Undefeated Titan FC champ Jason Soares signs with PFL, will enter 2020 tournament

Sitting atop a 14-0 record, Jason Soares finally has found a permanent home.

[autotag]Jason Soares[/autotag] finally has a permanent home.

An undefeated featherweight fighter, Soares (14-0) has signed with PFL. With $1 million on the line, Soares will enter the promotion’s 2020 tournament, Soares announced early Saturday morning on his Instagram account.

“Contract is signed, next year we are in the @pflmma $1,000,000 tournament on @espn, money is great, but I want a new belt,” Soares wrote.

Soares has dominated the southeast regional scene since early 2012, finishing 12 of his 14 professional fights.

At Titan FC 49 in April 2018, Soares earned the Titan FC featherweight title when he submitted then-champion Luis Gomez in the fourth round. Since winning the belt, Soares has defended thrice and has finished all three challengers.

At Titan FC 54 in April 2019, UFC president Dana White brought “Dana White: Lookin’ for a Fight” to scout Soares. Taking on Brazil’s Ariston Franca, Soares was flattened early in the first round.

Somehow, Soares survived en route to a miraculous comeback by fourth-round ground-and-pound victory. Soares’ struggles early in the fight were too much for White, who elected not to offer him a UFC deal.

In his most recent outing in August at Titan FC 56, Soares submitted 23-fight veteran Andrew Whitney by second-round armbar.

Check out Soares’ PFL announcement in the post below:

No date, location, or opponent for Soares’ PFL debut has been revealed at this time.

Five men charged in Pleasantville-Camden (New Jersey) football shooting

Five men have been charged in connection with a shooting that took place at a New Jersey high school football game between Pleasantville and Camden.

Five people have been charged in connection with a shooting at a football game between Pleasantville (New Jersey) and Camden (New Jersey) Friday, according to authorities.

As reported by The New York Times and other outlets, three people, one of whom was a 10-year-old, were injured, authorities said.

The men were charged Saturday. Alvin Wyatt, 31, is one of the suspects in the shooting. He received three counts of attempted murder, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, the Atlantic County prosecutor’s office said in a statement obtained by The New York Times.

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The other four men — Shahid Dixon, Tyrell Dorn, Vance Golden and Michael Mack — were charged with unlawful possession of a weapon.

“This incident had nothing to do with the students of Pleasantville High School or Camden High School,” Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner said in a statement. “The venue simply presented an opportunity for criminals to pursue their own form of petty vengeance against one another.”

The 10-year-old victim is in critical condition in the hospital. Another victim, who’s 27, is in stable condition. A third victim has been released from the hospital after being treated for a graze wound.

The Camden school system said in a tweet that “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Pleasantville community in the wake of this unfortunate event.”

Claressa Shields-Ivana Habazin fight rescheduled for Jan. 10

Claressa Shields and Ivana Habazin will fight on Jan. 10, nearly three months after Habazin’s trainer was injured in a weigh-in altercation.

Claressa Shields and Ivana Habazin will fight on Jan. 10 in Atlantic City, nearly three months after their scheduled matchup was canceled following a violent altercation at the weigh-in.

The bout had been scheduled for Oct. 5 in Flint, Michigan, Shields’ hometown, but it was pulled off a Showtime-televised card after Habazin trainer James Ali Bashir was injured by punches on the day before opening bell.

Bashir was hospitalized with reported facial fractures. A few days after the incident, he returned to the hospital with a brain bleed, according to a Facebook post from Habazin.

Artis Mack, Shields’ brother, was arraigned on an assault charge in Michigan’s Genesee District Court on October 17 for allegedly throwing the punches. Mack, 28, pleaded not guilty.

Shields (9-0, 2 knockouts), a two-time Olympic gold medalist, hoped that the junior middleweight fight would be rescheduled. She and Habazin (20-3, 7 KOs), of Croatia, were initially scheduled to meet on August 17. That date was shelved when Shields suffered a knee injury.

James Ali Bashir was hospitalized as a result of punches he took at the Claressa Shields-Ivana Habizin weigh-in last month. Stephanie Trapp / Showtime

“My goal is to become three-division champ faster than any man or woman in history,” said Shields, who already has won middleweight and super-middleweight belts. “This is a very significant fight for both of us. We have both trained really hard twice and great opportunities await the winner, so hopefully three times is the charm.”

Habazin says she is motivated for the fight because of what happened in Flint.

“I’ve been thinking about this since October, and I have more of an incentive now, given what happened,” Habazin said. “I feel like I’m fighting for James Ali Bashir, as well as for my own pride and respect.’’

 

Jamal Crawford tweeted out support for …

Jamal Crawford tweeted out support for ‘Melo and for Iman Shumpert (who signed with the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday). In a sense for these veterans, this is like the NBA Draft green room all over again — you’re happy the room is emptying … but you don’t want to be the last one sitting at the table. “I know I can play,” Crawford told NBA.com, “and I would think my reputation is still solid. It’s baffling to me.”

“I love the game and stay in the gym …

“I love the game and stay in the gym anyway,” he said. “Whenever I retire, I’ll still be playing the game, whether that’s at an LA Fitness or somewhere else. At this point, the regular players around here are kind of used to seeing me, although sometimes I’ll go to a different gym and people are surprised,” he said. “Like, the other night, I went to new one and played from 10 o’clock to midnight. They did double takes.”