Dallas. The highest-profile welterweight outside the FC is former Bellator champion Ben Askren (12-0), who recently signed with the Asian-based One FC promotion. Stan Smith Baratas España .com) - The Oakland Athletics needed to rely on a lot of young pitchers to win an American League West title this season. Stan Smith Baratas . -- Dane Fox scored his 61st and 62nd goals of the season and Brendan Gaunce had a goal and three assists as the Erie Otters downed the Kitchener Rangers 7-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.stansmithbaratas.es/. Napoli beat high-flying Hellas Verona 3-0 to keep up the pressure on the top two while AC Milan had another disappointing night as four goals from teenage forward Domenico Berardi saw relegation-threatened Sassuolo come back from two goals down to win 4-3. Stan Smith Baratas Online . -- Kole Calhoun homered and drove in three runs, Albert Pujols also went deep and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Chicago White Sox 8-4 Friday night. Stan Smith España . - Nikita Jevpalovs scored 6:22 into the second overtime as the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada edged the visiting Rimouski Oceanic 2-1 on Tuesday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff action.Its been a long wait for Mackenzie Hughes but in just a couple of weeks, hell finally kick off his 2014 season on the Web.Com Tour. The former Canadian Amateur champion, who made his rookie year as a professional a memorable one, has had a long wait to get back on the course and after last season, hes anxious to play. "Its funny that my season really ended in September," he said, noting the end of the PGA Tour Canada schedule. "That was so long ago and Ive had so much time to think about it." Whats probably crossed his mind from time to time has been his great campaign of 2013, where he went from having no status and minimal financial backing to winning the Order of Merit on PGA Tour Canada, which gave him an exemption onto the Web.Com Tour. It was certainly a whirlwind season but one the product of Dundas, Ont., never doubted he could make. After playing for Canada at the World Team Amateur Championship, Hughes turned pro, moved to Charlotte, N.C., and ventured out into the world of mini-tours. "I dont like mini-tours so much," he chuckled. "Youre not playing for a lot of money and its definitely not glamourous." However, thats about all Hughes had at that point. And he did learn a thing or two about life as a professional, which was a definite change from his amateur and college days. "You have to learn on your own pretty quickly," he said. "Youre really on your own." One thing that didnt change, however, was his talent. It didnt take him long to parlay a couple of PGA Tour Canada starts into a regular gig. And, in June, after going through the qualifying and winning a playoff, he made it into the U.S. Open. Although he didnt make the cut at Merion, it was an eye-opening experience. "It showed me that Im not that far off, that I can play at that level," he stated. "And it helped me when I got back to PGA Tour Canada." After missing the cut in his first three stops, Hughes rolled off four top--10 finishes in his next five events.dddddddddddd. That included a runner-up finish at the Wildfire Invitational and a victory at the Cape Breton Celtic Classic. His success on the course also helped him off it. When he first turned pro, Hughes attempted to find sponsors, even coming up with a plan to sell shares of himself. That didnt work out and in the early going, things were tight. This year, hes signed on with SportBox Entertainment Group, the new Canadian agency thats headed up by former IMGer Danny Fritz and includes as clients Mike Weir, Graham DeLaet and David Hearn. Hes found some stability with sponsorships from Ping and Freedom 55 Financial, but says hes a long way from being on easy street. "Its better for sure, but at the same time, Im going to spend a lot more money this year," Hughes pointed out. "Ill be paying for caddies, more travel, more of everything really. It adds up pretty quick. But if I play well, its not an issue." In addition to learning how to balance his chequebook, Hughes is learning the ropes of another new tour, this one a step up on the competitive scale. The long layoff has made it possible for him to glean lots of information about playing the Web.com Tour, but that has an upside and downside. "Ive talked to a million different people about it," Hughes said. "Ive maybe got too much advice. Im really just trying to figure out whats best for me." He has sought out help from those whove gone before him and hes hoping to play practice rounds with fellow Canadians Roger Sloan and Adam Hadwin to not only learn about courses, but also life on tour. He will also likely join up with another Canadian rookie, Albin Choi to share expenses and experiences. "Im more excited than nervous," Hughes admitted. "I want to test my game against the next level and see where I am." Hughes will get that opportunity when the Tour gets underway Feb. 13 in Bogota, Colombia. ' ' '