Latest news with #LasVegas
BBC News
39 minutes ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Pimblett one fight from title shot
Britain's Paddy Pimblett is "one fight away" from securing a title shot, says former featherweight champion Ilia is eighth in the UFC's lightweight rankings after securing the biggest win of his career with a dominant win over Michael Chandler in month 30-year-old Pimblett said he was targeting a fight next against Topuria or Justin Gaethje in Abu Dhabi in who faces Brazil's Charles Oliveira for the lightweight belt at UFC 317 in Las Vegas on Saturday, is open to fighting Pimblett if he beats someone else first."I see that fight happening. He has to be ready because he doesn't make those kind of decisions. It's me who decides when, where and against who," Topuria told BBC Sport. "The only thing I can tell him is 'be ready'. Whenever you get the call you show up, you do your thing, you get your money, you go back home."He's one fight away from the title shot. So if he gets that win of course we are going to have that fight and I'm gonna whoop his ass."Topuria has history with Pimblett after the pair clashed at a hotel before UFC London in the pair in different weight divisions, it looked like a fight may never materialise, but that changed when Topuria vacated his featherweight title this year to move up to lightweight. 'I had to almost kill myself to make 145lb' Topuria, 28, has won the first 16 fights of his career and had a remarkable 2024, knocking out Alexander Volkanovski to win the featherweight title last meant Topuria, who holds Georgian citizenship, became Spain's first UFC champion, before he was granted Spanish citizenship by President Pedro knocked out another former champion in Max Holloway in October, before vacating the belt in April to move up to his success at featherweight, Topuria says the decision to move up was based on the toll the division was having on his physical health."I really belong to this this weight class. I had to almost kill myself to make the 145lb (10st 3lb) division," said Topuria."I feel much comfortable. I feel even more powerful in this weight division."And this is actually the first time I have been able to enjoy the whole process like the training - even the weight cut - because it's much much easier."From one to 10, at featherweight when I was fighting at this point I was feeling at five. And now I feel at nine." The title opportunity arose after it was announced champion Islam Makhachev would be vacating his belt to move up to champion Oliveira is second in the UFC lightweight rankings and holds a number of records in the promotion, including most finishes with 20 and most submissions with Volkanovski and Holloway, 35-year-old Oliveira is one of the most popular fighters on the roster, meaning Topuria may find himself in the familiar position of fans rooting against him."I can't feel like the bad guy because this is nothing personal. I don't have anything personal against them," said Topuria."This is sport. We compete and I hope that the best wins. I truly believe that I'm the best."
Fox Sports
an hour ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Mercury face the Aces on 6-game win streak
Associated Press Las Vegas Aces (7-8, 3-6 Western Conference) at Phoenix Mercury (12-4, 6-4 Western Conference) Phoenix; Sunday, 6 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Phoenix Mercury comes into a matchup against Las Vegas Aces as winners of six straight games. The Mercury are 6-4 in Western Conference games. Phoenix is 1-1 in games decided by less than 4 points. The Aces' record in Western Conference action is 3-6. Las Vegas has a 3-5 record against opponents over .500. Phoenix averages 10.4 made 3-pointers per game, 3.1 more made shots than the 7.3 per game Las Vegas allows. Las Vegas averages 80.7 points per game, 1.7 more than the 79.0 Phoenix gives up to opponents. The teams square off for the second time this season. The Mercury won the last matchup 76-70 on June 15. Satou Sabally scored 22 points to help lead the Mercury to the win. TOP PERFORMERS: Sabally is averaging 19.6 points and 7.9 rebounds for the Mercury. Sami Whitcomb is averaging 10.7 points over the last 10 games. A'ja Wilson is averaging 21.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, two steals and 2.8 blocks for the Aces. Jewell Loyd is averaging 2.2 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Mercury: 8-2, averaging 86.7 points, 34.4 rebounds, 21.1 assists, 8.6 steals and 3.2 blocks per game while shooting 44.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 81.7 points per game. Aces: 4-6, averaging 79.2 points, 33.1 rebounds, 16.5 assists, 6.8 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 41.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 82.2 points. INJURIES: Mercury: Alexa Held: out (chest). Aces: Cheyenne Parker-Tyus: out (personal), Megan Gustafson: out (leg). ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Mercury face the Aces on 6-game win streak
Las Vegas Aces (7-8, 3-6 Western Conference) at Phoenix Mercury (12-4, 6-4 Western Conference) Phoenix; Sunday, 6 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Phoenix Mercury comes into a matchup against Las Vegas Aces as winners of six straight games. The Mercury are 6-4 in Western Conference games. Phoenix is 1-1 in games decided by less than 4 points. The Aces' record in Western Conference action is 3-6. Las Vegas has a 3-5 record against opponents over .500. Phoenix averages 10.4 made 3-pointers per game, 3.1 more made shots than the 7.3 per game Las Vegas allows. Las Vegas averages 80.7 points per game, 1.7 more than the 79.0 Phoenix gives up to opponents. The teams square off for the second time this season. The Mercury won the last matchup 76-70 on June 15. Satou Sabally scored 22 points to help lead the Mercury to the win. TOP PERFORMERS: Sabally is averaging 19.6 points and 7.9 rebounds for the Mercury. Sami Whitcomb is averaging 10.7 points over the last 10 games. A'ja Wilson is averaging 21.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, two steals and 2.8 blocks for the Aces. Jewell Loyd is averaging 2.2 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Mercury: 8-2, averaging 86.7 points, 34.4 rebounds, 21.1 assists, 8.6 steals and 3.2 blocks per game while shooting 44.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 81.7 points per game. Aces: 4-6, averaging 79.2 points, 33.1 rebounds, 16.5 assists, 6.8 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 41.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 82.2 points. INJURIES: Mercury: Alexa Held: out (chest). Aces: Cheyenne Parker-Tyus: out (personal), Megan Gustafson: out (leg). ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
UFC 317 Preview and Prediction: Brandon Royval
Tomorrow night on the main card of UFC 317, we are going to see an extremely exciting fight in the flyweight division. Former title challenger Brandon Royval (17-7) will be taking one the most exciting prospect in the flyweight division in Joshua Van (14-2). This was not Royval's original fight. Royval was supposed to have a title eliminator against Manel Kape, but Kape had to pull out of the fight due to injury. When Kape fell out, Van stepped in. Van just dominated and stopped Bruno Silva at UFC 316 a few weeks ago. Since he was fresh after the fight, he got the call to step in and he took it. Van has won four in a row and has the opportunity to jump right into title contention. Advertisement That said, going from Bruno Silva to Brandon Royval is a huge jump, no disrespect to Silva. Brandon Royval since 2019 is 9-3 inside the octagon. Two of those losses came against flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja. The other loss was a loss to Brandon Moreno where Royval injured his shoulder. A loss that he got back with a decision win over Moreno last February. Royval also has a second round finish over tomorrow night's challenger Kai Kara-France during that stretch. UFC 317 Prediction When the odds of this fight were first released, Van was better than -200 which is insane to me. Again, Brandon Royval is the number one contender in the division for a reason. The only man who has truly beaten him is the champion while Royval has been taking out all the other top UFC flyweight contenders. Van was just stopped by Charles Johnson last July. I absolutely love Joshua Van and I believe that he's going to be a future flyweight champion, however, he's 23-years-old and there's plenty of time for him to get there. I really admire him for jumping at this opportunity, but I think Royval is just going to be too much for him. Advertisement I think Royval will control the pace and his ability to mix in his striking and scramble in the grappling exchanges is really going to help here. I think this is going to be a wild fight and I see Royval getting a submission win at UFC 317. I think there will be some form of a grappling exchange that will lead to a Royval guillotine. That said, if Van pulls this off, the sky is the limit for the young man and he'll be next for the flyweight champion. Prediction: Brandon Royval by Submission Related Headlines
The Sun
3 hours ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Deontay Wilder vs Tyrrell Herndon LIVE RESULTS: Bronze Bomber's big comeback ahead of potential Anthony Joshua fight
DEONTAY Wilder makes his boxing return TONIGHT as he goes head-to-head with Tyrrell Herndon! The Bronze Bomber has been out of action since his knockout defeat to Zhilei Zhang last June. Big Bang's brutal KO handed Wilder his fourth loss in his last five fights, with his only win coming against journeyman Robert Helenius almost three years ago. The former WBC heavyweight champion begins his bid to rebuild his reputation against Herndon, who is out to secure the biggest win of his career. A win for Wilder could see him move back into the fold for a big-name fight, with many boxing fans still keen to see the long-overdue Anthony Joshua bout. Today, 02:11 By Tom Sheen Full undercard We have to admit, the undercard is not exactly one to get the juices flowing... Chief support comes from Deon Nicholson who is currently ranked as the No 5 light-heavyweight in America and 15 by the WBA. The Equalizer takes on Devonte Williams, the Boogeyman - both have winning records and enter the ring in decent form, but Nicholson is the favourite. Here's the full card: Deontay Wilder vs Tyrrell Herndon - Heavyweight Deon Nicholson vs Devonte Williams - Light heavyweight Jeff Page Jr vs Jurmain McDonald - Cruiserweight John Cantrell vs Frankie Sparks - Heavyweight Yvonne Flores vs Simone da Silva - Welterweight Kayla Williams vs Helen Lucero - Light welterweight Nico Hernandez vs Ernie Marquez - Super flyweight Joshua Richey vs Chance Wilson - Super featherweight Today, 01:56 By Tom Sheen In from the Wilder Tonight is the big night for Deontay Wilder! The Bronze Bomber is back in action and looking to resurrect his career on home soil against journeyman Tyrrell Herndon. Back-to-back defeats have left his career hanging in the balance. Wilder, now 39, is hoping for a statement win as he chases big fights over the next 18 months. The long-anticipated meeting with Anthony Joshua continues to be a real possibility - having blown two big chances in previous years - while there could be a big-money meeting with MMA star Francis Ngannou.
