List of All Articles with Tag 'fc'

Jon Jones has suffered an injury two weeks out from UFC 295, ruling him out of his heavyweight title defence against Stipe Miocic. Light-heavyweight great Jones won the heavyweight belt in March, winning his divisional debut by submitting Ciryl Gane in Round 1. His first defence was due to come against Miocic in the main event of UFC 295, at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on 11 November. However, 36-year-old Jones will require surgery after sustaining an injury on Tuesday (24 October), meaning his clash with the consensus heavyweight ‘GOAT’ is off. As a result, the co-main event of UFC 295 has been elevated to the new main event, as former light-heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka faces ex-middleweight champion Alex Pereira for the vacant 205lbs title. In the new co-main event, British heavyweight Tom Aspinall will face Russia’s Sergei Pavlovich for the interim heavyweight title. The winner of that fight will theoretically be in line to unify the belts against Jones once the American is healthy, and it is unclear how Miocic will factor into the situation. “Jon Jones was training last night, got injured,” said UFC president Dana White on Wednesday morning, sharing footage of the incident. “He was wrestling, and he tore the tendon that connects your pec to the bone... off the bone. “Eight months [out], gonna need surgery, he’s out. So, the main event is Prochazka vs Pereira. The co-main event now is Pavlovich vs Aspinall for the interim heavyweight championship.” American Miocic, 41, has not fought since losing the heavyweight title to Francis Ngannou in March 2021. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More UFC schedule 2023: Every fight happening this year Jake Paul officially ‘accepts’ MMA fight with Nate Diaz Alexander Volkanovski’s bravest move yet? Talking about his mental health

New York Red Bulls take on Charlotte FC in the Eastern Conference Wild Card.

The Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins were humbled on the road on Sunday. Meanwhile, the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs just went about their winning business.

Barcelona midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has joked that teammate Robert Lewandowski might have won a Ballon d'Or if his proposed move to Blackburn Rovers early in his career hadn't fallen through.

Barcelona midfielder Pedri has been "virtually ruled out" of El Clasico after failing to recover in time from a hamstring injury. Real Madrid travel to Barca on Saturday afternoon in La Liga.

LAFC's talisman showed out in his first full season in MLS.

Andoni Iraola's future as Bournemouth manager will be in doubt if his side do not beat Burnley in their next Premier League game.

Bayern's predicted lineup for their Champions League clash against Galatasaray on Tuesday night.

First came the crack in Alexander Volkanovski‘s defence. Then, the crack in his voice. If the first crack was consequential, allowing Islam Makhachev to skim his shin off the Australian’s head, the latter was a consequence in itself – a consequence of one of the best fighters alive staying silent on his struggles with mental health. That is, until now. Volkanovski would have emerged from UFC 294 with credit anyway; he stepped in on 11 days’ notice and moved up in weight to challenge a man who had beaten him eight months prior. Even in this surprising, first-round defeat by Makhachev, Volkanovski lost very little. His featherweight title still rests firmly on his shoulder, and he will soon return to that weight class where he has been unbeatable. But soon may be too soon. In his post-fight press conference, Volkanovski began the dissection of this defeat – his second this year, but just his third as a professional mixed martial artist, with his first having occurred a long decade ago. The 35-year-old started to dissect the technical reasons for this knockout loss, but it soon became apparent what was of greater importance: the psychological reasons for his presence in Abu Dhabi. “He’s not somebody you should be taking a short-notice [fight] with, but I needed it,” Volkanovski began. “Obviously a lot of people will say it’s for the money and all that, but it was much more than that. It is hard, it is really hard for athletes... Sorry, um... I never thought I would struggle with it,” he continued, ignoring the blood over his eye, instead wiping a tear from beneath it. “But for some reason when I wasn’t fighting or in camp... F***, sorry,” he said, attempting a laugh, looking away and to the ceiling, then gently rapping his hand on the table to bring himself back into the room. “I was just doing my head in,” he continued, tears floating at the bottom of his eyes. “I needed a fight, and this opportunity came up. I’ll be honest: I wasn’t training as much as I should have, but I thought I had to do it. I had to take it. I’m telling myself, ‘It’s meant to be.’ I was struggling a little bit not fighting, doing my head in. I don’t know how; everything’s fine, I’ve got a beautiful family. But, I don’t know... I think you just need to keep busy. I need to be in camp, otherwise, I’m going to do my head in. “It’s weird, [it’s not that I] never ‘believed in that stuff’, but I never got it. It was something that – I don’t know – maybe the more and more I learn about myself, the more I understand. I talked about us having a smile on my face, me and my wife. My wife could see it does get hard, I don’t know why.” Volkanovski pointed to the birth of his third child, in August, and surgery on an injury this summer as reasons why he had not been training. Clearly, the knock-on effect of those moments – as joyous as the former seemed to be – has led Volkanovski’s mental health to suffer. Last week, all the talk was of how brave the Australian was to face Makhachev on short notice; braver was this admission that he is struggling, which simultaneously offers a different lens through which to view his choice to fight. Keeping himself engaged and busy is healthy, but that is complicated by the inherent risk in his profession. “Maybe it was just a silly decision under the circumstances,” he admitted. Perhaps it was, though it was also understandable. Volkanovski’s next challenge, however, will come outside of the ring. It must. He naturally sees the antidote to his current struggles as a quick turnaround to fight again, likely against the dangerous Ilia Topuria in January. Yet, that fight could go the same way as Saturday’s against Makhachev, if the Australian does not first tackle these thoughts and feelings, and find the right balance for him. We knew Alexander Volkanovski was brave. That is even clearer now than it was last week. Now, however, he must be sensible, and get to work outside the ring before he can return to work in it. Read More Islam Makhachev stuns Alexander Volkanovski with head-kick KO in first round at UFC 294 Conor McGregor reacts to ‘illegal’ strikes in Islam Makhachev win at UFC 294 Khabib explains why he wasn’t in Islam Makhachev’s corner at UFC 294

Khabib Nurmagomedov has clarified why he missed childhood friend and UFC protege Islam Makhachev’s stunning victory over Alexander Volkanovski. The former UFC champion, who finished his career with an unbeaten 29-0 record, said it was not unusual for him to not be in the corner in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night. Nurmagomedov became Makhachev’s coach following his retirement in 2020, but the ‘Eagle’ announced earlier this year that he had taken a step back from the UFC. Makhachev stunned Volkanovski with a first-round knockout at UFC 294, retaining the lightweight title in their rematch. In February, Makhachev outpointed Volkanovski – who holds the featherweight belt – in the latter’s native Australia, in a competitive clash that left many fans desiring a rematch. Nurmagomedov congratulated Makhachev on his victory before responding to fans who had questioned his absence from ringside. “If you guys ask me where have I been? Why wasn’t I in the corner, I already answered this question,” he posted on Instagram. “I don’t go to fights, I don’t go to the corner and I completely left everything related to MMA. I ask you to accept my decision the same way as my brothers, friends and sparring partners did. What our team achieved will forever be in the history of MMA.” Makhachev had already addressed the fact that Nurmagomedov would not be in his corner before UFC 294, telling reporters that he understood and supported his mentor’s decision. “Here is my explanation: We have a very big team,” Makhachev said. “What if Khabib is there for one of us? We’re all equal. “No matter if somebody’s a champion and the other guy is still on his way up, we all support each other. If he is there for my fight, he will need to be there for every single one from our team to not let anyone feel abandoned. “He has already said that he will not attend the fights and he will not corner anyone. And we all support him in this decision.” Midway through the first round of the main event, southpaw Makhachev skimmed his left shin off Volkanovski’s head, wobbling and dropping the featherweight king. Makhachev, 31, followed up with a fierce flurry of hammer fists to the grounded Aussie, whose brow split open amid the onslaught. Referee Marc Goddard stepped in, confirming an emphatic victory and title defence for Makhachev, the mentee and childhood friend of UFC lightweight great Khabib Nurmagomedov. The result extended Makhachev’s win streak to 13 fights, dating back to 2015, when he suffered the sole loss of his professional career. Meanwhile, Volkanovski was beaten for the third time as a pro, though he remains undefeated at his preferred weight of 145lbs. Read More Alexander Volkanovski’s bravest move yet? Talking about his mental health Conor McGregor reacts to ‘illegal’ strikes in Islam Makhachev win at UFC 294 Makhachev stuns Volkanovski with head-kick KO in first round at UFC 294 UFC 294 LIVE: Volkanovski vs Makhachev fight results after shock KO Islam Makhachev demands two words from Alexander Volkanovski ahead of UFC 294 Volkanovski vs Makhachev gamble shows the best and worst of the UFC

17-year-old striker Marc Guiu has hailed the Barcelona academy after his debut goal for the senior team on Sunday.

17-year-old debutant Marc Guiu scored with just his second touch ever in La Liga to secure Barcelona a dramatic win over Athletic Club on Sunday evening.