Sports
Alexa Grasso Lands One of the Best Women’s MMA KOs Ever at UFC Seattle
If we were living in the Wild West, Alexa Grasso would have Wanted posters up about her at this point after dropping a body with a dangerous weapon – her straight left fist.
March 28 proved to be an exciting night in the world of combat sports, with fun action taking place with UFC Seattle, PFL Pittsburgh, RAF 07, and Sebastian Fundora vs. Keith Thurman. But out of everything that transpired with these cards, from dominant decisions, to first-round finishes, bad judging, and everything in between, Grasso probably stands out among the pack.
Grasso competed in the UFC Seattle co-main event, taking on Maycee Barber. On the surface, this appeared to be a high-stakes matchup for both for different reasons.
For Grasso, she was 0-2-1 since winning the UFC women’s flyweight title in upset fashion against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 285. She battled her to a draw and then dropped the title back to her in their trilogy. She then lost to Natalia Silva at UFC 315.A loss would pretty much drop her completely out of the women’s flyweight top contender picture.
For Barber, this was an opportunity at revenge. She and Grasso had fought at UFC 258 in February 2021, with Grasso taking a decision win. Grasso’s boxing was on display in that fight; she was quicker in both striking and footwork, leading to a fairly one-sided decision. Since then, however, Barber had won seven straight, and a win here would elevate her closer to a long-desired title shot.
The two started the fight even, with both landing leg kicks and trying to outpace one another.
Then, in one split second, it happened.
Grasso landed a short right hand on Barber, only to follow it up with a straight left that cracked her.
From the second the punch landed, Barber was out. She appeared out on her feet and was slowly going down, as Grasso attempted to jump on her back and go for the submission. But it wasn’t needed; she had already done the damage and produced a highlight-reel KO that earned her a Performance of the Night bonus.
Whether serious or quipping, some are saying that Barber was technically finished twice in the fight. Some feel it should have been a submission win for Grasso since it was the final moment of the fight.
But if you look at Barber’s eyes from the second the punch connected to her prone body laying on the mat of the Octagon, she was gone. And that was all from the punch. It honestly looked like when Emanuel Newton knocked out Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal at Bellator 90.
It was one of the most brutal knockouts in women’s MMA history – and perhaps, in Brendan Fitzgerald’s words, the greatest. It may not have the historical impact of Holly Holm head kicking Ronda Rousey, but it’s definitely on the violent level that Shevchenko knocking out Jessica Eye at UFC 238 was.
And after that finish, you have to assume Silva is going to get the next shot at Shevchenko. And if Shevchenko gets by her and Grasso gets another win, perhaps Grasso gets one more crack? After all, the series is technically 1-1-1 – even though we’ve already seen a quadrilogy this decade (Figueiredo vs. Moreno) and many felt Shevchenko should have gotten the nod in their second fight.
Anyway, anyone who wants to get to Shevchenko right now has to get by Grasso.
It’s only the end of March, and Grasso may have already made a strong case for herself for Knockout of the Year. Heck, it’s a Knockout of a Lifetime.
Sports
Mikko Rantanen, Stars double up Penguins
Mar 28, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Dallas Stars center Wyatt Johnston (53) and Pittsburgh Penguins center Ben Kindel (81) fight for the puck during the second period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Mikko Rantanen scored in his first game in nearly two months, and the Dallas Stars tallied three unanswered second-period goals to end a four-game skid and defeat the host Pittsburgh Penguins 6-3 on Saturday.
Rantanen and Jason Robertson each had a goal and an assist for Dallas (44-18-11, 99 points), which had gone 0-3-1 in its last four games. The Stars trailed 1-0 and 2-1 in this contest before exploding for three goals, two on the power play, in the second.
Rookie Justin Hryckowian, Lian Bichsel and Mavrik Bourque also scored for the Stars, who swept the two-game season series with Pittsburgh after winning in Dallas in December.
Erik Karlsson had a goal and two assists for Pittsburgh (36-21-16, 88 points), which was playing without both Evgeni Malkin and captain Sidney Crosby due to lower-body injuries.
Anthony Mantha and Noel Acciari also scored for Pittsburgh, which lost its third game at PPG Paints Arena in the past week. The Penguins were outscored 17-6 in those three home contests.
Mantha redirected a Karlsson slapshot to put Pittsburgh in front on a power-play goal just over two minutes into the game.
Hryckowian evened the score for Dallas early in the second period, capitalizing on a broken play that left him wide open in front of the net with the puck.
Karlsson answered for the Penguins 48 seconds later with a wrister for his 13th goal of the season. In the process, he broke two franchise records for defensemen.
The goal was his ninth in March, the most in a single month by a Penguins blueliner. This also was his ninth multi-point game in March, which broke Randy Carlyle’s mark, set in December 1980, for most multi-point games in a single month by a defenseman.
The Stars responded over the next few minutes. Robertson scored on the power play 7:12 into the period to even the game. It was Robertson’s 40th goal, tying him with Wyatt Johnston for the team lead.
Three minutes later, Rantanen, who had missed 15 games in a row with a lower-body injury, tallied his 21st of the season on another power-play opportunity.
Bichsel doubled the Stars’ advantage less than 90 seconds later on a strange sequence. He went behind the goal, stapled to Karlsson, proceeded to throw the Swede’s stick to the floor with no whistle, and then scored what turned out to be the game-winner.
Jake Oettinger improved to 7-1-0 in his career against Pittsburgh. He allowed three goals on only 12 shots, as Pittsburgh posted four, five and three shots over the three periods. Stuart Skinner made 20 stops for the Penguins.
Dallas, which entered with the fourth-best road record in the league, improved to 22-8-7 away from home.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Mikko Rantanen, Stars out to subdue charging Flyers
Mar 28, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen (4) and center Matt Duchene (middle) congratulate right wing Mikko Rantanen (96) on his goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images After posting much-needed victories on Saturday, the Dallas Stars and Flyers will be back on the ice Sunday night in Philadelphia.
Dallas (44-18-11, 99 points) is playoff-bound but was mired in a four-game losing streak heading into Saturday’s game with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Fortunately, the Stars received a big lift from the return of Mikko Rantanen, who had a goal and an assist in a 6-3 victory.
Rantanen had not played since Feb. 20, when he sustained a lower-body injury during the Olympics while playing for Team Finland. His most NHL game had been on Feb. 4.
“A little rusty, obviously,” Rantanen said. “It’s a lot different than practicing, you know? You can do a lot of things in practice, but games are a little different. Sometimes you think it’s faster than it is. … But overall, the body felt good.”
Jason Robertson chipped in with a goal and an assist for Dallas, giving him 40 goals for the third time in his career. Mavrik Bourque contributed two empty-net goals and an assist for the Stars.
“Not forcing it was a big thing,” Robertson said. “And, I mean, having a lot of talent out there helps.”
Philadelphia (36-24-12, 84 points) scored the first four goals Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings before holding on for a 5-3 victory. Owen Tippett recorded a hat trick and added an assist on Sean Couturier’s game-clinching, empty-net goal.
“He’s dragging a lot of us in the fight,” Philadelphia coach Rick Tocchet said of Tippett. “When he gets that puck, he’s as good as it gets right now in the league.”
The Flyers improved to 11-3-1 in their last 15 games but will continue to need victories as they trail three teams in the race for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
“It’s a big win for us,” Tocchet said. “I think a couple of teams (Columbus Blue Jackets and Ottawa Senators) lost today. We’ve got a huge game (Sunday).”
The Flyers certainly will need to play better down the stretch Sunday than they did on Saturday. The team led Detroit with under 6 1/2 minutes remaining in the third period before surrendering three quick goals.
“I loved our game for 55 minutes,” Tocchet said.
Of course, it helps to have Dan Vladar in net when it matters most. The Flyers’ goaltender has allowed more than three goals in just one of his last 16 starts, although he likely will watch Sunday while Samuel Ersson gets the nod at goalie.
The Stars, meanwhile, probably will turn to Casey DeSmith after Jake Oettinger started on Saturday.
This will be the second meeting between the teams this season. The Stars cruised to a 5-1 win in Dallas on Nov. 15 as Robertson recorded his sixth career hat trick, one of which has come in the playoffs.
The Stars have won five of the last six matchups vs. Philadelphia, although the Flyers enter Sunday’s game playing about as well as it has all season.
“Dallas is a good hockey team,” Tocchet said. “We’ll be ready.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Duke G Caleb Foster expected to play vs. UConn
Mar 27, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Caleb Foster (1) dribbles the ball against St. John’s Red Storm guard Dylan Darling (0) in the first half during a Sweet Sixteen game of the East Regional of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images Duke point guard Caleb Foster is expected to play again in Sunday’s Elite Eight game of the NCAA Tournament against UConn after he returned from a foot fracture on Friday.
Foster came off the bench and recorded 11 points and two assists in an 80-75 Round of 16 game against St. John’s. That contest was three weeks after his foot injury that occurred in the regular-season finale against North Carolina on March 7.
Foster underwent a surgical procedure on the injury to expedite recovery.
After missing the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, Foster also missed the first two NCAA Tournament games of the East Regional for the No. 1-seed Blue Devils (35-2).
Foster, who started 30 of his 32 games, is averaging 8.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists. He is shooting 39 of 98 (39.8%) from 3-point range.
–Field Level Media
Mikko Rantanen, Stars double up Penguins
Mikko Rantanen, Stars out to subdue charging Flyers
