ABU DHABI – Shara Magomedov sees a path to a UFC title thanks to Michael Bisping.

Magomedov (14-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC), a rising UFC middleweight, has taken a lot of inspiration from Bisping, who won a UFC title while fighting with basically one eye. Magomedov, who also lives with vision impairment, has proof that such a thing can be done thanks to Bisping and hopes to follow his footsteps.

“When it comes to Bisping, yeah, he’s a motivation because he’s somebody who went down this path already,” Magomedov said at the UFC 308 media day on Wednesday. “He laid down the path, and he set an example for me. It’s much easier to follow somebody’s path as opposed to wander around in the dark. He’s a motivation for me and other people. He said anything is possible, not to let your hands down, and keep on going forward and keep on chasing your dream.”

Magomedov returns to the cage this Saturday in the opening bout of the UFC 308 pay-per-view – which goes down at Etihad Arena. Magomedov has trained and sparred with Petrosyan (9-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) in the past.

He feels comfortable fighting with one eye and in no way is concerned that Petrosyan, or any of his future opponents, will try to take advantage of his limited vision.

“I think it’s a little different because I have 19 fights in my career, and every opponent has tried to take advantage of that, and it didn’t go their way,”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.

For over half a century, controversy and debate surrounded a NASCAR Cup Series race at Bowman Gray Stadium on August 6, 1971.

It was one of six races that year featuring a mixed field with Cup cars and the smaller Grand American cars. Bobby Allison chose to drove a Grand American ’70 Ford Mustang that day and ended up beating all of the Cup stars, leading 138 of 200 laps with Richard ‘The King’ Petty a few seconds behind in second place.

While Allison went to Victory Lane and hoisted the trophy like any other week, the win was never actually recognized in the record books. In fact, no one was awarded the Cup win for that race despite it being an official part of the 1971 schedule. The fact that he wasn’t driving a Cup car in the mixed field meant that he wasn’t credited as a Cup Series winner.

Bobby Allison being recognized for 85 NASCAR Cup wins

Photo by: NASCAR Media

Advertisement

Allison has not been quiet on his views on the race,  having been adamant about having 85 Cup wins — not 84. It’s even more important since being granted that win would break a tie with another NASCAR Hall of Famer. Well, it’s finally happened. NASCAR has dug into the record books, grabbed some white out and made it right. At 86 years old, Allison takes sole possession of fourth on the all-time wins list after being tied with Darrell Waltrip since 1992.

Allison, who won the 1983 NASCAR Cup Series title, was also inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2011. This also comes at some interesting timing as Bowman Gray — the site of this controversial result — is returning to the Cup schedule in 2025. The historic short track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina will host ‘The Clash’ in 2025, which serves as the unofficial kick-off to the new season.

It will be the first Cup race at Bowman Gray since that controversial 1971 event where Allison didn’t get credit for a win that was rightfully his. As the newly crowned most recent Cup winner at Bowman Gray, he will surely be there next February when the green flag flies.

Updated All-Time Wins List

KYREN WILSON knew he was “off the rails” when he ended up in a stranger’s house following an all-night party.

The Warrior, 32, bottled up a lot of his emotions, positive and negative, when he won a maiden World Snooker title in May following a 18–14 final victory over Jak Jones.

3

3

Advertisement

3

Yet during the off-season, the dad-of-two let his hair down, attending more showbiz events, drinking more than he normally does and generally forgetting about snooker.

It was only when he sobered up in an unknown property after a late-night boozy session did he realise he needed to stop following a destructive path and knuckle down for this season.

Wilson told SunSport: “I was mostly enjoying a few late nights. I did not know when to rein it in and stop celebrating.

“I knew I had a very, very busy schedule coming up so I wanted to keep celebrating.

“You get that opportunity only once of being a first-time world champion – so I wanted to enjoy it as long as I could.

“I ended up at a few late-night parties. Drinking far too much.

“My wife Sophie turned to me and said: ‘It’s time to rein it in now. Stop searching for the high through alcohol – and instead get that high by winning again.’ “I’ve got my head back in the game now.

“At one point, I ended up at a house party until 7am and I didn’t even know the person (who owned it). I was there on my own.

“That was a bit of an eye-opening moment – you need to get your life in order.”

Wilson put down the pints and returned to the baize and within weeks, he was lifting silverware again.

In August, he pocketed £177,000 when he won the Xi’an Grand Prix in China, his first ranking tournament success of the new season.

At present, he is positioned second in the world behind Judd Trump and the race to finish top of the rankings will be one of the thrilling stories on the Road to the Crucible.

Wilson added: “I have had so many wonderful opportunities off the back of being world champion, parading the trophy at Chelsea.

“We went to Aston Martin at Silverstone. We were invited back to their headquarters and partied with them while watching England at the Euros, which was an amazing occasion.

“There were Aston Martins dotted around left, right and centre. I enjoyed myself in those situations.

“Stephen Hendry came and filmed at my house for his Cue Tips YouTube channel. I picked his brains and said: ‘What were you like after you’d won your first of seven world titles?’

“He’s a totally different sort of animal. He was like: ‘I was straight back to the practice table, I couldn’t wait for the next season and next event.’

“You know, I’m not quite that sort of animal. I’ve had a fantastic upbringing with a good social background, good friends that I see regularly.

“So, I just wanted to get around with those and celebrate for as long as I could.”

The rules of snooker

Advertisement

THE aim of snooker is to clear the table of all balls – and achieving it in an incredible 147 break is the ultimate goal.

The rectangular table features green baize, a baulk line and semi-circle, known as the D.

It has six pockets, four in each corner and two midway down both long sides.

There are 15 red balls which are arranged in a triangular shape.

There are also six colour balls, and the white cue ball.

Advertisement

Each colour sits on its own designated spot at the start of the game.

While red balls are worth one point when potted, the colours all have a different value.

In ascending order these are:

• Yellow – two points
• Green – three points
• Brown – four points
• Blue – five points
• Pink – six points
• Black – seven points

The first player will cue off and must hit at least one of the red balls in the triangle.

If they pot a red, they can then continue by potting a colour.

Advertisement

However, if no red is potted then their opponent will play the next shot – going for a red first.

Each player must first pot a red ball when it’s their turn to play. If nothing is pocketed it is the other player’s turn at the table.

After each red is potted they must then follow with a colour, then a red, then a colour, and so on.

Whilst there are still red balls on the table, the potted colour balls are returned to their designated spot.

Advertisement

Once all the red balls are pocketed, the player at the table must pot the colours in the order as outlined above.

If they miss then their opponent will have the opportunity to clear the table.

A 147 is a maximum break when all reds are potted by one player in one stint at the table.

In order to achieve 147, the player must pot all 15 reds with 15 blacks for 120 points.

Advertisement

They must then clear all the colours, concluding with the black for 27 points.

During play the rules state that the cue must only touch the white cue ball.

The cue ball also must hit the correct colour ball – reds or colours in order.

If it hits the incorrect colour then a foul is called.

Advertisement

If the cue ball fails to hit any ball or is pocketed it is also a foul.

The player’s turn at the table ends if they play a foul shot.

Players are also penalised if they touch any ball on the table with their person.

While Dana White may not be in support of Donald Cerrone returning to the UFC octagon Paige VanZant is the complete opposite.

Cerrone recently announced he’s ending his MMA retirement and hopes to get two more bouts in the UFC — to get his UFC/WEC total to 50 promotional appearances. VanZant has known Cerrone for well over a decade, and looking at the landscape, and options for potential opponents, VanZant says she’ll be tuning in for any fight “Cowboy” is involved in.”

“Oh, absolutely, he’s ‘Cowboy,’” VanZant told MMA Fighting. “One, he will forever be a draw, be a trailblazer, one of the greatest of all-time. I think there’s some incredible matchups for him in the UFC. As a fan of his, and knowing him as a person, it’s extremely exciting.”

VanZant is preparing to make her second appearance for Power Slap Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi during UFC 308 fight week. “12 Gauge” faces Chelsea Dodson at the event as she looks to improve her Slap record to 2-0 following a unanimous decision win in her debut in June.

If the last name Dodson seems familiar, that’s because it is, as she is the wife of multi-time UFC title challenger, and current BKFC flyweight champion John Dodson. Coincidentally enough, VanZant was always a fan of Dodson in the cage and ring, and their paths have crossed in a friendly way many times — including when they first met visiting Cerrone.

While VanZant has had many great interactions with Dodson, she isn’t sure if she’s met his wife prior to their Power Slap bout.

“No, I don’t think so,” VanZant said. “I was such a fan of John’s in the UFC. I went and trained at Donald Cerrone’s house, on his ranch, when I was 18 years old, and I was fortunate enough to train at [Jackson-Wink], and [John] was there. He couldn’t have been more friendly and nice. I think I just talked to him in passing.

“Of course, being in the UFC world, and now the BKFC world, it’s just a cool experience to see these worlds colliding.”