Latest news with #LFA
Express Tribune
5 days ago
- Sport
- Express Tribune
Lyari Academy to compete in Norway
The young players of Lyari Academy pose for a picture during their preparations for debut at Norway Cup. Photo courtesy: PFL The Pakistan Football League (PFL) has stepped forward to support Liyari Football Academy (LFA) as it prepares for its historic debut at the Norway Cup — the world's largest youth football tournament — set to begin on July 26 in Oslo. Recognizing the significance of this milestone, PFL has formally written to the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Pakistan, requesting expedited visa facilitation for the Academy's young athletes. The League emphasized the importance of enabling these players to proudly represent Pakistan on the global stage, marking the nation's first-ever participation in the prestigious tournament. This gesture is not an isolated act — it reflects PFL's longstanding engagement with Lyari's football community. In 2024, PFL's international delegation, led by global ambassador Michael Owen and accompanied by Chairman Pakistan People's Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, visited Liyari's iconic Kakri Ground to witness a spirited exhibition match. The visit coincided with the inauguration of the newly rehabilitated Kakri Sports Complex and underscored PFL's recognition of Liyari as a cradle of football talent in Pakistan. To encourage the LFA's aspiring and extremely talented pool of young players, Chairman, PFL, Farhan Ahmed, during his recent visit to the Liyari Football Academy, met with the young athletes preparing for their journey to the Norway Cup. Taking time to speak with the extremely talented players, he praised their discipline, talent and unwavering spirit.
USA Today
15-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
PFL announces three tournament finals headline Charlotte event
Three of the eight 2025 PFL World Tournament finals have a date and location. They are set to take place Aug. 15 at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, N.C. Atop the card will be three five-round fights, with each winner pocketing a $500,000 prize. In the lightweight final, England's Alfie Davis (19-5-1) battles Khabib Nurmagomedov protege Gadzhi Rabadanov (26-4-2). The bout will serve as the main event. In the co-main event, the women's flyweight final features Jena Bishop (9-2) against former Bellator champion Liz Carmouche (24-8). The bantamweight final sits in the feature bout slot as Brazil's Marcirley Alves (14-4) fights former LFA standout Justin Wetzell (12-2). PFL World Tournament 9 will follow PFL World Tournament 8, which takes place Aug. 1 and features welterweight and featherweight finals. Below is the complete lineup for 2025 PFL World Tournament 9: Finals. MAIN CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 9 PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6:30 pm ET)
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Lexus LFA Successor Makes First Official Outing on Goodwood Hill: Video
The upcoming LFA successor, which will possibly be called the LFR, made its first official public appearance this week. The new supercar can be seen—and heard—making a parade lap up the hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. After being spotted testing at several tracks around the world, Lexus's GT3 race car twin made the parade lap alongside the road-bound model. Three years ago, Toyota introduced the world to its GR GT3 race car concept. In the years since, we've seen that original concept develop into what appears to be a Lexus LFA successor and a racing version that looks poised to replace the aging RC F GT3 car. We've caught spy shots of the pair testing around the world. Last month, we even had one Car and Driver reader send in some shots of the road car testing in Southern California. Now, the pair has made their first official public appearance. Joined by a heavily camouflaged version of the race car, the upcoming supercar made a parade run up the hill at this week's Goodwood Festival of Speed. While some manufacturers attack Lord March's driveway with a vengeance, the Lexus twins maintained a more leisurely pace. There still hasn't been any official confirmation from Toyota or Lexus about what the new supercar is hiding under its hood, but the exhaust heard in the video seems to confirm the rumors of a hybrid twin-turbo V-8. As we've seen in previous spy shots (pictured above), the road car was equipped with a prominent duckbill rear spoiler, while the GT3 car sported a kitchen-counter-sized wing. Given that the supercar has been testing on public roads, we think it's a safe assumption that the car will debut as a 2027 model. That theory is supported by the fact that the Lexus RC F is homologated for GT3 racing through the 2026 season. If Lexus wants to make the transition seamlessly, it'll need to launch the car sometime next year. You Might Also Like Car and Driver's 10 Best Cars through the Decades How to Buy or Lease a New Car Lightning Lap Legends: Chevrolet Camaro vs. Ford Mustang!
USA Today
10-07-2025
- Health
- USA Today
New life: Josiah Harrell determined for second UFC chance after battling back from brain surgery
Things have changed for Josiah Harrell. There's been a lot of bad, and some low lows. But with clarity obtained, the faith built, and the perspective adjusted, Harrell (9-0) thinks he's ready for his second (or first) UFC crack, depending on how you look at it. "I feel like once they give me a chance, good things will happen in the welterweight division," Harrell recently told MMA Junkie. Harrell was onboarded onto the UFC roster in July 2023 for a short-notice bout vs. then-surging contender Jack Della Maddalena. The mental noise and mixed emotions that came with the UFC call and rushing to get all pre-fight necessities done were mute when his medicals came back and showed a rare brain abnormality. Harrell was diagnosed with Moyamoya disease and pulled from the bout. Moyamoya is a rare disease in which brain arteries are narrowed, reducing blood flow and increasing the likelihood of stroke. Harrell is shocked that he never suffered a fatal incident prior to the Moyamoya discovery, when his susceptibility was heightened. "Just doing the math and the probability that me being in combat sports my whole life and dealing with football and understanding how close I was to death for who knows, probably pretty much my whole life around anything that raises blood pressure: sex, alcohol, drugs, anything that put me unconscious," Harrell said. "I've been unconscious in football and we used to play this knockout game as a kid, which we thought was fun. Anything that put me unconscious was an increased stroke probability. Any time that I had stress or anything that can cause strokes. Pretty much my whole life I should've had a stroke or two while I was sleeping." Going through the experience has refocused Harrell existentially and spiritually. He recently made the decision to get baptized, as his faith in God has been reaffirmed. "It's just hard for me to have a brain that wants to look for things or signs of things that can help me with life and then go and see how many times I should've been put out or I should've stroked out when I wasn't conscious or do all that and look up and not go, 'Thank you,'" Harrell said. In January 2024, Harrell underwent brain surgery to fix the issue. The procedure was successful, and Harrell was eventually granted clearance to fight again. He says he has no medical restrictions. While he battled back to become a professional athlete again, the stigma that comes with having a brain procedure in the fighting community has been a bit more challenging to defeat. Harrell was booked to fight in LFA in October, but the bout was yanked at the last minute as New York does not permit those with a history of brain issues to compete. Harrell's native Ohio, however, allowed his long-awaited return in March as he defeated Quinton Parks Jr. by second-round TKO. He then defeated UFC alum Melvin Guillard by first-round submission in May. "Obviously, I dealt with a lot of unknowns dealing with the brain surgery, and the problems with commissions or states being like, 'Yeah, I don't know if you can do this, or I don't know if we should let you,'" Harrell said. "It was pretty much a state of fear that everybody else was in. I'm just pretty much like, 'Give me a chance.' It was the same thing with the UFC. I feel like once they give me a chance, good things will happen in the welterweight division." "... We shouldn't have that many issues. We've already had Ohio check us off and we fought in Ohio already. We've already had Kentucky check us off. I fought twice in the last four months. It's not like, 'Oh, you can't fight anybody.' Nope. We've shown here and here and here, that not only can I fight but I can perform and do what I need to do so you guys don't have to worry too much about what ifs. It's like as long as we check the boxes of being physically fit or the doctors that they have check me off on being able to compete, it should be nothing to do with the brain. It should have nothing to do with my brain. It should only have to do with my eyes or my physical or whatever. As long as I'm physically fit to fight or physically capable of fighting, we should be good to go." As history shows, other states – and the UFC – have been open to individuals with Moyamoya fighting post-procedure. Vince Murdock was in nearly an identical situation to Harrell in 2019, and went on to compete on "The Ultimate Fighter" and Dana White's Contender Series. Now managed by his coach and mentor, Matt Brown, Harrell likes his odds that a UFC call will come after his next fight, which takes place Aug. 2 vs. Kegan Greenich (9-4) at Ohio Combat League 39. "Matt Brown reached out to the UFC just because he has a lot of connections to Sean (Shelby) and all those guys, so he's been talking to them," Harrell said. "We're just waiting to hear back on their end. ... I'm just like, let's push. Let's get the best fights we can, which is scary for a lot of people because they're like, 'Well, I'm one or two away from getting a chance or getting to the Contender Series.' I'm like, 'Who gives a f*ck about Contender Series or a chance?' I'm like, let's keep going. Let's fight the best we can. Whoever is going and winning will get that opportunity. Let's not try to hold back because we are doing well. I think too many people are concerned about being undefeated or having a great record or whatever it is. I'm concerned about being the best I can be. That doesn't happen unless I can push myself." Harrell, 26, feels his UFC tale is far from complete. The possibility he could've changed the course of UFC history vs. a then-rising Della Maddalena (18-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) has him hungry to see how things would actually play out if he stepped inside the promotion's cage. "I think people forget how hard it is to fight shorter people, especially if you're not used to it," Harrell said. "So me being shorter (5-foot-7) than most of those guys, I'm a problem with those guys. Even with Islam (Makhachev) coming in, that's a tough fight, as well. It's stuff where you obviously have to game plan and make sure I'm there. "But from Islam to Shavkat (Rakhmonov) to Jack to even Belal (Muhammad) and Sean Brady, it's like I match up well with a lot of those guys and I haven't had to show my boxing. I showed it a little bit in the Robertson fight but that was just because I wanted to stand up with him and have some fun. But it's like I don't have to. That's the thing. I'm not just a grappler. I'm not just a striker. I'm there to change at the drop of a dime if I need to. A lot of us just need to be having fun."
USA Today
03-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Video: Watch LFA's best fight finishes from June 2025 – including an insane slam
The LFA once again had a killer month of finishes to kick off summer. The LFA once again had a killer month of finishes to kick off summer. The longtime UFC feeder promotion had shows in Louisville and New York in June, and as per usual, highlights were in abundance. Included among June's highlights was an absolutely insane slam finish that was up for consideration for MMA Junkie's Knockout of the Month. Check out the best stoppages from the promotion's pair of June shows above, courtesy of LFA
