Nine years ago, Sara McMann wept during the presentation of her Olympic wrestling medal. Jordy Nelson Packers Jersey . They were not tears of joy. At the time, the Athens silver medal was more a symbol of failure than success. "I really had my heart set on winning it and I was up 2-0 going into the second period (against Japans Kaori Icho)," said McMann, who makes her UFC debut Saturday at UFC 159 in Newark, N.J. "I had really worked extremely hard and done everything I could to win the gold. "I dedicated my entire life to it, so that was devastating to me ... I was heartbroken, theres just really no other way about it. I wanted more." The blow has softened with the realization that McMann had given her all. "Theres nothing more you can do," she said in an interview. "Once you put everything out there that you possibly could, you should be proud of what you did. And if thats a bronze or you made an Olympic team or you were national champion or a state champion -- whatever your goals were and, in what you did, you dedicated yourself fully to it, you should be happy with that." McMann, 32, begins another quest on the weekend at the Prudential Center against Sheila (The German Tank) Gaff on the undercard of a UFC pay-per-view show that sees Jon (Bones) Jones defend his light-heavyweight title against former middleweight contender Chael Sonnen. The McMann-Gaff fight is the third female bantamweight bout in the UFC. Champion (Rowdy) Ronda Rousey (7-0) defeated Liz Carmouche at UFC 157 in February while Cat Zingano (8-0) earned a title shot with her third-round stoppage of Miesha Tate earlier this month. Victorias Sarah Kaufman (15-2) and Alexis Davis (13-5) of Port Colborne, Ont., wait in the wings for their UFC 135-pound debut. Like McMann (6-0), Rousey also has an Olympic silver -- in judo at the 2008 Games in Beijing. McMann, however, has to deal with far more pain than sporting failures. "A place like the cage does not intimidate her because shes already been through hell," said a 2012 CBS Sports "Courage in Sports" segment on McMann. In January 1999, her older brother Jason disappeared. His body wasnt found for three months and it took three years to find his killer. And in 2004, right after the Olympics, fiancee Steven Blackford -- a star collegiate wrestler in his own right -- was killed when McManns car went off the road in Colorado. After failing to make the U.S. Olympics team for the 2008 Games, McMann got pregnant with daughter Bella. Two months after becoming a mother, McMann took up jiu-jitsu with an eye to set goals and compete in the sport. Friends started urging her to try MMA and, when she tried her hand at striking, she fell in love with the sport. "I started picking things up pretty quickly and I started excelling because I was having fun learning a completely new combative sport," she said. McMann made her amateur MMA debut in June 2010, stopping Jasmine Reed in one minute 45 seconds. McMann didnt know how she would feel in the moments leading to her debut, especially against an opponent who came from a boxing background. "I was quite shocked at how relaxed I felt," McMann recalled. "I thought it was going to be way different. "Now its kind of settled out to where I get about the same amount of nerves as I would for the high-level wrestling competitions that Ive competed in." Her first pro fight lasted just 1:41, ending with a submission win over Christina Marks in May 2011. The five-foot-six McMann, who makes her home in Gaffney, S.C., has fought in a variety of promotions since and understands that MMA is an "entertainment sport." "Its real competition and your wins and losses very much count. But they also want to bring out the personality. They want the drama, they want all of the dirt. This is like a sport and soap opera mixed together." McMann has trained full time, first in wrestling and now in MMA, since she was 19. She has studied along the way, getting a major in theatre and minor in psychology before finishing up her masters degree in mental health counselling in 2010. She says shes good at time management and has "learned to let certain things go," like rescheduling training sessions when needed to be with four-year-old Bella. The flexibility of her boyfriend and training partners help ease that road. Her daughter has essentially grown up with wrestlers in the gym. "She climbs all over the guys like theyre little human Jungle Jims," said McMann. The 23-year-old Gaff (10-4-1) doesnt take much time when she wins. She has one knockout victory in eight seconds, one in 10 seconds, and two in 30 seconds each. But her most recent win -- a 10-second knockout of Jennifer Maia in March 2012 -- is somewhat controversial in that it appears that Maia gets hit after she tries to touch gloves at the opening bell. The Brazilian never recovered from the onslaught. McMann was diplomatic about the incident, saying its hard to tell from the video exactly what happened. McManns preparations for Saturdays fight included time at Montreals famed Tristar Gym. "They are awesome," she said. "Ive gone up there three times and Im planning my next trip after this." Clay Matthews Green Jersey . Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema scored two goals each Wednesday night in a 6-1 rout of Schalke in the first leg of their second-round matchup. "We played a very, very good match," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "We got well into the match, scored two early goals and that opened the game and left us able to counter and to use the speed of our players. Mason Crosby Green Jersey . This week, topics cover if and when the Blue Jays should start rebuilding, how good catchers handle a pitching staff and how best to develop young pitchers to best avoid arm problems.The Ohio State Buckeyes are the Rodney Dangerfield of the college football landscape - they get no respect. They own the longest winning streak in the country at 18 games, and have yet to lose a game under head coach Urban Meyer. Despite this, it appears OSU is on the outside looking in when it comes to contenders for a spot in the BCS National Championship. They sit fourth in the Associated Press poll behind Alabama, Oregon and Clemson. A win this weekend by Florida State would knock Clemson from the Top 3, but in all likelihood result in the Seminoles taking their position. When the first BCS rankings are released on Oct. 20, Ohio State could slide even further due to their poor strength of schedule. In the NCAA, your opponents are your worst enemies until the final whistle blows. At that point get your pom poms out and start cheering. Every win they accrue boosts your standing, and every loss they suffer makes your result less impressive. Last week Ohio State was on their bye, and still came away as losers when both Northwestern and Michigan lost. They havent even played Michigan yet, but they needed that game to a battle of two top ranked teams to give them a chance and thatll no longer be the case. The current conference rankings in some order have the SEC, Pac 12, ACC and Big 12 in some order. The BIG 10s inability to crack that quartet is the main reason for the Buckeyes dilemma. Any perfect teams from those conferences will get an invite to the big game before a BIG 10 champion, even if they dont have a loss. OSU didnt schedule any tough out of conference opponents and their BIG 10 slate doesnt offer any substance. Even wins over Wisconsin, Northwestern and Michigan mean little if none of those teams finish the season ranked. Ohio State has the sixth best offence in the country and the 24th ranked defence. But without some help from their competitors theyll continue to be saddled alongside Louisville as the teams who couldve been great, had they played some real competition. And thats the shame, with Urban Meyer on the sidelines coaching top end talent in QB Braxton Miller, RB Carlos Hyde, LB Ryan Shazier andd CB Bradley Roby the Buckeyes might be the best team in the country but we may never get a chance to find out. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix Green Jersey. One interesting thing that could work in their favor is last years suspension from the post-season. Having not played in a bowl game last season, there is a building curiosity for what they may be capable of. Last year they likely would have faced Notre Dame in the National Championship had they been eligible. A second straight season with a 0 in the loss column may sway some voters but the fact of the matter is, Ohio State not only needs some upsets to happen at the top of the rankings, but they need their fellow BIG 10 teams to step up and win some games. Up next for the Buckeyes is Iowa at the Horseshoe - another match up that has OSU as three TD favourites. Other notes from around the NCAA: - Oregon beat Washington by three touchdowns cementing their spot as the Pac-12 elite, at least until their showdown with Stanford. The win over the Huskies makes it 10 straight years with a win against Washington. - Utah got their programs first win over a Top 5 program when they upended Stanford. The star of the game was RB Bubba Poole who had 186 combined yards. - Florida lost to LSU in what looked like a classic SEC matchup. One of the coolest stats of the season as we reach the midway point...The Gators have yet to give up a passing touchdown. - UCLA and Cal both like to spread the ball around but their contest took sharing to a whole new level. Twenty-one different players recorded a reception in the Bruins 37-10 win. - Penn State and Michigan played the game of the season to this point needed four overtimes to settle things. The Nittany Lions win was the first four-OT game for either program. - Two streaks continued when Northern Illinois squeaked past Akron 27-20. The Huskies extended their NCAA best home winning streak to 23 games. As for the Zips, they lost their 30th straight on the road. - Ole Miss and Texas A & M combined for 1,049 yards in their see-saw affair which included 41 points in the fourth quarter alone. Johnny Manziel suffered a knee injury, and was "held" to 470 total yards and two touchdowns. wholesale nfl jerseys ' ' '
