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  • Impa Kasanganay earns top seed after victory in PFL light heavyweight playoffs


Impa Kasanganay earns top seed after victory in PFL light heavyweight playoffs

Impa Kasanganay on his way to victory against Jakob Nedoh at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. (PFL)
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Updated 22 June 2024
Arab News
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Impa Kasanganay earns top seed after victory in PFL light heavyweight playoffs

  • Kasanganay will face Josh Silveira in the 2024 PFL light heavyweight semifinals
  • The 2024 PFL Global Season action continues Friday, June 28 from Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Updated 22 June 2024
Arab News

SALT LAKE CITY: Impa Kasanganay emerged victorious on Friday night as the 2024 PFL Global Season resumed from the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The 12-fight Professional Fighters League event card featured the lightweight and light heavyweight divisions.

The evening’s co-main event featured 2023 PFL light heavyweight champion Kasanganay squaring off with Jakob Nedoh. The two battled back and forth until Kasanganay landed a flurry of devastating punches leading to a doctor’s stoppage after the second round. Kasanganay continues his million-dollar journey with a berth in the 2024 PFL Global Season playoffs.

In the night’s other main event, Clay Collard and Mads Burnell went the three-round distance. Burnell took control of the action with a superior ground game, nullifying Collard’s striking advantage. Burnell earned a unanimous decision, playing the spoiler in Collard’s hometown return.

Former lightweight champion Patricky Pitbull faced Bruno Miranda in a lightweight global season bout with Miranda defeating Pitbull by split decision. Unfortunately for both fighters, Miranda and Pitbull were eliminated from the PFL playoffs due to points.

The 2022 PFL light heavyweight champion Rob Wilkinson met 2023 runner-up Josh Silveira in Global Season action. The two battled for three rounds, showcasing their technical acumen. In the end, it was Wilkinson taking the razor-thin, split-decision victory. Both competitors clinched 2024 PFL playoffs berths.

Turkmenistan’s Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov squared off with Cameroon’s Simon Biyong in a light heavyweight PFL Global Season matchup. After three intense rounds, Yagshimuradov was judged as the superior fighter, winning by unanimous decision. As a result, Yagshimuradov clinched a spot in the 2024 PFL playoffs.

“The Professional Fighters League’s debut in Salt Lake City was an unforgettable event featuring the best athletes in MMA as they continued their million-dollar journey,” said PFL CEO Peter Murray. “The PFL season format makes every fight a must-win, giving us an unparalleled connection to the fans while providing unrivaled action with the highest stakes in the sport.”

“Salt Lake City saw eight athletes qualify for the 2024 PFL Global Season playoffs in a night of non-stop PFL action,” said Ray Sefo, president of fighter operations at PFL. “We look forward to next week’s 2024 PFL regular season finale in Sioux Falls.”

Antonio Carlos Jr. and Alex Polizzi met in Global Season light heavyweight action. Polizzi earned a hard-fought unanimous decision. The decision ended both fighters’ hopes of moving on to the 2024 PFL playoffs.

Brent Primus defeated Solomon Renfro by submission in the third round in a lightweight PFL Global Season matchup. Primus clinched a 2024 PFL playoff berth with the victory.

Sadibou Sy faced off against Andrew Sanchez in a light heavyweight Global Season bout. In an action-packed fight, both men traded strikes until Sy ended the affair in the third round by TKO.

In a lightweight Global Season matchup, it was win-or-go-home time for Gadzhi Rabadanov and Elvin Espinoza. The fight went the distance, with both fighters trading shots for three rounds. In the end it was Rabadanov who left the PFL smartcage victorious after a unanimous decision, earning a spot in the 2024 PFL playoffs.

In lightweight PFL Global Season action, Adam Piccolotti defeated Michael Dufort by split decision in a hard-fought matchup. The victory was not enough to put Piccolotti into the postseason, Dufort however, did eventually earn his first trip to the PFL playoffs.

In an exciting PFL Global Season lightweight alternate bout, Sergio Cossio defeated Anthony Romero by unanimous decision in his PFL debut. The win extends former lightweight champion Cossio’s winning streak to nine.

The first fight of the night, a featherweight showcase bout between undefeated fighters Brahyan Zurcher and Julian Ruiz, resulted in a second-round KO by Zurcher. Zurcher improves to 9-0 as a pro with seven stoppage wins.

The 2024 PFL Global Season continues on Friday, June 28 from Sioux Falls, South Dakota with featherweight and welterweight action.

Topics: UFC MMA PFL

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Mbappe misses penalty as Liverpool exact revenge on Real Madrid

Updated 28 November 2024
AFP
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Mbappe misses penalty as Liverpool exact revenge on Real Madrid

Updated 28 November 2024
AFP

LIVERPOOL: Kylian Mbappe saw a penalty saved as Liverpool beat Real Madrid 2-0 on Wednesday to inflict a third Champions League defeat in five matches on the holders.
Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo scored the goals in the second half as the Reds maintained their perfect record to return to the top of the table.
Mohamed Salah also fired wide from the spot, but it mattered little as Liverpool secured a 17th win in Arne Slot’s first 19 games in charge.
Slot has already achieved what Jurgen Klopp could not as Liverpool boss by slaying the Spanish giants.
Liverpool had a score to settle with Madrid, who were unbeaten in eight previous meetings between the sides, including Champions League finals against Klopp’s men in 2018 and 2022.
Defeat sends Carlo Ancelotti’s side tumbling down to 24th in the table.
Only the top 24 progress to the knockout stage with the top eight advancing directly to the last 16.
Liverpool are well on course to do just that and the confidence coursing through a side also eight points clear at the top of the Premier League was in evidence throughout in front of a highly-charged Anfield crowd.
Madrid were hamstrung by a lengthy injury list and made the trip to England without Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, Aurelien Tchouameni and David Alaba.
Young center-back Raul Asencio has been pressed into action by those absences and he made a vital goal-line clearance on four minutes.
Darwin Nunez was sent in behind the Madrid defense by Salah and after his shot produced a fine save from Thibaut Courtois, Asencio reacted smartly to prevent the rebound bouncing off him and into his own net.
Courtois was Liverpool’s scourge with a man-of-the-match performance in the final two years ago as Madrid prevailed 1-0 in Paris.
The Belgian was at his best again as he blocked another big Nunez chance from point-blank range as the Liverpool pressure built without reward before the break.
Courtois was in sparkling form again at the start of the second period to parry Conor Bradley’s downward header.
But Liverpool were not to be denied as Bradley was this time the provider for Mac Allister, who manufactured the space for a shot into the far corner on 52 minutes.
The visitors were relying on Mbappe for a moment of magic in the absence of Vinicius, but the Frenchman was well-marshalled by his international team-mate Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk.
His chance to silence his critics arrived on the hour mark when Andy Robertson was harshly adjudged to have tripped Lucas Vazquez inside the area.
Caoimhin Kelleher has excelled in the absence of the injured Alisson Becker and leapt to his left to save Mbappe’s spot-kick.
Salah sparked a furor ahead of the game by declaring his disappointment with Liverpool’s failure to offer him a contract renewal.
The Egyptian has been in sparkling form this season and his pace and trickery fooled Ferland Mendy into a mistimed challenge.
Salah, though, gave Madrid a lifeline by firing his penalty off the outside of the post.
Liverpool had to wait just six more minutes for the cushion of a second goal as substitute Gakpo rose highest from a corner to power a header past Courtois.

Topics: UEFA Champions League Liverpool Real Madird

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Amorim eyes victory in first Man Utd home game to kickstart new era

Updated 27 November 2024
AFP
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Amorim eyes victory in first Man Utd home game to kickstart new era

  • The former Sporting Lisbon boss admitted after the draw at the weekend that United would “suffer for a long time” as he puts his stamp on the club
Updated 27 November 2024
AFP

LONDON: Ruben Amorim said struggling Manchester United need a win to kickstart his Old Trafford revolution as he prepares for a “special” first home match against Bodo/Glimt on Thursday.
United had a disappointing 1-1 draw at Ipswich on Sunday in Amorim’s first game in charge since replacing the sacked Erik ten Hag, leaving them 12th in the Premier League table.
On Thursday they face Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League after one win and three draws in their opening four matches in the competition.
“It is said to me that it will be a special time,” Amorim told his pre-match press conference on Wednesday. “I just want to win the game, just to give that happiness to the supporters.
“Before the match it will be like a new sensation but after the whistle it will be one more game and we want to win that match.”
Amorim, who changed United’s formation against Ipswich, said the club needed to feel “momentum.”
“It’s important when you are putting an idea,” he said. “If you win it’s a big help.”
The former Sporting Lisbon boss admitted after the draw at the weekend that United would “suffer for a long time” as he puts his stamp on the club.
And on Wednesday he admitted he did not know how long it would take players to get used to his methods, explaining it was difficult to draw parallels with his previous experiences.
“You can say that this is a different league so it’s harder than in Portugal,” he said. “But I also have more experienced players and all these guys play for national teams.
“They just need to increase their confidence and at the moment I don’t know how to answer that question. I don’t know how long.
“But I will know that with a lot of games without time to train it will be tough for me but it will be tougher for them because they are on the pitch and they will suffer a little bit.
“I will try to help and we have to manage to win some games and try to increase that idea in the team.”
Amorim said United had firepower in their ranks despite their lack of goals this season and that he would try to help out-of-form Marcus Rashford.
“We will try to find the right solution for him, as for the other players,” he said.
“He has to be Marcus, first of all, to try to return to that moment. Then he will have the help of all the staff, all the club and all the fans because he’s a Manchester United boy. But he has to be the first one to really want it.”

Topics: Ruben Amorim Man United

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Israeli soccer team prepares for closed-door match in Hungary after attacks on fans in Amsterdam

Updated 27 November 2024
AP
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Israeli soccer team prepares for closed-door match in Hungary after attacks on fans in Amsterdam

  • The team will face off Thursday against Turkiye’s Besiktas in an Europa League match that was relocated to Hungary
  • Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach Zarko Lazetic told a news conference on Wednesday that his team was focused on its game, regardless of what tensions may exist elsewhere
Updated 27 November 2024
AP

DEBRECEN, Hungary: Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer team returned to Europe on Wednesday for the first time since its fans were assaulted in the Netherlands earlier this month in attacks that were condemned as antisemitic by authorities in Israel and across Europe.
The team will face off Thursday against Turkiye’s Besiktas in an Europa League match that was relocated to Hungary. The contest at Nagyerdei Stadium in the city of Debrecen will be played without fans due to security concerns following the violence in Amsterdam on Nov. 7 that resulted in five people being treated in hospitals and dozens of detentions.
Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach Zarko Lazetic told a news conference on Wednesday that his team was focused on its game, regardless of what tensions may exist elsewhere.
“It’s not a question for me what happened outside of the stadium. We saw some videos and everything, but we really try to focus on football,” he said. “We’ll see tomorrow what is the effect.”
The violence in Amsterdam came after local authorities banned pro-Palestinian demonstrators from gathering outside the stadium where Maccabi was playing Dutch team Ajax.
A large crowd of Israeli fans chanted anti-Arab slogans on their way to the match, video showed. Afterward, youths on scooters and on foot crisscrossed the city in search of Israeli fans, punching and kicking them, according to Amsterdam’s mayor.
The city’s police commander said the incidents had “an antisemitic character.”
Maccabi press officer Ofer Ronen-Abels said Wednesday the events in Amsterdam “had nothing to do with football.”
Before the assaults, Besiktas had requested its home game against Maccabi, originally scheduled for Istanbul, to be moved to “neutral ground” over security concerns.
The club later said on social media that Hungary was the only country willing to host the match and that Hungarian authorities requested it be played behind closed doors.
Hungary has hosted several home games for Israel’s national team for security reasons since the war in Gaza began.
Maccabi held its final practice session at the Kiryat Shalom training complex in Tel Aviv on Wednesday before departing for Hungary, the team said on its website.

Topics: Europa League Maccabi Tel Aviv Netherlands

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Jeddah set for Fanatec GT World Challenge race

Updated 27 November 2024
SALEH FAREED
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Jeddah set for Fanatec GT World Challenge race

  • Anticipated SAL Jeddah Race, which will be held for the first time in the Kingdom on Nov. 29-30, will feature two major motorsport races and cover 1,000 km
  • Iconic manufacturers taking part include Porsche, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes AMG, BMW M Sport, Audi Sport and Ford
Updated 27 November 2024
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JEDDAH: Jeddah is all set for the final round of the 2024 Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe on Friday when a 49-car field tackles a six-hour Endurance Cup race at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

The anticipated SAL Jeddah Race, which will be held for the first time in the Kingdom on Nov. 29-30, will feature two major motorsport races and cover 1,000 km, making it the longest circuit race in Saudi history.

Iconic manufacturers taking part include Porsche, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes AMG, BMW M Sport, Audi Sport and Ford.

The GT4 European Series, supported by RAFA Racing Club, will feature four competitive categories, promising an exciting spectacle for motorsport enthusiasts in Saudi Arabia:

Pro: A showcase for the world’s finest drivers and teams vying for top honors.

Gold: Designed to cultivate and elevate emerging driving talents.

Silver: A competitive platform featuring a mix of amateur and semi-professional drivers.

Bronze: A unique category combining experienced professionals with promising young drivers, offering a valuable learning experience.

Saudi Logistics Services, the official title sponsor for the Jeddah GT Race 2024, announced on Monday the arrival of more than 70 cars from the ports of Barcelona and Valencia in Spain to the port of Jeddah.

The SAL Jeddah GT Race is an endurance racing event that encourages drivers to push their maximum limits and test their stamina, strategy and reliability throughout the intense competition.

The event’s fan zone includes live entertainment and fun activities for families, as well as food festivals.

Topics: SAL Jeddah GT Race

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Messi’s son debuts at Argentina youth tournament as grandparents watch

Updated 27 November 2024
AP
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Messi’s son debuts at Argentina youth tournament as grandparents watch

  • The 12-year-old Messi played with the No. 10 jersey of an Inter Miami youth team
  • Thiago’s mother, Antonela Roccuzzo, and several members of his family, including grandparents Jorge Messi and Celia Cuccittini, were in the stands to watch him play
Updated 27 November 2024
AP

BUENOS AIRES: Thiago Messi, the eldest son of the Argentina star, has made his debut in the “Newell’s Cup” tournament in the countryside city of Rosario.

The 12-year-old Messi played with the No. 10 jersey of an Inter Miami youth team, which lost 1-0 on Monday to host Newell’s Old Boys in the traditional under-13 competition. The team also played Tuesday.

Lionel Messi took his first steps as a footballer in the Argentinian club in Rosario, 300 kilometers (186 miles) northwest of capital Buenos Aires.

Thiago’s mother, Antonela Roccuzzo, and several members of his family, including grandparents Jorge Messi and Celia Cuccittini, were in the stands to watch him play. Lionel Messi did not attend.

Thiago, who was substituted in the second half, played with his friend Benjamin Suarez, son of Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez, Messi’s teammate and close friend at Barcelona and now at Inter Miami.

Messi and Suarez are in Rosario after Inter Miami’s early elimination in the MLS playoffs. On Sunday, they watched a friendly game of Inter Miami’s U13 team against Union at the same sports complex.

The youth tournament in Argentina brings together eight teams from North and South America.

Topics: Lionel Messi Inter Miami

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