Legendary MMA coach Firas Zahabi says actor Keanu Reeves copied one of his techniques for the ‘John Wick’ franchise.

UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre is arguably one of the greatest fighters of all time after a legendary career inside the Octagon. But his success likely wouldn’t’ve produced the same results without his star-studded team at Tristar Gym, led by top-tier coach Firas Zahabi.

St-Pierre is one of a handful of fighters to earn UFC titles in multiple weight classes during his career. After a lengthy hiatus following a close welterweight title defense against Johny Hendricks, St-Pierre returned at UFC 217, dethroning then-middleweight titleholder Michael Bisping for the 185 lb belt.

Zahabi is known for his unorthodox training methods and slew of top talent he’s helped grow inside the gym, including his younger brother Aiemann, who returns at UFC 315 later this month against Jose Aldo. But according to Zahabi, not all of his techniques have been learned and perfected solely inside the gym’s walls.

Firas Zahabi accuses Keanu Reeves of ‘ripping off’ one of his techniques for ‘John Wick’

Actor Keanu Reeves is one of the most successful action stars to hit the big screen, after memorable performances in ‘The Matrix’ and the ‘John Wick’ movie franchise. His movies are known to include high-octane drama and action, and he’s trained in some martial arts during his film career to pull off his own stunts.

But according to Zahabi, one of Reeves’s on-screen techniques came from Tristar.

During a recent upload to the Tristar Gym YouTube channel, Firas Zahabi accused Reeves of plagiarism.

“It was a great move, it’s called the web guard. I used to call it the web guard. I used to rush people punching and kicking and then whenever they would grab a hold of me, if they grabbed me with an underhook, I would jump web guard,” Zahabi explained. “If I grab them with an underhook, I could also do it, so it didn’t matter to me, which is what I loved. As soon as we tied up, I could get the fight to the ground.”

“I put this move out of circulation,” Zahabi continued. “But then a man by the name of Keanu Reeves, the man actually dared to rip me off. Now, I’m used to the white man stealing from me, but if he’s a fellow Lebanese, that’s the problem. Now that I know he’s a fellow Lebanese, I must insist that I collect from him. When the white man steals from me, I’m not so upset. I expect it! But a fellow Lebanese? This cannot go unpunished. He jumps web guard in the movie. Long story short, Keanu, you owe me massari.” (h/t MMA Mania)

Luckily, it appears Zahabi’s claims aren’t from a hostile side, and Reeves hasn’t responded to Zahabi’s remarks. Reeves has attended several high-profile UFC events, including multiple International Fight Week cards in Las Vegas.

Georges St-Pierre advised Tom Aspinall amidst the prolonged Jon Jones wait

As Zahabi prepares his brother and other gym members for their upcoming fights, St-Pierre remains sidelined from combat sports, and a fighting return is unlikely. But St-Pierre keeps a keen eye on what’s happening in MMA, including the ongoing Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall saga.

Since Jones defended the UFC heavyweight title in November, discussions of a potential super fight with Aspinall haven’t slowed down. Aspinall is the UFC’s longest-reigning interim titleholder, stemming from his knockout win over Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295.

St-Pierre recently advised Aspinall not to focus on securing the Jones fight, and to open his mind to other potential options in the heavyweight division. If Jones walks away, Ciryl Gane and other top heavyweights are waiting in the wings for a shot at the belt.

Austin Public Schools has announced the hiring of David Bahr as the new head coach of the Packers girls soccer program. 

Bahr brings over three decades of experience, leadership, and player development to the Austin sidelines.

Bahr’s coaching journey spans high school, youth, and club soccer — most recently serving as the head boys soccer coach at Byron High School from 2018-2024, where he led the program to a Section 1AA Championship and State Tournament appearance in 2021. 

He holds a combined high school varsity coaching record of 222-247-33 and has been recognized multiple times as section and state Coach of the Year.

“I am very excited to get back to coaching High School Girls, after spending the last 15 years coaching High School Boys,” Bahr said. “Austin provides the perfect home with great school administrators, first class facilities and a great fan base.  All the ingredients to develop a top-notch program. I can’t wait to get started.”

“Coach Bahr’s experience, passion for the game, and commitment to student-athlete development stood out clearly in our search process,” said Katie Carter, AHS activities director. “He brings a rare combination of deep tactical knowledge, program-building experience, and a genuine heart for mentorship. We are thrilled to welcome him to the Austin Athletics family.”

From 2001–2009, Bahr led the Mayo High School girls’ varsity team to two conference championships and earned five National Academic Team Awards. His tenure with Kasson-Mantorville boys soccer from 2010–2015 saw the program achieve its most successful run in school history, culminating in Bahr being named Minnesota State Coach of the Year in 2015.

Outside of coaching, Bahr served in the Army National Guard as a medical corpsman and has been deeply involved in volunteer work across multiple youth sport boards and community soccer initiatives for more than 30 years. 

His coaching philosophy emphasizes character, leadership, tactical intelligence, and academic excellence.

UFC star Cory Sandhagen lost out on his #1 dream fight earlier this year.

The highest-ranking UFC Bantamweight to not have fought the champion Merab Dvalishvili returns this weekend in what will be his ninth five-round fight in a row.

In the main event of UFC Des Moines, Cory Sandhagen is set to collide with Deiveson Figueiredo, a former two-time flyweight champion.

Few fighters have a resume like Sandhagen’s, the top contender sharing the Octagon with the likes of former champions TJ Dillashaw, Aljamain Sterling, Petr Yan and Frankie Edgar—all by the age of 33.

However, there is one legend missing from the list, a fight that never took place against one of, if not the greatest bantamweight of all time.

Cory Sandhagen says the UFC was trying to match him up with Dominick Cruz

In the lead-up to UFC Des Moines this Saturday, Sandhagen was asked about a fight with Dominick Cruz, the former two-time UFC Bantamweight Champion who retired in February.

Cruz was scheduled to fight Sandhagen’s former foe Rob Font in the co-main event of UFC Seattle but an injury forced him off the card and ultimately into retirement.

“[UFC] always kinda [were] like, ‘Hey, We’re gonna try to do you and Cruz, we’re gonna try to do you and Cruz…’ And yeah, it never happened,” Sandhagen said at media day on Wednesday.

“It sucks that it never happened,” Sandhagen added, detailing how important it was to him.

“It’s always one that I really wanted to have. I mean, I would have loved to have that fight.

“I really looked up to Cruz growing up. Even when I watched my old fights, I’m like, damn, I look like Dominick Cruz…

“I’ve changed a lot since then, but yeah, always looked up to that guy,” Sandhagen said of the future hall of famer.

Dominick Cruz arguably has the greatest footwork in UFC history

Taking after Cruz, Sandhagen rose through the ranks of the UFC bantamweight division utilizing his footwork and striking skills to get past dangerous knockout artists such as Marlon Moraes and John Lineker in a ‘David vs. Goliath’ fight.

Cruz is world-renown for his footwork and ability to cut angles inside the Octagon, making him a tough opponent to get a read on with his unorthodox movement.

On top of that, Cruz had some of the best cardio in the UFC, defeating champions like Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson, TJ Dillashaw and Urijah Faber (twice) over the championship distance.

Cruz won the WEC title in 2010 and was later promoted to the UFC’s inaugural bantamweight champion after the premier promotion purchased WEC.

The story of Dominick Cruz’s career was riddled with injuries, three ACL tears between his two title reigns which were two years apart. In 2016, Cruz pulled off one of the greatest comeback stories ever when he dethroned Dillashaw to recapture his title after a lengthy road to recovery.

Cruz retired from MMA at the age of 39 due to a shoulder injury sustained in his final training camp.

On a typical November fall day late in the semester, Benjamin Campbell-Reide was at his off-campus house alone in his room when he suddenly collapsed. One of his housemates and teammates, Alex Dawallu, heard a loud noise from the fall and ran into the neighboring bedroom to check on his teammate, only to find Campbell-Reide passed out and unresponsive. Over the next four weeks Campbell-Reide would have a number of similar episodes as doctors raced to find out the cause of Ben’s episodes. Twenty-six blood transfusions, 16 endoscopies and two laparoscopic surgeries later, he was released from the hospital and sent home to England just before the holidays with a new outlook on life. 

What Campbell-Reide endured and his resiliency in the face of the unknown is why he was named the 2025 Syracuse 8 Courage Award recipient at the annual ‘Cuse Awards on Tuesday night presented by former Football player, Greg Allen. 

His teammates, coaches and Syracuse rowing community rallied around him and his family during the scary and uncertain time. After several weeks at Crouse Hospital, Campbell-Reide was transferred to Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston where it took the gastrointestinal doctors another 10 days to discover the lesion that was causing Ben’s spells. The doctors ultimately found the lesion by putting him on a high-dose of blood thinners and watch him around the clock to force his lesion to start bleeding so they could locate it and preform an emergency surgery to heal the bleed. 

At the annual ‘Cuse Awards, Campbell-Reide was given the opportunity to thank those who were by his side during his medical emergencies including his medical team, coaches, teammates and roommates, Jennifer Street — the mother of his teammate Anders Erlandsen, and his mom to traveled from England to be with him. He ended his acceptance speech with these words of encouragement; “Adversity can stop you or it can reveal you. You get to choose. Believe in yourself, take control and keep pushing. Because you cannot win if you do not believe you can.”

Today, Campbell-Reide is back on the water competing with the Syracuse men’s rowing team. He’s helped the Second Varsity Eight to wins over Boston U, Georgetown, Navy and Cornell this spring and his parents were able to make a trip to the U.S. this season to see him race at the Lake Morey Invite. 

Duke basketball’s Isaiah Evans is one of 106 players on a list of early entry candidates for the 2025 NBA Draft.

The NBA released the full list April 29. Evans, who is set to return for his sophomore season with the Blue Devils, appears to be going through the draft process to get feedback before returning to Duke. He’s projected to be a first-round pick in next year’s draft.

On April 22, Evans confirmed his return to the Blue Devils with a social media post when the program’s official X account asked him if he would be back for a second season in Durham. “Yea” was Evans’ reply.

A 6-foot-6 wing, Evans shot 41.6% from beyond the arc and made multiple 3-pointers in 17 games as a freshman, including five in a row during his best stretch of the season. He averaged 6.8 points, 1.1 rebounds and 13.7 minutes across 36 games. As a sophomore, Evans projects to be included in Duke’s starting lineup.

The NBA Draft Combine in Chicago is set for May 11-18. Players who want to maintain their college eligibility must withdraw their names by May 28. The 2025 NBA Draft is scheduled for June 25-26 in Brooklyn. 

Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, Khaman Maluach and Tyrese Proctor are the other Blue Devils on the NBA’s list of early entrants. Duke’s freshman starters from last season are projected to be top-10 picks. 

Washington State transfer Cedric Coward, who committed to Duke on April 28, is also among the players set to go through the draft process. Coward, like Evans, could be in Duke’s starting lineup to start the 2025-26 season, which is Jon Scheyer’s fourth as head coach. 

Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them torbaxley@fayobserver.com.