UFC star St. Pierre, battling health issue, vacates crown

Georges St. Pierre vacated his UFC middleweight title to focus on his health, he said.

St. Pierre, 36, won the belt by submitting Michael Bisping at UFC 217 on Nov. 4 after nearly four years away from competition.

St. Pierre was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis after the bout.

Interim middleweight champion Robert Whittaker was promoted to undisputed champion and will defend the belt against Luke Rockhold in UFC 221 on Feb. 10.

■ College football: Tennessee hired Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt as coach. Pruitt, 43, a two-time Broyles Award finalist as the nation’s top assistant, signed a six-year contract with the Volunteers that will pay him $3.8 million annually.

■ Gymnastics: Larry Nassar, 54, a former elite sports doctor whose sexual assault cases have rocked Michigan State and the group that trains U.S. Olympians, was sentenced to 60 years in federal prison for possessing thousands of images of child pornography.

■ Olympics: At Moscow, Russia Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the state never will acknowledge the accusation of statesponsored doping that prevents the Russia team from competing at the Pyeongchang Olympics because it considers it false.

■ Golf: At Johannesburg, Keenan Davidse showed he was over the illness that confined him to a hospital bed for four days by shooting an 8-under-par 63 to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Joburg Open.

■ Figure skating: At Nagoya, Japan,

Nathan Chen, 18, of Salt Lake City finished first in the men’s short program at the

Grand Prix Final, the last major international competition before the Pyeongchang Olympics.

■ Soccer: At Paris, Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo, 32, won the Ballon d’or award as player of the year for a fifth time, matching Barcelona star Lionel Messi’s record.