NEWARK: Islam Makhachev defended his lightweight title and extended his winning streak to 14 fights, third-longest in UFC history, by getting a submission victory over Dustin Poirier in the fifth round on Saturday night at UFC 302.
Overcoming one of the sport’s accomplished veterans and a crowd that was against him from the start, Makhachev ran his record to 26-1 and said afterward he may move up in weight for another challenge.
There’s certainly not much left for the Russian at 155 pounds, where he defended his title for the third time and showed again why he is ranked as the pound-for-pound best in UFC.
Poirier (30-9) fell short in his third attempt for the undisputed title, all three ending by submission.
He battled back after Makhachev controlled the first round and bloodied the champion’s face later, but Makhachev took him down midway through the fifth and quickly pounced, with Poirier unable to escape.
Makhachev beats Poirier by submission at UFC 302 to defend lightweight title
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Makhachev beats Poirier by submission at UFC 302 to defend lightweight title
FIFA picks 8 host cities for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil
- Infantino: From stunning beaches to cosmopolitan cities, the world will experience the energy, color and warmth that only Brazil can offer
- The host city selection process started in August of last year
SAO PAULO: Football’s international governing body has confirmed eight host cities for the 2027 Women’s World Cup to be held in Brazil.
FIFA announced the venues for the month-long tournament on Wednesday but hasn’t decided yet where the opening match and the final will take place.
All eight sites were among the 12 used for the men’s World Cup in 2014: Rio de Janeiro (Maracana Stadium), Sao Paulo (NeoQuimica Arena), Belo Horizonte (Mineirao Stadium), Brasília (Nacional Stadium), Fortaleza (Arena Castelao), Porto Alegre (Beira-Rio Stadium), Recife (Arena Pernambuco), and Salvador (Arena Fonte Nova).
“From stunning beaches to cosmopolitan cities, the world will experience the energy, color and warmth that only Brazil can offer,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement.
Some members of Brazil’s soccer confederation have said they want to hold the opening match at Sao Paulo and the final at the 78,000-seat Maracana, as it did in the 2014 World Cup.
Curitiba, Manaus and Natal, all venues for the men’s World Cup, were not included in the women’s tournament bid book. Belem was also left out.
The host city selection process started in August of last year. At the 2014 World Cup, players, fans and coaches criticized the choice of 12 host cities for a tournament that was widely spread across the country.
For this tournament, set for June 24-July 25, 2027, almost all host cities are either on the Brazilian coast or close to it, with the exception of the capital, Brasilia, and Belo Horizonte, two of the nation’s most populous cities.
Brazil will host the women’s tournament for the first time. Brazil is a five-time World Cup champion in men’s football but has never won the women’s global title.
PIF continues to transform women’s golf as title partner of revamped global series
- Renamed PIF Global Series comprises 5 tournaments
- $13m prize pool among highest outside of the Majors
RIYADH: Golf Saudi and the Public Investment Fund announced on Thursday a revamped global series that spans five women’s golf events on the Ladies European Tour, reinforcing the PIF’s long-term commitment to female sport.
The newly named PIF Global Series will feature the five tournaments across three continents in 2025, with each event having a novel format that features team and individual competitions.
There is a prize purse of $2 million for each of the four tournaments, among the highest in women’s golf.
The PIF Saudi Ladies International has been added to the 2025 roster of tournaments, strengthening the series’ position as a key fixture alongside the regular LET schedule and Major competitions.
The PIF Saudi Ladies International offers a prize purse of $5 million, one of the largest in women’s professional golf.
Alanoud Althonayan, head of events and sponsorships at the PIF, said the company “continues to be a catalyst for the growth of women’s sports, committed to delivering long-term transformative impact by inspiring and empowering female athletes at every level.
Noah Alireza, CEO of Golf Saudi, said: “We are humbled to have this partnership with PIF that aspires to grow the women’s game locally in Saudi Arabia and around the world.
“We have witnessed significant growth in local interest through hosting international tournaments, with over 6,000 individuals registering for our free ‘GoGolf’ lesson program.”
Alexandra Armas, CEO of the Ladies European Tour, said: “These tournaments are well-supported by our members through their end-to-end event experiences and competitive environments.
“This partnership with PIF continues to raise the level of competition and commitment to the women’s game, to ensure our players have the best possible opportunities to develop and succeed on the world stage.”
England’s Charley Hull, Golf Saudi ambassador, said: “Golf Saudi and PIF have proven to be real game changers for women’s golf, once again backing up their commitment to creating equal opportunities and raising the bar for the players.
“I love playing either as an individual or in a team, so I can’t wait to tee it up at series events throughout the year and hopefully inspire more and more young people into golf around the world.”
The five events comprising the PIF Global Series are:
PIF Saudi Ladies International: Riyadh Golf Club, Riyadh (Event was played in February and won by world No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul)
Aramco Korea Championship: New Korea Country Club, Seoul, South Korea (May 9-11)
PIF Championship: Centurion Club, London (Aug. 8-10)
Aramco Houston Championship: TBC, Houston (Sept. 5-7)
Aramco Shenzhen Championship: Mission Hills, Shenzhen, China (Nov. 6-8)
Thunder level series with 43-point rout of Nuggets
- The Thunder, who set a franchise single-game playoff scoring record, tied the best-of-seven series 1-1 ahead of Game 3 in Denver on Friday
- The Thunder tied the NBA playoff record for points in a half with 87, leading by as many as 35 before intermission
OKLAHOMA CITY: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 149-106 home blowout of the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal series on Wednesday.
The Thunder, who set a franchise single-game playoff scoring record, tied the best-of-seven series 1-1 ahead of Game 3 in Denver on Friday.
After losing on a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of Game 1, the Thunder made sure the Nuggets wouldn’t have a chance to pull off another late shocker. Oklahoma City poured it on early, scoring 45 first-quarter points and stretching the lead to 24 just more than 10 minutes into the game.
The Thunder tied the NBA playoff record for points in a half with 87, leading by as many as 35 before intermission. The only other team to score 87 points in a half during the postseason was the Milwaukee Bucks in the second half of a second-round game in 1978 against the Nuggets.
Oklahoma City didn’t let up in the third quarter, stretching the advantage to 48 points heading into the fourth.
By that time, Denver star Nikola Jokic had fouled out, and the only question was how big the margin would be.
With Denver trailing by 41 points and just more than a minute remaining in the third quarter, Jokic was called for his second offensive foul in less than a minute to end his night.
After his 42-point, 22-rebound performance in Game 1, Jokic had just 17 points and eight rebounds in Game 2. He shot 6 of 16 from the field.
Gilgeous-Alexander had his night end soon after for another reason.
The Most Valuable Player favorite hit two free throws in the last second of the quarter before heading to the bench to watch the Thunder bench handle the fourth.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished 11 of 13 from the floor and hit all 11 of his free throws. He added eight assists and finished plus-51 in plus/minus.
Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams added 17 points and Chet Holmgren, who missed a pair of critical free throws just before Aaron Gordon’s Game 1 winner, finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Holmgren was 7 of 7 from the free-throw line.
Russell Westbrook led the Nuggets with 19 points, and Jamal Murray contributed 14. Gordon, who had 22 points and 14 rebounds in the series opener, finished with just 10 points (on 3-of-12 shooting) and five boards.
Knicks rally for another road win over Celtics, lead set 2-0
Jalen Brunson made two free throws with 12.7 seconds to play, lifting the New York Knicks to a 91-90 win over the host Boston Celtics on Wednesday and a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Boston had a chance to recover in the final seconds, but Mikal Bridges knocked the ball away from Jayson Tatum and New York took possession.
Josh Hart had a game-high 23 points for New York, which trailed by 20 points in the third quarter and by 16 in the fourth. The Knicks received 21 points and 17 rebounds from Karl-Anthony Towns. Bridges put up 14 points — all in the fourth quarter.
Brunson, finished with 17 points and a game-high seven assists, said of the decisive foul shots, “I got up there, heard the noise and then I just tried to block everything out. And then I made two.”
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said, “We started slowly, got in a big hole, dug out way out and then guys made a lot of tough plays. (Our players) were at their best when their best was needed down the stretch.”
Derrick White and Jaylen Brown each scored 20 points for the Celtics.
“They made the necessary plays to win,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said of the Knicks. “We put ourselves in position to do that and we just didn’t make the plays (down the stretch).
“You just take a look at it and figure out where you have to be better and put a full 48 minutes together. Have an understanding that it’s going to be difficult, but that’s why we do what we do. Figure out where we have to get better and do that. We got to get on the road and we got to find a way to win.”
Game 3 of the best-of-seven series will be played Saturday in New York.
New York took its first lead on a Brunson layup that made it 87-86 with 1:59 to play. Another Brunson layup capped a 21-2 run that stretched New York’s lead to three points before two Tatum free throws pulled the Celtics within one point with 44.9 seconds left.
Boston took a 90-89 lead on a Tatum dunk with 18.5 seconds to go, but Brunson knocked down two free throws on the ensuing possession.
Tatum, who averaged 26.8 points per game during the regular season, was held to 13 points, but he grabbed 14 rebounds.
Boston also received eight points off the bench from Kristaps Porzingis, who didn’t play in the second half of Game 1 because of an illness. Porzingis played 14 minutes in Game 2.
The Celtics played without Sam Hauser, who sustained an ankle injury in the third quarter of Game 1.
Boston led 24-13 after one quarter on Wednesday and 50-41 at halftime. The Celtics were up by 16 before the Knicks finished the second quarter on an 11-4 run. Tatum was held to two points in the first half.
The Celtics extended their lead to 70-50 on a Porzingis dunk with 4:05 remaining in the third, but New York scored the final eight points in the quarter to cut Boston’s lead to 73-61 entering the final frame.
Boston was again foiled by poor 3-point shooting. The Celtics were 10 of 40 (25 percent) from long range on Wednesday after going 15 of 60 (25 percent) in their overtime loss on Monday, when they also squandered a 20-point lead.
“The way the game goes now, you can make up ground a lot quicker with the way teams shoot threes,” Thibodeau said. “For the writers around us, they always think every lead is safe, but it’s not. Everything does matter.”
PSG finish off Arsenal to reach Champions League final
- Nevertheless, PSG made it 2-0 on the night when Dembele, on from the bench, teed up Hakimi to finish in style
PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain clinched a place in the Champions League final as goals by Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi gave them a 2-1 win over Arsenal in the second leg of their last-four tie on Wednesday, securing a 3-1 aggregate triumph.
Ruiz crashed in a shot from the edge of the area in the 27th minute at the Parc des Princes to leave PSG firmly in the driving seat after they had withstood an early bombardment from the visitors.
Already leading in the tie after Ousmane Dembele’s goal in last week’s first leg, PSG then saw Vitinha have a second-half penalty saved.
However, Hakimi put the tie beyond Arsenal when he scored in the 72nd minute, even if Bukayo Saka did then pull one back for the visitors.
PSG advance to a showdown in Munich on May 31 against Inter Milan, and it will be the second Champions League final in their history, five years after a defeat by Bayern Munich in Lisbon.
Arsenal, meanwhile, saw their European dream come to an end as they fell short of reaching what would have been their second final, 19 years after losing to Barcelona in Paris.
Still without a trophy since the 2020 FA Cup, all that is left to play for now for Mikel Arteta’s side is securing a third consecutive second-place finish in the Premier League.
There was an electric atmosphere all evening in Paris, and PSG were able to celebrate getting to a final in front of their fans for the first time, after their victory against RB Leipzig in the last four in 2020 was played behind closed doors during the pandemic.
There was a feverish mood in and around the ground pre-match, but PSG have tripped up in big Champions League ties plenty of times over the last decade.
In addition, their top scorer Dembele was not in the starting line-up having come off with a hamstring problem in the first leg.
Arsenal, with Thomas Partey back in midfield after missing the first leg through suspension, did their best to silence the raucous home support by throwing everything at the Parisians right from the off.
Declan Rice headed just wide, and goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma denied Gabriel Martinelli from close range before producing a stunning save low to his left to keep out a Martin Odegaard shot, all inside the opening eight minutes.
PSG did eventually settle, and they almost went ahead on 17 minutes when Desire Doue teed up Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, whose curling shot hit the far post.
Then Doue wasted a great chance, shooting straight at David Raya in the Arsenal goal after Bradley Barcola had intercepted a loose ball.
But PSG did score before the half-hour mark, the goal coming in the wake of a free-kick awarded for a Rice foul on Kvaratskhelia.
Vitinha’s delivery was headed out by Partey but fell to Ruiz on the edge of the box, and he controlled before smashing in a left-foot shot as the ball bounced back up.
It was the ideal moment for the 29-year-old Spaniard to score his first Champions League goal.
Barcola failed to convert a good chance for the hosts to score again moments later, and Arsenal still had some hope going into the second half.
Only another stunning Donnarumma save with his fingertips prevented Saka from pulling one back on 64 minutes, before PSG were awarded a spot-kick.
German referee Felix Zwayer gave the penalty after being summoned to the pitchside monitor when a shot by Hakimi brushed the outstretched hand of Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Arteta was furious at the decision, yet Vitinha’s kick was turned away by Raya diving to his left.
Nevertheless, PSG made it 2-0 on the night when Dembele, on from the bench, teed up Hakimi to finish in style.
This being PSG, however, there was a wobble as Saka quickly pulled one back from close range after Arsenal substitute Leandro Trossard had got the better of Marquinhos on the wing.
Saka then somehow blazed over with an open goal gaping from Riccardo Calafiori’s cross, ensuring that there would be no miracle Arsenal comeback and it would be PSG’s night.
