Maia dominates early, but Condit storms b

LONDON -- Former English soccer players who were subjected to years of sexual abuse by youth team coaches entrusted with their care are breaking cover to expose the games dark secrets.Harrowing stories of assaults on young players by men they relied on to turn them into professionals are forcing authorities and clubs to finally address how child abusers were able to exploit their positions of power and why the behavior wasnt confronted earlier.The abuses were first uncovered two decades ago with the conviction of English coach Barry Bennell in the United States and his homeland. Bennell worked in academies across northwest England including Manchester City, Stoke and Crewe Alexandra, which was renowned as a center for turning raw talent into the complete footballer.The torment suffered by players is only now receiving more widespread attention along with a determination to discover how far reaching sexual exploitation of youngsters has been in English soccer.Four police forces across England, including London, have opened investigations after being contacted about Bennell and other unnamed people. Leading clubs Manchester City and Newcastle said they are assisting authorities and the players union has been guiding the players who revealed their identities.They have been very courageous in coming forward after suffering in silence for years, Michael Bennett, head of player welfare at the Professional Footballers Association, told The Associated Press on Friday.I think the dam has just been busted, the guys who have come forward have been a catalyst, Bennett said, disclosing that eight more players have contacted him in the last day about going public.Andy Woodward, who went on to play for Sheffield United, testified in Bennells 1998 court case and was the first player to go public recently a year after contacting Bennett.Since then, other retired players have been emerging to tell their stories of abuse at the hands of other coaches. The prospect of boys being turned into well-paid soccer stars meant that parents often handed over control of their children to football clubs and their coaches.My life has been ruined until the age of 43, but how many others are there? Woodward said. Im talking about hundreds of children who Barry Bennell cherry-picked for various football teams and who now, as adults, might still be living with that awful fear.Woodwards story gave other victims of Bennell and unnamed coaches the courage to come forward and compel authorities to end the inertia that surrounded the 1990s revelations.Were victims of a horrible, horrendous thing that happened in the early 80s and 90s, Woodward said after leaving a meeting with the English Football Association on Thursday. Ex-players are suffering so much and suffered in silence for so many years. We went through hell.Manchester City launched an investigation after David White and Paul Stewart, who played for the club across the 1980s and 1990s and went on to feature for England, came forward with their stories.The club is aware of allegations that Barry Bennell had an association with Manchester City Football Club in the 1980s, City said in a statement. As a result the club is undertaking a thorough investigation of any past links he might have had with the organization.Citys response came 21 years after Bennell was first convicted in the United States. In Jacksonville, Florida, the Englishman pleaded guilty to six counts of custodial sexual battery in exchange for four years in prison. He had been charged with raping a boy and repeatedly sexually assaulting a player from a youth team he had escorted to the U.S.After serving his sentence in the U.S., Bennell was convicted again in Britain -- receiving a six-year sentence for 23 offences. The case received little publicity at the time. But Bennell was jailed for a third time in 2015 when he pleaded guilty to abusing a boy at a football camp in northern England in 1980, prompting a fresh examination of his crimes and potential abuses by other coaches. Bennell is not currently in prison.I believe there was a conspiracy and pedophile ring, Jason Dunford, a youth team player with Manchester City, told the BBC on Friday. There were people at those clubs who had a duty to look after boys coming through their system.A police force based near Crewe and Manchester said 11 people had contacted them already this week and that the allegations were made against more than one person.A childrens charity has received a flood of calls since setting up a dedicated helpline for footballers in conjunction with the Football Association.These are heinous crimes and they need to be investigated by the police and they will get our support, FA chairman Greg Clarke said.There are echoes of the child molestation scandal that erupted in U.S. college sports involving Jerry Sandusky, a former assistant football coach at Penn State University. He was convicted in 2012 of 45 counts of child sexual abuse and is serving 30 to 60 years in prison.---Rob Harris is at www.twitter.com/RobHarris and www.facebook.com/RobHarrisReports Custom Browns T-shirts . 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Up next: a key welterweight rematch between Carlos Condit and Demian Maia on Saturday.This high-profile 170-pound bout was actually supposed to take place at UFC 202, but it now headlines Saturdays card at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.Condit is coming off a five-round decision loss to Robbie Lawler in a championship fight. Maia, meanwhile, is riding a five-fight win streak. In addition, Anthony Pettis makes his featherweight debut against Charles Oliveira.Lets take a closer look at this weekends main card. Dont agree with these picks? Let me know on Twitter: @bokamotoESPN.Main eventCarlos Condit (30-9) vs. Demian Maia (23-6) Welterweights Odds: Condit -110; Maia -110In a way, you could almost compare a Maia takedown to a knockout artists signature haymaker in that it doesnt take many of them to win a fight.We all know what Maia wants to do and that is take Condit to the floor. And when Maia has success getting his man down, he doesnt let them back up. Its why hes absorbed a mere 12 strikes in his past three fights combined. Thats crazy.Mostly, Maias strategy to land a takedown is to shoot on his opponents lead leg. Quite often, its a naked shot -- he doesnt even set it up with strikes. He trusts in the speed at which he changes levels and his ability to chain wrestle and finish a takedown. And it is true: If Maia gets a decent grip on that lead leg, his opponents tend to go down. Against someone willing to fight off the fence, and Condit is, he might also have success working doubles there.Just to cut to the chase here, I do believe Maia can and will take Condit down. Condits takedown defense in his WEC and UFC career sits at 39 percent. He was once taken down 19 times in the span of two fights. Hes been susceptible to the lead-leg takedown before and, as mentioned previously, hell hang out along the fence. His defensive grappling is centered more around having a dangerous guard and scrambling up than it is thwarting the initial shot.Does that mean Condit is doomed? Not necessarily. Going back to thhe comparison between Maias takedown and a heavy hitters best punch, its most effective early.dddddddddddd Maia is pretty one-dimensional, and the longer a fight goes, the more challenging it can be for him to score a takedown. A non-disguised single leg shot can be rather ineffective if it slows down. And this being a five-round fight against a busy opponent, Maias shot figures to slow over time.If this fight hits that moment of Maia shoots in desperation, Condit sprawls, then Maia falls immediately to his back just hoping Condit is foolish enough to follow him, the battle might be as simple as Condits patience. In that scenario, he should be able to keep it on the feet, which vastly favors him. In other words, if there comes a time when Condit really doesnt respect Maias takedown anymore, this could turn into a blowout for The Natural Born Killer in a hurry.So, big question here: Can Maia submit Condit in the earlier rounds, thus avoiding the likely proposition of having to stand with him late? That sure seems like a coin flip bet. Maias submissions are world class, but Condits only been tapped three times in 14 years.PREDICTION: Maia dominates early, but Condit storms back big. Condit by fifth-round TKO.Featured undercard boutsAnthony Pettis (18-5) vs. Charles Oliveira (21-5), featherweight Its a new weight class for Pettis, and although Oliveira is dangerous in multiple areas, I think he introduces himself in a big way. Prediction: Pettis TKO, first roundPaige VanZant (6-2) vs. Bec Rawlings (7-4), strawweight Following her success in other business opportunities, its natural to wonder whether VanZant is still fully committed to fighting. If she is, this looks like a win. If not, well know real quick. Prediction: VanZant by decisionJim Miller (26-8) vs. Joe Lauzon (26-11), lightweight Running back one of the more memorable fights of 2012. Both are coming off quick stoppages at UFC 200. Should be fun. Prediction: Lauzon via decision ' ' '