Analysis, features, news plus more – on European football and sports galore!
Nathan Heaney is still British middleweight champion, but only just after a hard-fought split draw over twelve rounds against English titlist Brad Pauls in their Birmingham headliner overnight. Elsewhere, Liam Davies wasted no time seizing IBO world gold at 122lbs with another fast finish after big wins for Pierce O’Leary and Dennis McCann among others on a busy undercard. Continue reading “Pauls holds Heaney to split draw after Davies wins IBO world title in Birmingham”
Roberto De Zerbi’s impressive managerial work at Brighton hasn’t gone unnoticed, to the point where a series of top sides in England and beyond are seriously interested in making him their new head coach come the summer months – less than two full years after joining the Seagulls as Graham Potter’s successor on the south Coast. Judging by recent comments, he’ll soon depart. Continue reading “De Zerbi’s managerial future unclear as cluster of top clubs circle for Brighton boss”
After news of Marvin Vettori’s injury-enforced withdrawal, a career first for the Italian on Thursday, rising middleweight contender Brendan Allen bullishly called for other top names to step into the breach on less than a month’s notice for a proposed UFC Fight Night main event on April 6. Chris Curtis, who scored a second-round stoppage at his expense in Dec. 2021, has answered the gauntlet. Continue reading “Vettori on hold with undisclosed injury, Curtis steps up to rematch Allen on Apr. 6”
There have been four coaching changes since late January and all in the Eastern Conference, but continuity is key for Orlando to fire on all cylinders with a young core growing together in the seasons to come. News of head coach Jamahl Mosley’s four-year extension this week only further reinforces that. Continue reading “Mosley’s new four-year deal comes with Magic quietly humming on all cylinders”
Premier League leaders Arsenal are the latest side to be heavily linked with a summer move for Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres, who spent five years in England relatively under-the-radar until he shone with Coventry in the Championship and sides on the continent took notice. So, is he good enough for another talent upgrade or is this a purple patch in a depleted forward market? Continue reading “Purple patch or worth it? Why everyone is linked with Sporting’s Viktor Gyokeres”
Super-middleweight contender Zach Parker has been saying all of the right things lately, but needs to lure prospective opposition into the ring with him. While an unfortunately-timed broken right hand stifled his momentum and saw John Ryder snatch the shine he’d worked steadily to build himself, the 29-year-old still has a big platform he can benefit from, with more assertive displays. Continue reading “Ambitious Zach Parker must make up for lost time in a big way, starting on Saturday”
Dustin Poirier’s comeback win to dismiss rising contender Benoit Saint-Denis at the weekend did exactly what he hoped it would: not only restore the winning feeling and rebuild confidence after his stunning second-round KO loss to Justin Gaethje last summer, but gain momentum in a delicate lightweight division without a clear #1 contender for Islam Makhachev’s championship gold too. Continue reading “Poirier pushing for Makhachev title shot in June, after his gutsy Saint-Denis display”
Sean O’Malley’s star rose another notch after boxing beautifully en route to a successful maiden defence of his bantamweight title, avenging the only loss on his record against Marlon Vera. Elsewhere, Dustin Poirier and Petr Yan returned to winning ways with contrasting displays while former women’s flyweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk became the latest UFC Hall of Fame inductee.
Continue reading “UFC 299: O’Malley avenges Vera loss in style, Poirier powers beyond Saint-Denis”
Former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier has been applauded for taking on one of the division’s fast rising contenders in Benoit Saint-Denis tomorrow. Not much movement has occurred since his stunning second-round knockout defeat by Justin Gaethje last summer, but he knows he can’t afford to lose another non-title matchup at this delicate stage of his career. Continue reading “UFC 299: Dustin Poirier vs. Benoit Saint-Denis a worthy co-main, given the stakes”
Former unified world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua scored another stoppage win, this time making quick work of former UFC champion-turned-boxer Francis Ngannou in their 10-round main event on a night where his former foe Joseph Parker snatched the WBO interim heavyweight title – despite conceding two knockdowns against Joe Joyce’s conqueror Zhilei Zhang. Continue reading “Knockout Chaos: Joshua drops, stops Ngannou in R2 with destructive display”
After yesterday’s weigh-ins, I spoke to former MMA and kickboxing champion Alistair Overeem for the retired Dutchman’s thoughts on a few topics: from predicting how his former foe would fare against Anthony Joshua to gauging interest in the Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic matchup and more besides. Read below for that conversation, as well as final tidbits before fight night.
Continue reading “Interview: UFC veteran Alistair Overeem predicts Joshua-Ngannou, Jones-Miocic”
As the fighters all weighed in before Friday’s Riyadh show, where the final touches are being wrapped up and the stage set… here’s a deeper look from someone with more intimate knowledge of Francis Ngannou’s MMA background – former UFC fighter-turned-analyst Dan Hardy, assessing his chances of an upset against two-time world champion Anthony Joshua tomorrow night. Continue reading “Interview: Dan Hardy on Ngannou being MMA’s flagbearer before Joshua encounter”
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