One of the most hilarious viral moments over the weekend was Caitlin Clark’s reaction to Reggie Miller comparing her to Payton Pritchard. Some people thought that it was disrespectful coming from an Indiana legend, while others just can’t stop teasing Clark on social media.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, it seemed like Clark was feeding into her memeable reaction to the comparison. She retweeted a post by the NBA showing Pritchard’s midrange basket against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night. She also dropped a few smirking emojis just for fun.
“😏😏😏,” Clark tweeted.
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While Payton Pritchard is not a bad comparison since he can shoot the basketball, Caitlin Clark has usually been compared to Steph Curry. Clark has range, though her court vision is an underrated part of her game. She led the WNBA in assists as a rookie.
Clark failed to show off her improvement in her second season in the league due to injuries. She was limited to just 13 games after suffering multiple muscle-related injuries, mainly to her hamstring and groin. She also had a sprained ankle while recovering from a groin injury that kept her from returning for the playoffs.
The Indiana Fever went to the WNBA semifinals without her, pushing the eventual champions Las Vegas Aces, to five games. Even Game 5 was a nailbiter, with the Aces needing overtime to dispatch an injury-plagued Fever squad.
Clark returned to the court last December after being invited by Team USA to participate in a mini-camp as part of their preparation for this year’s World Cup.
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Sophie Cunningham reacts to Caitlin Clark’s reaction to Reggie Miller’s comparison
Caitlin Clark was a guest analyst on NBC Sports’ “Sunday Night Basketball” over the weekend. Clark helped cover the LA Lakers vs. New York Knicks matchup, alongside NBA legends such as Reggie Miller, Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady.
Speaking on the “Show Me Something” podcast, Sophie Cunningham shared her honest reaction to Caitlin Clark’s analyst debut, as well as Miller’s comp.
“First of all, I think she did a really good job,” Cunningham said, according to Sports Illustrated. “She was a natural up there. … I mean, she’s a dweeb. She knows the game, so that’s no shock.”
Cunningham added that Miller didn’t compare Clark to Payton Pritchard as a sign of disrespect. It was a genuine take from the Indiana Pacers legend. Miller even called Clark the best shooter in Indiana history, over himself and Tyrese Haliburton.
The drop-off in Belfast is an issue when it comes to Antrim’s future.
In December 2024, the county launched a new five-year strategic plan, addressing a range of issues including player retention and development.
At present, there are 51 clubs in Antrim, comprising of approximately 20,000 members of which 15,000 are players, but when it’s considered the population of west Belfast alone is over 100,000, there is potential for much more.
Since St Gall’s record-breaking run of of eight county titles in a row ended in 2014, the Padraig MacNamee Cup has been in Belfast just once when Cunningham’s Lamh Dhearg triumphed in 2017.
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“There is a question of participation levels, but the standard of underage football in Belfast is quite poor and there’s no point dressing it up,” Cunningham insists.
“Aside from St Brigid’s and St Paul’s who can compete at U16 and minor level because of the numbers they have, the rest – and I include my own club – are scrapping to get teams out on the pitch.”
No school from within the county plays in the Ulster Colleges MacRory Cup and exposure to top-level competition at a young age is one area Cunningham, a teacher at St Mary’s CBGS, feels is vital to raising standards which will feed into county teams.
“There is no school competing at colleges’ ‘A’ football apart from St Louis [Ballymena] in Year Nine.
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“If the Gaelfast, Belfast city combined team is harnessed correctly over a number of years, there is something in that, but it requires buy-in.
“They’ve piloted it this year with Year Nine and Year 12, but does that continue into Year 10 next year? It needs to be continued with the same panel or else by the time they get to Year 12, you’re back to square one as it takes time for a squad to gel.
“It needs to be piloted from Year Eight right through to Year 14 to see how it goes.”
Additionally, it said the applications, “through a wholly-owned and financed government club”, were part of an “aim of facilitating transfers of allegiance and enabling those athletes to represent Turkey at future international competitions, including the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games”.
It added: “Given the common features across the applications, the panel assessed them together and determined that such an approach is inconsistent with the core principles of the regulations.
“As a result of the decisions, the athletes are not eligible to represent Turkey in national representative competitions or other relevant international events.”
The other athletes were Catherine Relin Amanang’ole, Brian Kibor, Ronald Kwemoi and Nelvin Jepkemboi from Kenya, Jamaica’s Rajindra Campbell, Jaydon Hibbert and Wayne Pinnock plus Nigeria’s Favour Ofili and Russian Sophia Yakushina.
The Philadelphia Phillies are 8-10 to begin the 2026 season. While it’s still early, things could very easily turn around for the better come the postseason. But there are plenty of concerns with this team.
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Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott haven’t been good enough, while Adolis Garcia and Justin Crawford haven’t been consistent either. Add in Jesus Luzardo’s struggles, and things are looking very worrisome from a player standpoint.
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But, arguably more concerning than anything is the Phillies’ Citizens Bank Park problem. As Luke Arcaini of Crossing Broad shared on Twitter/x, the Phillies’ struggles are contextualized with their home losses last season.
Phillies have some major home-field advantage issues
“The Phillies lost a series just three times at Citizens Bank Park last year,” Arcaini notes. “They have now lost three at home this year. It’s April.”
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Normally, teams will have a better record while playing at home. It’s not a surprise, as the home crowd can back the team, and hitting second does give an advantage.
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But the Phillies have already lost three series at home this season. They lost the opening series of the year against the Texas Rangers 1-2, then lost two of three to the Arizona Diamondbacks, and have now lost two of three to the Chicago Cubs.
Citizens Bank Park hasn’t treated the Phillies well, as they’re 5-7 at home versus 3-3 on the road. This is a massive issue, and one that the Phillies need to correct going forward.
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If they can’t win a series at home, it’s going to be a very long season in Philadelphia. They have a -25 run differential this season, and are two games under .500 on the year through 18 games, 3.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves atop the NL East.
The Phillies’ home-field advantage doesn’t seem to exist this season, which will be a massive issue for this team if they can’t figure this out.
NEW DELHI: Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi has made a bold prediction about young cricketer Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, saying he could become the face of Indian cricket in the future. Known for spotting talent early, Modi recalled being completely stunned the first time he saw the teenager bat during the IPL.Speaking to Michael Vaughan in the The Overlap Cricket podcast, Modi described how unbelievable the experience was.“I can tell you that kid is going to go out there and be the face of Indian cricket in the future. Look at the confidence on the kid’s face,” he said.
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What Ryan Cook said after LSG taste another defeat
“14 years old! My son is 14… I saw this kid hit, [I thought] ‘Not possible, I am dreaming. It’s not possible that this kid is 14. Seriously?’ I am Googling it, I am calling out people, [asking], ‘Is this real or is somebody making this up?’ And I am getting these messages, and I tell them I am watching. Not once, not twice, this guy has outperformed everybody,” Modi said.Vaughan pointed out that handling fame and money at such a young age could be challenging. Modi agreed, admitting the IPL has sometimes led players to become overly materialistic. Still, he stressed its positive impact, saying it has created opportunities and inspiration for many youngsters.“The good thing is we probably have another 50 of them in our country,” he said. “And this is what the IPL has done: it has opened up a whole arena for people to aspire to,” he added.
Optus Stadium will play host to Sunday’s
Round 6 AFL game between West Coast Eagles and
Fremantle Dockers. The game kicks off at 5:10 pm with Fremantle Dockers heading into the game as favourites with the bookmakers. Continue reading for our in-depth preview of the West Coast Eagles vs.
Fremantle Dockers
game and give you our free tips and bets.
Fremantle enters the Western Derby in strong form, having won its past three meetings against West Coast and building momentum with consecutive victories. The Dockers’ defensive structure and ability to respond under pressure were evident in their recent win over Collingwood. West Coast, by contrast, has struggled against top-tier opposition, conceding heavily in losses to Sydney and Geelong. Back on home soil, the Eagles will look to improve, but their defensive vulnerabilities remain a concern. Fremantle’s balanced approach and confidence suggest they are well placed to continue their dominance in this rivalry, particularly if they can capitalise on scoring opportunities early.
Apr 14, 2026; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Anaheim Ducks center Mikael Granlund (64) shoots against the Minnesota Wild in the third period at Grand Casino Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images
Heading into the final day of the NHL regular season on Thursday, the Anaheim Ducks still can finish anywhere from second in the Pacific Division to the second Western Conference wild-card spot.
A lot of that depends on their result against the host Nashville Predators on Thursday evening, but also the final score in the Edmonton Oilers-Vancouver Canucks game and the Los Angeles Kings-Calgary Flames game.
The latter two contests are scheduled to start an hour after the Ducks-Predators matchup.
Edmonton (40-30-11, 91 points) sits second in the Pacific Division, one point ahead of the Ducks (42-33-6, 90 points) and Kings (35-26-20, 90 points), and the Oilers own the tiebreaker over both. All three teams have clinched playoff berths.
Edmonton had hoped to be playing for its first division title since 1986-87, but the Vegas Golden Knights clinched the Pacific with a 4-1 win against the visiting Seattle Kraken on Wednesday.
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Anaheim supporters hope that spoils Edmonton’s motivation against Vancouver and opens the door for the Ducks to leapfrog the Oilers for second place in the Pacific and earn home-ice in their first-round playoff series with a win against Nashville.
Anaheim owns the tiebreaker over Los Angeles, leaving the Kings in the second wild-card spot entering Thursday.
If the Oilers and Kings win on Thursday and the Ducks lose in any fashion to the Predators, Anaheim would drop into the second wild card, where it would face a first-round series against the Colorado Avalanche, owners of the best record in the NHL.
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The Ducks have done little to help their standing in the past nine games, going 1-6-2 to lose their grip on first place in the Pacific and potentially home-ice advantage in the first round.
“Regardless of where we end up, it’s playoff hockey,” Ducks forward Ryan Poehling said. “Anything can happen, and for us to just be on top of our game and just kind of take care of what we can I think is the biggest thing. So, we’ve got one more (game) to kind of go through a rehearsal and then real hockey starts.”
The Predators (38-33-10, 86 points) made a big splash in free agency two years ago when they signed forwards Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault and defenseman Brady Skjei to big contracts, but the trio has yet to lead them to the playoffs.
Nashville was eliminated from postseason contention on Monday when it lost 3-2 to the visiting San Jose Sharks.
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“Came here with playoff aspirations, right?” Stamkos said. “So, we failed the last two years and that’s what’s so hard.”
The Predators need to hire a new general manager because Barry Trotz is retiring after the season. Stamkos has been around long enough to know that the new GM could take the team in a variety of directions.
“Someone could come here and say we want to complete tear down and rebuild and that’s the way it’s going to go,” Stamkos said. “We could have someone come in here and say, ‘Listen, you guys were close this year. We believe in the older guys and the core of this team and we want to help build that with bringing in even more younger guys and impact players.’ I think that’s the route we all hope for, but there are too many unknowns right now with regards to the future of the team.”
Manchester United take on Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday and Michael Carrick will pick a new centre-back pairing.
Michael Carrick has given 16 players starts since his appointment at Manchester United. Ayden Heaven is not on that list, but the defender is due to start under Carrick for the first time.
Harry Maguire will be unavailable to face Chelsea after receiving an additional one-game ban from the FA for acting in an improper manner towards a fourth official against Bournemouth, while Lisandro Martinez is facing a three-match ban after being sent off for a hair-pull against Leeds.
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United are set to appeal Martinez’s red on the grounds of a lack of force, but PGMOL chief Howard Webb was clear a few weeks ago when he discussed Michael Keane’s sending off in a similar hair-pulling incident, saying: “If we see it again next week, it will be the same outcome next week as well.”
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That means Carrick is preparing for Saturday’s trip to Stamford Bridge without his preferred centre-back pairing, Maguire and Martinez, who had started every game together under Carrick until the latter picked up an injury.
Leny Yoro came into the side for Martinez and started five games while he was on the sidelines. Maguire was sent off against Bournemouth, but Martinez recovered in time to start alongside Yoro versus Leeds.
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Heaven will now get a chance alongside Yoro in the heart of the backline. Heaven was born in September 2006, two months after Carrick completed an £18.6million move from Tottenham to United, and Yoro is just a year older than his inexperienced teammate.
The good news is Chelsea have the Premier League’s youngest squad, with an average age of 22.5 years. The bad news is that Heaven and Yoro have not played together in a centre-back pairing as part of a back four.
There will be an element of the unknown when Heaven and Yoro start together, which is not how Carrick likes to approach matches. United’s interim head coach has a penchant for sticking to tried-and-tested formulas, and that explains why he’s hardly tinkered with his starting XI.
Carrick values Maguire so highly, for example, because he knows what he’s going to get from the experienced England international, whereas Heaven has not started for Carrick, so there will be some risk on Saturday.
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Heaven last started against Burnley in Darren Fletcher’s final game as caretaker boss, 99 days ago. Since then, the youngster has played a minute against Everton, five minutes against Crystal Palace and eight minutes against Bournemouth.
There were signs of rust with Martinez against Leeds following a two-month lay-off due to injury, and while Heaven has not suffered any injury problems, he would have preferred to have more minutes in his legs.
The winter may be an indication of how Heaven will perform against Chelsea this weekend, as he initially struggled after coming into the team in December, having made only two appearances before then.
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During the 1-1 draw against West Ham at Old Trafford, Heaven was substituted at half-time. He was all at sea during a challenging first half and Ruben Amorim hooked him, but he retained his starting role in the following game.
The defender bounced back against Wolves, demonstrating his mettle after West Ham. “I think Ayden has a great future. He’s really hard to beat, he adapts really well in the centre. I think he did really well and I enjoy seeing him with the ball,” said Amorim.
Heaven reflected: “I feel like I’m working hard every day in training, and I’m showing he can trust me in the games that I’m playing. I wouldn’t say it was rust. I felt confident. West Ham are a good team and they started well.”
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Heaven started in Amorim’s final seven games in charge of United, and started in both of Fletcher’s games as caretaker, but has found it difficult to break into the team with experienced centre-backs available again.
The 19-year-old has a huge opportunity to remind everyone what he can do at Stamford Bridge, as last season fans raved about his potential and gushed over how much of a bargain signing he was from Arsenal.
Heaven was signed for £1million and United announced him as a first-team arrival. Although Arsenal did what they could to keep Heaven, he rejected a new contract in London and relocated to Manchester for a small fee.
His arrival was interesting because of his profile – an English, left-footed defender. Solid left-footed centre-backs are sometimes hard to come by in modern football, and Heaven made a really pleasing start to life at United, which earned him praise from Amorim on the final day of last season.
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Speaking after the 2-0 victory against Aston Villa, Amorim told MUTV: “I think once again Jason Wilcox is doing a great job bringing Ayden. I think these types of players are what we need. He showed a lot of quality and character after the big injury. We want these types of players.”
In the summer, Heaven worked with a coach who Real Madrid wanted to recruit, Andy Mangan, studying his own game and doing extra work at home in an effort to improve before pre-season. In February, Heaven travelled to Dubai during a break to do more training with Yoro.
United will start with an inexperienced centre-back pairing against Chelsea, but it helps that Heaven and Yoro have a strong relationship away from the pitch. Heaven has grafted and deserves his chance this weekend.
Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package
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Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.
Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.
Former Arsenal goalkeeper Alex Manninger has died at the age of 48 after his car was struck by a train.
Manninger made 64 appearances for Arsenal between 1997 and 2002, winning the Premier League and FA Cup.
He won 33 caps for Austria and was part of the squad that featured at Euro 2008 in his home country.
“Alexander Manninger was an outstanding ambassador for Austrian football, both on and off the pitch,” said Austrian Football Association sporting director Peter Schottel.
The UFC’s return to Winnipeg is chock full of Canadian mixed martial arts talent.
Burlington, Ont.’s Mike Malott will become the first Canadian to headline a UFC event in Canada in a decade when he faces Brazil’s Gilbert Burns in a five-round welterweight main event.
The stakes for Malott heading into Saturday’s 13-bout Fight Night card at Canada Life Centre are straightforward. Any win over Burns will result in Malott cracking the 170-pound contender rankings when they update next week.
An impressive knockout or submission victory, on the other hand, would send a message to the rest of the division that Malott is ready to begin taking on the top 10 contenders in the weight class.
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Malott is one of nine Canadians scheduled to compete on the card this weekend, so with that in mind, let’s look at what’s at stake for the others.
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Charles Jourdain: Saturday’s co-main event is a bantamweight contest between Beloeil, Que.’s Jourdain and American Kyler Phillips, two fighters heading in opposite directions. After getting knocked out by featherweight contender Jean Silva two years ago, Jourdain dropped down from 145 pounds to the 135-pound division where he has gone 2-0 with submission wins over Victor Henry in 2024 and over Davey Grant six month ago in Vancouver.
“The loss to Jean Silva was quite tremendous loss because even though he’s a fantastic fighter – I’m not taking anything away from him – this is where I realized I was riding a wave of talent instead of being a professional,” Jourdain told Sportsnet this week. “So, I became a professional when it comes to taking care of the mind, taking care of the body, and now I’ve never been bigger. I’m actually stronger and bigger than when I was a featherweight … so everything changed (after) that night.”
The 30-year-old Canadian used a guillotine technique to submit both Henry and Grant and it’ll be a real feather in his chapeau if he can get a stoppage win in Winnipeg considering Phillips has never been finished in his mixed martial arts career.
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Phillips, 30, is 12-4 as a pro with all four losses being via decision, including one early in his career to Henry, but he also has gotten the better of contenders such as Song Yadong and Raoni Barcelos.
UFC on Sportsnet
Canada’s Mike Malott and Brazil’s Gilbert Burns headline a Fight Night in Winnipeg. Watch all the UFC action on Saturday, April 18 on Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet+ with coverage beginning at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT.
Mandel Nallo: It took the 36-year-old until the twilight of his fighting career to finally make it to the UFC, but a first-round knockout win this past September on Dana White’s Contender Series earned him a shot in the big show. Now, he gets to debut in front of a home crowd against experienced English kickboxer Jai Herbert, who has shared the cage previously with the likes of Ilia Topuria and Renato Moicano.
Nallo is former training partner of Georges St-Pierre at Tristar Gym and fought eight times under the Bellator MMA banner from 2017 to 2023. He has won five consecutive fights by first-round stoppage, one of which earned him Samourai MMA’s vacant lightweight title in the summer of 2024.
Jasmine Jasudavicius: The popular Niagara Top Team member had been closing in on women’s flyweight title contention, however her five-fight winning streak was snapped by Manon Fiorot just 74 seconds into her most recent appearance in Vancouver in October. Jasudavicius gets her first chance to regroup against Karine Silva on the main card. It’s another home game for Jasudavicius, who fought on both Canadian cards last year and has fought in her home country in five of her past eight overall. The 37-year-old from St. Catharines, Ont., is the No. 7-ranked contender at 125 pounds, while her 32-year-old Brazilian opponent has lost two of her past three and has gone the distance in each of her past four fights.
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Jamey-Lyn Horth: A spot in the rankings is on the line when Horth faces American JJ Aldrich on the prelims. Horth, 36, has won two in a row and showed off her power in December in a two-minute knockout of Tereza Bleda. It was Horth’s first stoppage win in four years and it earned her a step-up in competition. Aldrich enters the weekend ranked No. 14 in the women’s flyweight division 125 pounds with wins in three of her past four. Horth and Jasudavicius are friends and often train together so the fact both are competing on the same card could end up being a good omen.
Julien Leblanc: The 34-year-old from Gatineau, Que., is one of three Canadians and one of six total fighters this weekend making their UFC debuts. Leblanc has been finding success in Canadian promotions Unified MMA and Samourai MMA the past few years with five consecutive wins and three in a row by KO/TKO. Leblanc gets to show whether or not he is a UFC-calibre middleweight. His opponent, Robert Valentin, was a finalist on The Ultimate Fighter 32 in 2024 but is 0-3 in UFC bouts and is coming off a 70-second knockout loss to Ateba Gautier in July.
Melissa Croden: Calgary’s bantamweight has gotten off to a hot-cold start to her UFC career. She debuted in October with a third-round TKO, but then had that momentum dissipate due to a decision loss in her sophomore showing in December. Croden, 34, lost a decision to Luana Santos in December after winning her UFC debut by TKO at UFC Vancouver a couple months earlier. Her opponent, Darya Zheleznyakova, is coming off a decision win over Melissa Mullins last summer to improve to 2-1 in the UFC. Zheleznyakova, 30, has also alternated wins and losses during her brief UFC tenure.
Tanner Boser: He’s back! The Alberta heavyweight has returned to the UFC for the first time in nearly three years. Boser went 5-5 in the UFC from 2019 to 2023. He had knockout wins over Ovince Saint Preux and Philipe Lins and two of his losses were decision to multiple-time heavyweight title contender Ciryl Gane and former champ Andrei Arlovski. Boser’s most recent match in the UFC was when he debuted at 205 pounds and was stopped by Ion Cutelaba in the opening round. The 34-year-old returned to heavyweight and is coming off a TKO win at a UAE Warriors event 10 months ago. His opponent is 35-year-old striker Gokhan Saricam of Turkey who’s making his UFC debut.
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Jamie Siraj: This is perhaps the feel-good story of the entire UFC Winnipeg card. A few years ago, it wasn’t certain Siraj would be alive in 2026 let alone competing in the UFC. The 31-year-old, who is from Lower Mainland in B.C., made his professional debut in 2014 and holds a 14-3 record but his career and life nearly ended earlier this decade. There was a four-year span from mid-2019 to mid-2023 during which Siraj did not compete due to life-threatening health issues. Siraj got a brain infection in 2020, ended up in a coma and then developed an autoimmune disease.
Long story short, Siraj slowly recovered and returned to fighting where he has gone 6-1 since his comeback. He now makes his UFC debut against American John Yannis in a 135-pound preliminary matchup. Siraj is coming off consecutive second-round submission victories and his only loss since 2016 happened early last year against Diego Brandao, a UFC veteran and past winner of The Ultimate Fighter who has been having tons of success on the regional scene recently. Other than that loss, Siraj is 11-1 over the past decade.
Canadian fighters went 4-2 at UFC 315 in Montreal last May (Malott and Jasudavicius were among the winners on that card) and went 5-2 at UFC Vancouver (Malott, Jourdain and Croden won on that card; Jasudavicius lost)
Projected bout order for UFC Winnipeg below (subject to change):
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