MMA
Reinier de Ridder debuts against Gerald Meerschaert at UFC event on Nov. 9
Former ONE two-division champion Reinier de Ridder didn’t wait long to book his octagon debut as he clashes with Gerald Meerschaert in a battle of submission specialists at the UFC Fight Night card scheduled on Nov. 9 with the event taking place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas.
Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Wednesday following an initial report from Eurosport.
The fight booking comes following news that de Ridder signed with the UFC after spending the past five years competing in ONE Championships. During his time with the Singapore based promotion, de Ridder claimed both the light heavyweight and middleweight titles before actually losing both belts to current ONE three-division champion Anatoly Malykhin.
Following the conclusion of his contract with ONE, de Ridder picked up a quick TKO win in UAE Warriors before signing with the UFC.
With 11 of his 17 wins coming by submission, de Ridder is best known for his ground game and he’ll test that against Meerschaert, who holds the record for the most submission wins in UFC history with 11.
Meerschaert comes into the fight off two straight wins — both by submission — including his latest victory against Edmen Shahbazyan back in August, which earned him a Performance of the Night bonus.
The fight between de Ridder and Meerschaert joins a growing lineup on Nov. 9 with a main event still to be determined.
Mike Heck contributed to this report.
Football
Wales striker Kieffer Moore says Iceland opening shows they are on track
Wales striker Kieffer Moore believes the first half against Iceland on Friday showed everything they are trying to achieve under new manager Craig Bellamy.
Goals from Brennan Johnson and Harry Wilson capped a dominant opening period for Wales in the Nations League game in Reykjavik.
The second half was in stark contrast, as Wales crumbled to allow the hosts to come back to make it 2-2 and were perhaps fortunate to escape with a draw after Iceland hit the post late on.
“First half it showed what we’re about and what we’re working on. Everything came off and that was our identity – that’s how we should play,” said Moore, who led the line in Reykjavik.
“Second half we just lost a little bit of it. Iceland are no mugs. They’re a good team and when you give a team like that a foothold in the game they can take advantage, which is obviously what they did.
“But a point away from home is still a good result and we remain unbeaten.”
MMA
UFC Vegas 98 Results: Royval vs. Taira
MMA Fighting has UFC Vegas 98 results for the Royval vs. Taira fight card, a live blog for the main event, and more from UFC APEX in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
In the main event, recent title challenger Brandon Royval hopes to hold on to his spot in the contender line when he fights the undefeated Tatsuro Taira. “Raw Dawg” bounced back from a disappointing loss to flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja with a narrow split decision win over two-time champion Brandon Moreno this past February.
Taira, who doesn’t turn 25 until January, has taken the UFC flyweight division by storm, winning his first six fights for the promotion to improve his overall record to 16-0. He scored the biggest win of his career in his most recent fight, defeating one-time title challenger Alex Perez when an injury ended Perez’s night in Round 2.
Royval is currently tied for the No. 2 spot at flyweight in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, with Taira looking to climb up from No. 8.
In the penultimate bout of the evening, Brad Tavares makes his UFC middleweight record 25th appearance when he takes on “The Iron Turtle” Jun Yong Park.
Check out UFC Vegas 98 results below.
Main Card (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira
Brad Tavares vs. Jun Yong Park
Chidi Njokuani vs. Jared Gooden
Daniel Rodriguez vs. Alex Morono
Preliminary Card (4 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
CJ Vergara vs. Ramazan Temirov
Jonathan Pearce vs. Pat Sabatini
Football
Finland v England: Three Lions visit country where Brits are thriving
It is obvious why Finland’s most famous players – such as Sami Hyypia, Jari Litmanen and Teemu Pukki – aspired to play in a league as credible as the Premier League.
But what about British involvement in Finland – a nation that had not qualified for a major tournament until Euro 2020 – where ice hockey is typically seen as the biggest sport?
Twelve British players compares to none in the top leagues of Norway and Sweden, with eight each in France and Germany, and four in Spain.
IFK Mariehamn took a chance on Jayden Reid – who left Portsmouth last season after two years without making an appearance due to injury – while fellow winger Imani Lanquedoc is on loan at FC Haka from Fulham.
Luke Plange – who Crystal Palace signed for £1 million from a Derby County side battling relegation from the Championship under Wayne Rooney – has since played Champions League qualifying matches for HJK Helsinki.
HJK made a profit from selling last season’s Veikkausliiga top scorer, Bojan Radulovic, to the Championship, so might the club see an opportunity for more business later down the line?
“I think the clubs here assume that if English professionals are willing to come over, they are going to be decent quality,” said Cicale.
“Finnish football can be a very good platform for exhibiting your abilities – and perhaps if things haven’t gone in such a linear fashion throughout your career – it’s a good opportunity here to show what level you’re still at.”
Grieve’s view is that the Finnish league is a secure working environment for coaches – and it attracts a different type of player.
“It is not 100 mph like an EFL game, the technical level here is higher,” he explained.
“It is way more aggressive and more contact and a ‘free for all’ in Scotland or the lower leagues in England – it’s a different sport in all honesty.
“People who want to try and develop their career and develop a style of play might be more inclined to go somewhere like Finland.”
But Coffey has seen a chance to thrive as an unusual type of footballer in the Veikkausliiga.
“I’ve been kicked and pulled around by men in England, whereas in Sweden and Finland, the lads that I’m playing against are quite young,” he said.
“Technically, they’re very good players, but I feel like I’ve got a bit of an edge in terms of physicality and aggression.
“There are many good players in England, but I just don’t think a lot of them want to make the step or they’re quite comfortable living in England and maybe working and playing part-time,” he added.
MMA
BKFC Spain Results: Tenaglia vs. Soto
MMA Fighting has BKFC Spain results for the Tenaglia vs. Soto fight card and more from Marbella Arena in Marbella, Spain.
In the main event, Franco Tenaglia squares off against Tony Soto for the vacant BKFC lightweight title.
Austin Trout defends his BKFC welterweight title against Ricardo Franco, and David Mundell puts his BKFC middleweight title up against Danny Christie on the main card as well.
MMA media personalities Oscar Stephens-Willis and Ben Davis also clash on the main card.
Check out the BKFC Spain results below.
Main Card (DAZN at 1 p.m. ET)
Franco Tenaglia vs. Tony Soto
Austin Trout vs. Ricardo Franco
David Mundell vs. Danny Christie
Dan Champman vs. Mike Jurik
Felipe da Silva Maia vs. James Lilley
Hannah Rankin vs. Deborah Mellhorn
Oscar Stephens-Willis vs. Ben Davis
Yunus Batan vs. Maxine Bellamy
Prelims
Nico Gaffie vs. Radek Stadler
Arbi Chakaev vs. Jose Daniel
Fran Suarez vs. David Mora
Football
Iceland 2-2 Wales: Manager Craig Bellamy ‘pleased’ with performance
The draw in Iceland means Bellamy is the first Wales manager to remain unbeaten after his first three competitive matches.
His opening draw with Turkey and 2-1 win in Montenegro last month had rejuvenated Wales, with a progressive new approach exciting fans, players and pundits alike after the disappointment of missing out on Euro 2024.
Wales looked to be heading for a second successive victory and top spot in Group B4 after an impressive first half in Reykjavik, but collapsed after the break.
Iceland wasted several chances before scoring their two goals and had further opportunities to take all three points.
Wales, by contrast, were non-existent as an attacking force in the second half and will hope to rediscover their first-half verve when they face Montenegro in Cardiff on Monday.
“I’m a big fan of Iceland so I knew it was going to be a difficult game,” said Bellamy. “Of course we were 2-0 up by half-time but my words were ‘this is going to be a long half’.
“A very good manager [Iceland boss Age Hareide], we knew being 2-0 down they were going to throw more men at the press because they had to.
“How were we going to find the solutions? Because the solutions were there but it’s being able to find them at the time.
“There’s a lot to benefit us, especially the second half. It allows us to coach more, it builds a library in the players’ heads: ‘Remember this situation, remember when we found this period difficult’. They can memorise it. This is our third game together.
“In the long run, I’m really happy. And this is not me trying to sugar-coat drawing after being 2-0 up, it really isn’t. What I’m telling you now I told the players. This was really good.”
Wales will be without Tottenham Hotspur forward Brennan Johnson and Rennes midfielder Jordan James against Montenegro due to suspension after they picked up their second bookings of the campaign against Iceland.
Johnson, who has scored seven goals in seven games for club and country, was taken off at half-time after taking a knock during the first half.
“It was a precaution. He took a kick,” said Bellamy. “He did feel something from impact so we’ll get him checked out.”
Football
Sonia Bompastor: Chelsea boss says fighting to play football instilled strong personality
Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor believes her strong personality and will to succeed come from having to fight to play football when she was younger.
Bompastor, who was the first woman to win the Champions League as a player and manager with Lyon, said French attitudes and prejudice towards women playing the sport spurred her on.
“I wanted to fight against this idea that if you were a girl you couldn’t play football,” she told BBC Sport.
“After that I worked so hard but I enjoyed it so much. At around 18 I realised maybe I could have a good career in my life with football.
“Not a career thinking about winning money, more about enjoying and playing at a high level.”
The 44-year-old has gone on to have a glittering career, winning 11 major trophies during two spells at Lyon as a player before claiming three straight league titles and the 2021-22 Champions League trophy as manager.
Despite Emma Hayes’ success during her 12-year tenure at Chelsea, which yielded 13 major titles, Bompastor’s transition at the club has appeared seamless.
The Blues have won each of their opening two Women’s Super League matches, while they claimed a 3-2 win over Real Madrid in their first Champions League group-stage game on Tuesday.
However, they face a tough test against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium in the league on Saturday, in a game which is live on BBC One from 13:15 BST.
“Results have been good but this game will be different. It’s a derby. You have to be prepared,” said Bompastor, who has been impressed with the competitiveness of the WSL.
“The competition between the clubs is so big, so strong. I think something was missing in France, even if France has clubs competing at the highest level if you take Lyon and PSG.
“Here, every weekend you don’t take anything for granted and you have to fight to win the games so this is really good.”
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