Month: July 2021

UFC on ESPN 28 bonuses: Melsik Baghdasaryan’s head-kick statement worth $50,000

The UFC handed out four post-fight bonuses after Saturday’s card, including one to a first-time UFC fighter.

The UFC handed out four post-fight bonuses after Saturday’s card, including one to a first-time UFC fighter.

After UFC on ESPN 28, four fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances in Las Vegas. Check out the winners below.

Washington co-CEO Tanya Snyder addresses fans at fan appreciation day

Tanya Snyder addressed fans at fan appreciation day. She even tossed souvenirs to fans.

The Washington Football Team wrapped up their short week in Richmond with fan appreciation day on Saturday. The team reported on Tuesday and began practice on Wednesday.

Now, Washington heads back to Ashburn for the remainder of camp.

Fan appreciation day was unlike any other in recent memory. Gone were the players going to the fence to take pictures and sign autographs for fans. Perhaps that will return in 2022.

There was the new dance team, which performed for fans on Saturday. Also new this year was the owner addressing the fans.

No, it wasn’t Dan Snyder who addressed fans. It was his wife — co-CEO — Tanya Snyder, who addressed and spent time throwing souvenirs to lucky fans.

Thank you so much for coming today. There’s a lot in store so please stick around. We just wanna say, everybody, starting with Coach — we got a great, new, fabulous coach — we are in a new era with Ron Rivera, and everybody is definitely showing up. They promised us, you heard our players, they’re going to show up for you. So please show up for them.

The final part of her speech felt more like a pep rally, which the folks in Richmond loved.

I have been on the sidelines for 22 years, and I’m much more active and involved now with my husband. We couldn’t be more excited about our new leadership. They are wonderful, so strong outside of football, and the best in their class in everything they’ve done. You’re going to see a lot of growth, listening to our fans, and we want to see you in the stadium. So, thank you again for coming today and we look forward to seeing you next Friday.

It’s a new day in Washington. From Ron Rivera to Jason Wright to Tanya Snyder, fans are actually buying in once again. Next up is filling FedEx Field with burgundy & gold.

Twitter reacts to Sean Strickland’s dominant win over Uriah Hall at UFC on ESPN 28

See the top Twitter reactions to Sean Strickland’s win over Uriah Hall in the UFC on ESPN 28 main event.

[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] earned the biggest win of his career thus far on Saturday when he beat [autotag]Uriah Hall[/autotag] in the UFC on ESPN 28 main event.

Strickland (24-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) extended his winning streak to five fights in the middleweight division courtesy of a unanimous decision victory over Hall (17-10 MMA, 10-8 UFC) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

With the win, Strickland puts himself in position for another marquee bout at 185 pounds.

Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Strickland’s victory over Hall at UFC on ESPN 28.

UFC on ESPN 28 results: Sean Strickland dominates Uriah Hall for fifth straight win

Sean Strickland put together a composed and dominant performance to shut down Uriah Hall and move to the next level at middleweight.

[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] put together a composed and dominant performance to shut down [autotag]Uriah Hall[/autotag] and move to the next level at middleweight.

Strickland (24-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) outworked Hall (17-10 MMA, 10-8 UFC) for a unanimous decision with scores of 50-44, 50-45 and 49-46. The win was Strickland’s fifth straight and shut down Hall’s four-fight streak.

The middleweight bout was part the UFC on ESPN 28 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

Hall pumped a jab early, but Strickland was quick to throw out his own to try to put Hall on his back foot. The jab kept Hall slightly out of his rhythm in the first 90 seconds, though Hall was able to crack Strickland with jabs of his own. Two minutes in. Hall threw a calf kick to mix things up.

Midway through the round, it looked like Strickland started to feel his range. He landed several punches that kept Hall backing up, and Hall appeared to be looking for some kind of an answer.

About a minute into the second round, Strickland put together a big combination that had Hall on the fence. Strickland thought about a level change for a takedown, but stayed on the feet and kept Hall’s back on the cage. Hall worked his way back to the center of the cage midway through the round and looked better in the latter half of the frame in terms of his aggressiveness. After a brief pause for a low blow, Hall seemed to hit another level just before the horn.

Hall came out strong in the third and was busier early than he had been at any time in the first two rounds. But almost out of nowhere, about two minutes into the frame, Strickland took Hall to the canvas after a punch to the back of the ear. Strickland landed punch after punch on the mat, and it looked like he was close to a finish. Hall popped back up, but Strickland dragged him back down again. When they moved back to the feet, Strickland kept him tied up, and another takedown had him in half-guard on top. With 30 seconds left, Strickland took Hall’s back and looked for a rear-naked choke. Hall survived the round, but it was dominance for Strickland.

Hall seemed to have a sense of urgency in the fourth. Strickland, for the most part, stayed largely out of range of Hall’s biggest shots. Hall stayed busy, but didn’t get a lot done in terms of damage. But with a minute left, Strickland took Hall down again and landed some big shots along the way. He opened up a cut over Hall’s left eye for good measure. Hall came back to his feet swinging down the stretch, but it was another round for Strickland.

Strickland looked to be pretty easily the fresher of the two fighters heading into the final frame. He paced in his corner in between rounds and watched as Hall’s team urged him to not be tired. Hall looked exhausted midway through the frame, and while Strickland slowed down a little, too, he had the energy to clinch Hall on the fence and continue to wear him out.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 28 results include:

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Bellator 263 results: Usman Nurmagomedov dispatches of Manny Muro with body shot

Cousin of Khabib, Usman Nurmagomedov kept his unbeaten record alive.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] entered Bellator 263 a heavy betting favorite, and quickly showed why.

Cousin of former UFC champion Khabib, Usman Nurmagomedov (13-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) finished [autotag]Manny Muro[/autotag] (12-7 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) with a knee to the body and follow-up punches at 3:30 of Round 1.

Bellator 263 took place Saturday at The Forum. The main card airs on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.

In the opening round, Nurmagomedov dragged an aggressive Muro to the mat early where he worked to get a submission from the back. After Muro worked his way back to the feet, the two fighters engaged in the clinch.

After some adjusting for position, Nurmagomedov drilled Muro’s body with a knee that dropped the American to the canvas face-first. As Muro covered up in pain, Nurmagomedov landed a series of punches to his downed opponent before the referee stepped in.

With the win, Nurmagomedov remains undefeated. The victory comes after a successful promotional debut at Bellator 255 in April when he defeated “Magic” Mike Hamel via unanimous decision. In his 13 professional victories, 11 have come via finish with eight knockouts/TKOs and three submissions.

As for Muro, the longtime JacksonWink professional had a three-fight winning streak snapped, which included back-to-back victories over Nick Newell and Devin Powell.

Full up-to-the-minute Bellator 263 results include:

  • Usman Nurmagomedov def. Manny Muro via TKO (knee and punches) – Round 1, 3:30
  • Islam Mamedov def. Brent Primus via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
  • Goiti Yamauchi def. Chris Gonzalez via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:03
  • Vanessa Porto def. Ilara Joanne via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
  • Gadzhi Rabadanov def. Daniel Carey via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:57
  • Khasan Magomedsharipov def. Jonathan Quiroz via TKO (ground-and-pound) – Round 2, 4:21
  • Joshua Jones def. Johnny Cisneros via TKO (ground-and-pound) – Round 2, 4:15
  • Georgi Karakhanyan def. Kiefer Crosbie via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 4:25
  • Brian Moore def. Jordan Winski via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)

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Bellator 263 results: Islam Mamedov grinds out split decision over Brent Primus to win debut

On the main card of Bellator 263, Islam Mamedov won his promotional debut in a close contest against Brent Primus.

[autotag]Islam Mamedov[/autotag] has arrived in the Bellator lightweight division.

With former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in his corner, Mamedov (20-1-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) had a wealth of knowledge at his disposal should he need it.

The bout took place on the main card of Bellator 263 at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., and aired on Showtime.

After a touch of gloves, the pair felt each other out in the center of the cage, with each fighter offering range-finding strikes. The striking volume began to increase as they put together combinations, but Mamedov initiated a clinch and brought the fight to the canvas. Primus (10-2 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) however, was more active on the ground, where the two would remain until the round ended.

A majority of the second round was spent in the clinch, as both fighters jockeyed for position while standing. Mamedov brought the fight to the canvas again, but Primus remained active, offering submission attempts from his back while Mamedov tried to improve positioning. Primus’ activity prevented Mamedov from causing any damage on the canvas.

The final round started with a Mamedov landing a kick that swept Primus off his feet. As he closed in to take top position, Primus immediately offered a submission attempt in response, halting Mamedov’s advances.

While fans grew restless at the lack of action as the two remained on the mat, both fighters were actively looking to improve their positions. Mamedov eventually transitioned to half-guard, but Primus continued to search for an omoplata that never materialized.

The fight concluded with Mamedov on top, leaving it up to the scorecards to determine the winner of the contest.

The judges were split in their decision, with two of the judges favoring Mamedov with scores of 29-28, while the dissenting judge saw the bout for Primus with a score of 29-28.

Mamedov walks away from his Bellator debut with his hand raised, keeping his lengthy streak of 19 wins without a loss going, while Primus’ two-fight win streak was snapped.

Up-to-the-minute results of Bellator 263 include:

  • Islam Mamedov def. Brent Primus via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
  • Goiti Yamauchi def. Chris Gonzalez via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:03
  • Vanessa Porto def. Ilara Joanne via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
  • Gadzhi Rabadanov def. Daniel Carey via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:57
  • Khasan Magomedsharipov def. Jonathan Quiroz via TKO (ground-and-pound) – Round 2, 4:21
  • Joshua Jones def. Johnny Cisneros via TKO (ground-and-pound) – Round 2, 4:15
  • Georgi Karakhanyan def. Kiefer Crosbie via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 4:25
  • Brian Moore def. Jordan Winski via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)

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UFC on ESPN 28 video: Cheyanne Buys’ perfectly timed head kick stops Gloria de Paula

Cheyanne Buys needed just 60 seconds to dispatch Gloria de Paula in highlight-reel fashion in the UFC on ESPN 28 co-main event.

[autotag]Cheyanne Buys[/autotag] needed just 60 seconds to dispatch [autotag]Gloria de Paula[/autotag] in highlight reel fashion in the UFC on ESPN 28 co-main event.

After a dominant loss in her UFC debut earlier this year, Buys (6-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) was eager to redeem herself against de Paula (5-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) after switching camps and changing her attitude toward the fight game.

It paid off. Buys stopped de Paula in one minute flat courtesy of a perfect head kick that set up a flurry of punches for the TKO.

Check out the replay of the finish below (via Twitter):

Buys was emotional after securing her first UFC win, and even admitted she didn’t foresee herself winning the way she did.

“I didn’t expect that,” Buys said in her post-fight interview with Paul Felder. “She’s a ‘G.’ She has great striking. Honestly, I was going to come in here and wrestle since my last fight I got outwrestled. … It’s been a long road to get here. It’s been a crazy fight camp for me. I left my home in Dallas. I packed up everything and left.”

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UFC on ESPN 28 video: Jared Gooden KOs Niklas Stolze on four days’ notice

Jared Gooden admitted prior to UFC on ESPN 28 that he was in a do-or-die situation. He responded with a violent knockout.

[autotag]Jared Gooden[/autotag] admitted prior to UFC on ESPN 28 that he was in a do-or-die situation. He responded with a violent knockout of [autotag]Niklas Stolze[/autotag].

Gooden (18-6 MMA, 1-2 UFC), who stepped into the welterweight bout with Stolze on just four days’ notice as a replacement, needed just 68 seconds to score a violent first-round knockout of Stolze (12-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Check out the replay of the finish below (via Twitter):

What made the win for Gooden all the more dramatic is that after stepping up to fight, his bout was called off Saturday afternoon due to COVID-19 protocols. However, upon further review, the UFC received medical clearance to reinstate the fight.

That was a good thing for Gooden, who got the job done in spectacular fashion.

“My mentality and my coach changed,” Gooden said in his post-fight interview with Paul Felder. “We knew we couldn’t go to the judges no more, and that’s what changed.”

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Caeleb Dressel won gold in the 50 freestyle and smashed the Olympic record without taking a breath

This underwater angle of Caeleb Dressel’s win is awesome.

Caeleb Dressel won his fourth gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics and third in an individual event by crushing the men’s 50-meter freestyle and breaking the 13-year-old Olympic record. And he did it without taking a breath the entire time.

With his exceptional and explosive start off the blocks, Dressel shot out ahead of the field with his first stroke and finished with a time of 21.07 — breaking Brazil’s Cesar Cielo’s Olympic record of 21.30 from the 2008 Beijing Olympics and .16 seconds shy of Cielo’s 2009 world record.

And an efficient way to get 50 meters across the pool is not to breathe, so Dressel didn’t.

When swimmers barely turn their heads to the side to steal a quick breath, it slightly slows them down. It’s much more efficient for swimmers to keep their heads down when the race is only one length of the pool, so it’s very common for them to just opt not to breathe during the shortest race.

Here’s the overhead view of the race:

But the underwater view of the entire thing really highlights how hard they’re working beneath the surface. Plus, the underwater angle is just generally awesome.

This was Dressel’s final individual event of the Tokyo Olympics. He also won gold in the 100-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly and the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, and he was part of the fifth-place 4×100-meter mixed medley relay team.

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Gadzhi Rabadanov scores nasty KO at Bellator 263; coach Khabib Nurmagomedov loads fallen fighter on stretcher

Khabib Nurmagomedov coached his fighter Gadzhi Rabadanov to a violent KO win – and then loaded the fallen opposition onto a backboard.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] showed the ultimate sign of respect to a fallen fighter following a scary knockout at Bellator 263.

During the Bellator 263 prelims Saturday at The Forum, promotional debutant [autotag]Gadzhi Rabadanov[/autotag] (16-4-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) scored a violent finish of opponent [autotag]Daniel Carey[/autotag] (7-5 MMA, 3-4 BMMA) at 3:57 of Round 1.

Bellator 263 took place Saturday at The Forum. The main card aired on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.

The knockout was shocking and the follow-up shots were devastating. When referee Frank Trigg finally jumped in, Carey was in all sorts of trouble. As CSAC and Bellator officials scrambled to signal for a backboard and stretcher, Carey remained unconscious on the ground.

As the medical equipment was brought into the cage, Rabadanov’s head coach and former UFC lightweight champion Nurmagomedov walked over to the floored opposition and assisted medical professionals as they applied the neck-brace and loaded Carey onto the backboard.

After Carey was lifted from the ground, Nurmagomedov and Carey’s cornerman shared an embrace of respect in the cage, which was captured on video by MMA Junkie.

Bellator 263 live results include:

  • Gadzhi Rabadanov def. Daniel Carey via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:57
  • Khasan Magomedsharipov def. Jonathan Quiroz via TKO (ground-and-pound) – Round 2, 4:21
  • Joshua Jones def. Johnny Cisneros via TKO (ground-and-pound) – Round 2, 4:15
  • Georgi Karakhanyan def. Kiefer Crosbie via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 4:25
  • Brian Moore def. Jordan Winski via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)