The holidays are here, and that means sitting across the dinner table from people you secretly kinda-sorta ... well, hate's a strong word. But let's just say we're not blind around here to the likelihood of holiday tension amongst families. So what better time than now…
Israel Adesanya: Preparing for first non-title UFC fight in six years ‘doesn’t feel any different’
Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is on the verge of competing in his first non-title fight in six years, but says everything still feels the same. After back-to-back losses in title fights with heated builds, Adesanya (24-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) is relatively at…
USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings review: Biggest movers in 2024
The landscape of MMA changes rapidly.
Generation TikTok: how sportswomen set the bar higher than the men
Female athlete power on social media became ever more strident in 2024 – but the backlash also damaged careers and wellbeing
Lina Nielsen remembers the moment she had the idea. She was sitting around the Olympic Village in Paris with her sprinting teammates – and she was bored. “I said to Yemi Mary John: ‘I’m gonna make this TikTok’,” Nielsen recalls. She took herself to her bedroom, got out the flip phone each athlete had been given and typed into an Excel spreadsheet: “Where you at? Holla at me.”
Her five-second spoof of Kelly Rowland’s music-video texting fail took hardly longer than that to make. It also got 8m views. “It’s funny that the videos that do that best are the ones you don’t put any effort in,” says Nielsen with a laugh. She is still trying to make sense of the fact that her TikTok channel was the most popular of any British athlete at the Games, beating even the knit-tastic Tom Daley in second place. At the end of the Olympic fortnight her channels had been viewed by more than the Australian and German teams combined.
Continue reading...MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month for December: Cub Swanson sets Fight of the Night record in potential career finale
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from December 2024: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order,
Video: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury 2 boxing fight highlights
Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury battled it out a second time to determine who's the "Baddest Man" in boxing. The two heavyweight stars fought on Saturday night at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in a massive championship fight. After 12 rounds of fighting,…
Usyk v Fury II: How the world heavyweight title fight unfolded
Round by round, minute by minute, punch for punch. Here’s how our experts called the unified heavyweight title bout
Usyk and Fury practically sprint from their corners to meet each other in the center of the ring and Fury is already looking more aggressive than in round one of the first fight, pumping his jab with urgency. Usyk bursts into the pocket and lands a right hand upstairs. The 55lb weight difference looks even starker under the lights than at the weigh-in. Fury targeting Usyk’s body with straight shots. Both fighters opening up, eschewing the typical feeling-out period. More body shots from Fury. Usyk’s balletic footwork creating an elusive target for the challenger. Usyk barrels in and clips Fury with a left hand. A frantic pace!
Continue reading...Social media reacts to Oleksandr Usyk title rematch win vs. Tyson Fury
Oleksandr Usyk has done it again. The Ukrainian boxing champion defende
Oleksandr Usyk defeats Tyson Fury by unanimous decision in championship rematch
There was no revenge for Tyson Fury. Fury fell to Oleksandr Usyk yet again, losing their heavyweight boxing rematch Saturday by unanimous decision after suffering a split-decision defeat in their first fight seven months ago.
Oleksandr Usyk def. Tyson Fury: Best photos from Riyadh
Check out these photos from Oleksandr Usyk's victory over Tyson Fury in their championship rematch at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photos by Richard Pelham, Getty Images)
UFC 311 title challenger Arman Tsarukyan: Islam Makhachev is not as good as people think
Islam Makhachev is considered by most, except UFC CEO Dana White, as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter on the planet. Yet, despite his accolades and praise, Arman Tsarukyan finds Makhachev to be a bit overrated. That's right, Tsarukyan (22-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC),…
Jim Miller still struggles with one condition 45 fights into UFC career
Even though he's made the UFC walk nearly 50 times, Jim Miller still struggles with something that may come as a surprise. Sometimes, the 41-year-old lightweight said, he doesn't think he should be making the kinds of demands about his fighting career that get made by…
Oleksandr Usyk defeats Tyson Fury to retain unified heavyweight championship – as it happened
- Usyk defeats Fury by 12-round unanimous decision
- Usyk v Fury II: How the world title fight unfolded
- Britain’s Moses Itauma wins by TKO 1 in co-main event
- Oleksandr Usyk beats Tyson Fury again – in pictures
Our man at ringside checks in as we count down the minutes to the main event:
Moses Itauma is only 19 but the British teenage heavyweight recorded a sensational first-round TKO of a tough and normally durable Aussie, Demsey McKean. His ferocious punching power really lit up the Kingdom Arena and cleared the way for an earlier-than-expected start to the compelling main event. The music has been cranked up and, yep, everything feels much more intense. We’ve got a first real crackle in the previously chilly atmosphere.
Continue reading...UFC Fight Night 253 gets Brandon Royval vs. Manel Kape flyweight contender main event
A new flyweight title contender will likely be determined in March at UFC Fight Night 253 when Brandon Royval meets Manel Kape. The flyweight bout between former title challenger Royval (17-7 MMA, 7-3 UFC) and Kape (20-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC) will headline the event on Mar
Robelis Despaigne hopeful for UFC return if he can improve one thing after release
Robelis Despaigne doesn't think he's done fighting for the UFC. Despite getting released from the Las-Vegas based promotion in October, the Olympic bronze medalist in karate is determined, and confident, he'll once again find himself fighting inside the octagon. Despaigne…