Sport

John Higgins hits 1,000th century in English Open defeat to Mark Allen

Published

2 hours ago

September 19, 2024

John Higgins hits 1,000th century in English Open defeat to Mark Allen

John Higgins became the second player to hit 1,000 centuries on his way to a narrow 4-3 last-16 defeat to Mark Allen in the English Open.

Ronnie O’Sullivan reached the landmark in 2019, with Higgins back on 745 three-figure breaks at the time.

But scores of 108 and 109 saw the 49-year-old draw level at 3-3 before Allen took a long and tense final frame in Brentwood.

Four-time world champion Higgins has hit 13 maximum 147 breaks in his career, again only second to O’Sullivan. His first century came in the 1992-93 season, with his most prolific campaign coming in 2021-22 when he hit 58., external

Reigning English champion Judd Trump moved to 998 centuries during his 4-2 win over Fan Zhengyi. Trump will now play another Chinese player Wu Yize in the quarter-finals.

Allen faces Chris Wakelin or Pang Junxu and Mark Selby will play India’s Ishpreet Singh Chadha, the first Indian to reach the quarter-finals of a ranking event in 11 years.

He only joined the tour at the start of last season after moving to snooker from being a professional gamer playing Counterstrike Global Offensive., external

Neil Robertson will play either Barry Hawkins or Kyren Wilson in the final quarter-final.

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Football

Boniface's amazing trick pass sets up Leverkusen goal

Published

13 mins ago

September 20, 2024

NewsAdmin

Boniface's amazing trick pass sets up Leverkusen goal

Victor Boniface produces a brilliant trick pass before Alejandro Grimaldo scores Bayer Leverkusen’s second goal against Feyenoord.

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Sport

Champions League highlights: Bayer Leverkusen thrash Feyenoord in Rotterdam

Published

17 mins ago

September 20, 2024

NewsAdmin

Champions League highlights: Bayer Leverkusen thrash Feyenoord in Rotterdam

Watch highlights as Florian Wirtz inspires Bayer Leverkusen to a comfortable 4-0 win in their opening Champions League match against Feyenoord at the Stadion Feijenoord.

Watch highlights of every Uefa Champions League game on iPlayer

Available to UK users only.

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MMA

UFC could sign these 5 fighters with XXXX wins

Published

18 mins ago

September 20, 2024

NewsAdmin

UFC could sign these 5 fighters with XXXX wins

Record: 11-2
Age: 30
Height: 5’8″
Weight: Lightweight
Birthplace: Canada
Next fight: Sept. 6 def. David Briones (4-6) via unanimous decision at BFL 81 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (UFC Fight Pass)

The skinny: Jamie Siraj needed an outlet away from a “rough” home life. That’s when he joined Revolution Martial Arts. Former UFC fighter Kajan Johnson, who served as one of the head coaches. Siraj had his first fight at age 15 and was immediately hooked. After a 7-2 amateur career, Siraj turned pro in 2014. Since a 3-2 start, Siraj hasn’t lost. In 2019, Siraj was on the doorstep for a UFC call, aligned for Dana White’s Contender Series. However, Siraj fell ill and doctors didn’t know why. After a long, grueling period of his body failing, Siraj was diagnosed with hyper IGE Syndrome, an immunodeficiency disorder. It rendered him largely unable to function, septic, and near death. Through treatment, Siraj is now back to a largely normal life. In June 2023, for the first time in four years, Siraj fought and won for Battlefield Fight League. He was offered a spot on “The Ultimate Fighter 32,” but was one of the final cuts from the roster – a move that surprised him, considering he flew all the way out to Las Vegas. In May, he finished then-8-1 Tariel Abbasov by submission. In September, he defeated David Briones by unanimous decision.

In his own words: “I think this fight was 10 days notice or something like that. I was actually joking, but it was kind of how I felt. I was like, ‘Well, I’m not doing anything else that weekend, so I might as well. I have been training.’ After my last fight, I was just a little mentally burnt out from not getting a call to the Contender Series. I was just like, ‘Man, am I ever going to get in the UFC? Holy f*ck this just feels like I have to physically kill someone in a ring for them want to sign me.’ … Then, I took the fight on short notice, just for the f*ck of it. Thank God it all worked out and paid off, but it wasn’t my favorite performance of my career.

“… There’s no 145 fights on the card. But I’ve been working slowly on getting back down to 135, so if that way there is a short-notice pullout, I can jump in at 135. Unfortunately, there’s no fights at my division. But yeah, if that’s my opportunity to jump in at 135, then that’s kind of where my mindset is at being able to jump in and make weight at 135. I know there are quite a few 135ers on the card. A lot of them are kind of entry level guys, guys you’d be getting on your first fight or two in the UFC. I kind of have my eye on everyone that’s at 135 from top to bottom. There’s a lot of good 135 matchups. Physically, when I was at 135, I just felt so much stronger and so much faster and bigger than everyone. So if I can make that division again and make weight, yeah I feel like I’d be such a problem at 135, too.”

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Sport

Griezmann's 'sensational finish' for Atletico

Published

38 mins ago

September 20, 2024

NewsAdmin

Griezmann's 'sensational finish' for Atletico

Watch as Antoine Griezmann’s “sensational finish” sees Atletico Madrid equalise against RB Leipzig during their opening match in the Champions League.

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MMA

UFC fighter Conor McGregor announces retirement

Published

39 mins ago

September 20, 2024

NewsAdmin

UFC fighter Conor McGregor announces retirement

He busted the nose of Cerrone in the fight’s first skirmish before finishing him in a first-round TKO.

McGregor had not won since November 2016 when he stopped Eddie Alvarez, the lightweight, to become the first fighter in UFC history to hold two championship belts at the same time.

McGregor then fought his only boxing match with Floyd Mayweather in 2017 before losing a one-sided UFC bout to lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018.

UFC President Dana White has already said McGregor is next in line for a title shot at the winner of lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov’s bout with Justin Gaethje this summer.

The UFC’s schedule is in upheaval due to the coronavirus pandemic, but McGregor was expected to get his title shot later this year, and he recently had been talking to White about taking another fight even earlier. Earlier this week, McGregor posted photos and videos of himself training for fights.

White was still willing to take McGregor’s retirement announcement at face value – at least publicly – when he learned about it at his news conference following UFC 250 in Las Vegas.

“If Conor McGregor feels he wants to retire, you know my feelings about retirement,” White said.

“You should absolutely do it. And I love Conor.

“There’s a handful of people that have made this really fun for me, and he’s one of them.”

Retirements are a time-honoured device for gathering attention and increased bargaining power in combat sports. From Muhammad Ali and Floyd Mayweather to Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell, countless champions of boxing and MMA have gone back on their solemn announcements whenever need or ego brought them back to the sport.

The 31-year-old retires with a 22-4 record.

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