List of All Articles with Tag 'sports'

The Colorado Avalanche have acquired forward Ross Colton from the Tampa Bay Lightning

UEFA has picked bigger stadiums to host the next two Europa Conference League finals

Tennessee State University announced it will become the first Historically Black College and University (HBCU) to introduce ice hockey

Simone Biles is back

Declan Rice is turning into one of the biggest stories of the transfer window

Victor Wembanyama’s NBA summer debut is now expected to come in Las Vegas

Michael Chandler has insisted that his fight with Conor McGregor will go ahead, despite fears that the latter has missed the deadline to compete in 2023. Chandler vs McGregor was announced by the UFC in February, but no date, location or weight class has been announced for the fight, and it appears that McGregor is unable to compete until next year due to United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) rules. The former UFC champion is seemingly still absent from the Usada testing pool, and athletes must be in the pool for six months and return two negative results – and zero negatives – in order to fight in the UFC. However, Chandler has reassured fans that the fight will go ahead – regardless of when. The American, 37, told ESPN on Wednesday (28 June): “Listen, I understand everybody wants answers, they want results. With a fight of this magnitude – the most exciting guy in mixed martial arts versus the biggest superstar in mixed martial arts – people want answers, and they want them on their timeline. “Their timeline is now. ‘I want my answers yesterday.’ I’m with everybody else, of course, but just let the process play out. Just know that Michael Chandler steps in the cage against Conor McGregor, we put on an electrifying event, and I separate him from his consciousness in the second round. “If there’s one thing I know about Conor: He cares about his public persona, he cares about how people see him, he cares about where he is now and what he has become to the fans. [If you’re not coming back], you don’t do a documentary saying you’re coming back; you don’t tell everybody it’s the greatest comeback in combat-sports history; you’re not out there promoting yourself and saying, ‘This is my game forever, you’ll do what you’re told;’ and calling yourself the pound-for-pound king. “Conor’s coming back. There’s one guy he’s fighting: His name’s Michael Chandler, he’s from High Ridge, Missouri. We are gonna put butts in seats, it’s gonna be an electrifying performance, but I knock out Conor and then maybe he retires after that – we’ll see.” Chandler and McGregor are coaching opposing teams of athletes on the new season of The Ultimate Fighter, which began airing in May and will conclude in August. After five episodes, Team Chandler has a 5-0 lead over Team McGregor. This month, Irishman McGregor denied an allegation that he had sexually assaulted a woman at an NBA Finals game. McGregor, 34, was accused of assault in a bathroom at a Miami Heat fixture on 9 June. McGregor also recently released McGregor Forever, the second documentary around his career, and you can read The Independent’s review of the Netflix series here. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Conor McGregor doubles down on Ultimate Fighter criticism as Michael Chandler’s team dominate How to watch The Ultimate Fighter 31 in the UK Elon Musk vs Mark Zuckerberg: Who would win a fight between tech titans? Conor McGregor doubles down on Ultimate Fighter criticism Conor McGregor complains as his team lose yet again on The Ultimate Fighter Conor McGregor’s team fall to 0-3 on The Ultimate Fighter

Bayern Munich and Qatar Airways say they are not going to renew a sponsorship deal which caused tension between the German soccer champion and its fans

Chelsea’s biggest issue last season was the inability to simply put the ball in the back of the net. Only four teams scored fewer Premier League goals than the Blues (38), with even relegated pair Leeds and Leicester netting more. Strengthening the frontline was always the priority for a west London side in need of a refresh this summer. Yet they had to strike a balance. Chelsea’s squad remains incredibly bloated, though the departures of N’Golo Kante and Kalidou Koulibaly have helped, at the very least, cut the wage bill. Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz, Edouard Mendy and Mason Mount are expected to follow the pair out of the Stamford Bridge exit as the squad is streamlined. We’re not yet in July but the Blues have at least made their first move to correct their goal issues: Christopher Nkunku has arrived from RB Leipzig on the back of a solid Bundesliga campaign that saw him net 16 times – no player in Germany’s top tier scored more. The 25-year-old won’t be the only forward to rock up in the capital, however, with Nicolas Jackson set to follow suit. Jackson was prepped for a move to Bournemouth in January, only to fail a medical, and was subsequently linked with a move to Aston Villa this summer – yet Chelsea have won the race for the 22-year-old, who scored 12 goals and provided four assists in LaLiga last season, a fine return for a player who registered just 1,603 minutes of game time. Of those 12 goals, 10 were scored since the turn of the year. Only former Real Madrid hitman Karim Benzema (12) bagged more in Spain’s top tier in the first half of 2023. Crucially, Jackson knows exactly where the goal is. Feed the Senegalese star and he’ll score. Of the 120 players to muster 25 or more shots, Jackson returned the best conversion rate (29.3 per cent) in the 22/23 LaLiga campaign. Despite a goal-shy season, Chelsea still averaged the eighth most key passes per game (9.9) in the Premier League, a return that can be improved upon, but a reasonable base nonetheless. In addition, the Blues ranked tenth for big chances created (57), yet in turn missed the sixth most (52). Kai Havertz was the biggest offender, missing 14 clear-cut goalscoring opportunities, but with the German set to leave for Arsenal there is room for a new striker at Stamford Bridge. Jackson, by contrast, performed superbly when the chances were laid out on a plate, returning a clear-cut conversion rate of 56.3 per cent, the best in Spain’s top flight last season. However, there is more to Jackson’s game than scoring goals. He’s not an old-fashioned No 9 but rather a modern-day forward, who looks to link the play as well as get on the end of chances. An average of 1.2 key passes per 90 minutes is a respectable average, while a pass success rate of 76.4 per cent from 17.9 passes per 90 are solid figures for a striker. With Mauricio Pochettino expected to use a 4-2-3-1 setup, he’ll need his leading frontman to work his way into the box and, where needed, hold up possession before laying the ball on for his teammates. Jackson, then, ticks the right boxes. Considering the exciting wingers at Pochettino’s disposal – who’ll undoubtedly benefit from a full pre-season in a settled environment under the Argentine’s watchful eye – and the possibility of Nkunku operating in the No 10 role as a second striker, Jackson’s willingness to bring others into play means Chelsea should quickly dwarf their 38-goal haul from last season. The Senegal star isn’t perhaps the same headline-stealing hitman in the form of Victor Osimhen that some supporters may crave, but then if Jackson is the ideal fit, is that really an issue? Chelsea will be landing a player who will benefit the current crop of attackers on the books at Stamford Bridge and, over the longer term, can become the complete centre-forward with the right coaching. Pochettino, after all, did turn Harry Kane into a world-beater. Read More Mateo Kovacic completes move from Chelsea to Manchester City Koulibaly exits Chelsea to become latest star joining Saudi Pro League Manchester United increase Mason Mount bid Chelsea owners buy stake in French team as part of multi-club ownership plans Robertson appreciative as Newcastle remember Tiote – Wednesday’s sporting social N’Golo Kante, the midfield miracle worker who changed football

Australia has survived a tough examination from England’s bowlers and disruption from Just Stop Oil protesters to reach lunch at 73-1 in the second Ashes test at Lord’s

The United States is about to start the countdown to its 250th anniversary

Renowned mixed martial arts coach Javier Mendez has predicted that Mark Zuckerberg would beat Elon Musk in the pair’s proposed cage fight, saying the Facebook CEO is ‘more of a dog’ than his counterpart. Zuckerberg and fellow tech billionaire Musk, who is the owner of Twitter and CEO of Tesla, have agreed to fight one another, and Mendez has made a confident pick for the prospective bout. Mendez coached former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and currently trains lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, and the American told Grosvernor Sport: “The big advantage Zuckerberg has over Elon is that he’s actively training and he’s more of a dog right now, because he entered a jiu-jitsu tournament, so that tells me a lot about him. “From the little bit I’ve seen of Zuckerberg, he likes to engage and go at it. He’s very competitive. If I'm not mistaken, he did very well in a legitimate jiu-jitsu tournament, so he might have the dog in him because he was not afraid to expose himself. “All things considered, Zuckerberg is way ahead of Musk, but you won’t really know until you see what Musk possesses. If Elon has no martial arts training whatsoever, he’s really behind. What he’d have to do is get in there and start slinging punches right away. Since Elon is bigger, does he have the power to go with the size? Does he have the speed to go with the size?” Mendez, 52, also advised Musk to focus on preventing takedowns, given Zuckerberg’s grappling experience. “My number-one priority for Musk would be to see how hard he could hit and how easy it would be for him to keep the fight standing up,” Mendez said. “Because Zuckerberg is so ahead of him with the jiu-jitsu, I would want Musk to think about ways to prevent takedowns. But you can't avoid a takedown just by trying to avoid it; you have to avoid it by striking. “Elon would need to learn how to strike and keep his distance, but he has to strike – otherwise it’s a matter of time before Mark would get him down. So, he has to learn defensive, distance striking, because he doesn’t want to go to the ground with Mark. That’s the first thing I’d want to see. “You’ve also got to put him in bad positions on the ground. You can’t just practise stand-up, because if you just do stand-up, you're being an idiot. You might trip, and then you are on the ground; he needs to be prepared for the ground. I’d prepare him for everywhere, but the main objective would be to learn to strike. He is bigger, so he could utilise his size.” UFC president Dana White has insisted that Zuckerberg, 39, and Musk, 52, are ‘dead serious’ about a fight. Musk also seems to have agreed to train under UFC legend Georges St-Pierre, who offered to coach the Twitter and Tesla boss. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Elon Musk picks UFC legend to train him for Mark Zuckerberg fight Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg’s battle of the billionaires is an ego trip worth taking Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg ‘dead serious’ about cage fight, says UFC boss Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg ‘dead serious’ about cage fight, says UFC boss Strickland vs Magomedov and full UFC Fight Night card this weekend What time does Strickland vs Magomedov start in UK and US this weekend?