Sports
Rafael Fiziev calls for ‘BMF’ title shot following Fight Night main event win
Mar 8, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Justin Gaethje (red gloves) fights Rafael Fiziev (blue gloves) during UFC 313 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images Lightweight Rafael Fiziev needed 15 seconds into the second round to secure a brutal TKO over Manuel Torres to close out UFC Fight Night Saturday.
A spinning back kick to the head of Torres marked the beginning of the end as Torres retreated against the fence and Fiziev ended the sequence with a right hand to secure the win.
Fiziev (14-5 MMA) snapped Torres’ two-fight winning streak, as he had built a reputation of being a first-round knockout artist. Torres (17-4 MMA) had only been finished once by KO/TKO entering his fight with Fiziev, while Fiziev improved his finishing rate to 71 percent according to Tapology.
“I’m so happy, bro,” Fiziev said after the win, vocalizing his interested in a “BMF” title fight against Charles Oliveira down the line.
In the co-main event at middleweight, Sharabutdin Magomedov survived a tough, durable effort from Michel Pereira to earn a unanimous decision win, sweeping the cards 29-28, 29-28, 29-28. Pereira (32-15, 2 NCs) dropped Magomedov (17-1 MMA) in the opening round in a near-upset TKO. However, Magomedov kept his distance and overwhelmed Pereira with strikes and a plethora of takedowns to sway the decision in his favor.
Lightweights then took center stage as Matheus Camilo made short work of fan favorite Nazim Sadykhov with a first-round TKO. Camilo (11-3 MMA) found an opening with a crisp hook that sent Sadykhov (11-3-1 MMA) crashing to the Octagon canvas before a series of strikes followed. Camilo improved to 2-1 in the UFC since making his debut last year, while Sadykhov has split his last four fights.
In a fight between two surging flyweight contenders, Asu Almabayev secured a rare Suloev stretch submission (a modified leg lock) to defeat Charles Johnson in Round 3 in a back-and-forth affair. Almabayev (24-3 MMA) extended his streak to three, while Johnson (19-9 MMA) has lost three of his last five outings.
Middleweight Ikram Aliskerov earned a unanimous decision against Brunno Ferreira, taking the cards 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 in continuing main card action. Aliskerov (18-2 MMA) has won three in a row, halting Ferreira’s (15-4 MMA) momentum in suffering consecutive losses for the first time in his career.
After five of seven fights ended via stoppage during Saturday’s UFC Fight Night preliminary card from Baku, Azerbaijan, the six-fight main card brought much of the same.
The card opened with middleweight Abusupiyan Magomedov securing a first-round guillotine choke over Michal Oleksiejczuk. Magomedov (29-7-1 MMA) has won four of his last six, while Oleksiejczuk (22-10 MMA) saw a three-fight winning streak end.
Following a week off in observance of Fourth of July, the UFC returns to Las Vegas for International Fight Week Saturday, July 11, from T-Mobile Arena headlined by a five-round non-title welterweight rematch between former UFC featherweight champions Conor McGregor and Max Holloway at UFC 329.
–Field Level Media
Sports
T1, Karmine Corp advance with Rd 1 wins at Mid-Season Invitational
T1 and Karmine Corp each earned 3-0 sweeps early Sunday to advance through the first round of the play-in stage of the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational in Daejeon, South Korea.
T1 dispatched Team Liquid in 26 minutes, 36 minutes and 30 minutes. Meanwhile, Karmine took down Deep Cross Gaming in 32 minutes, 26 minutes and 34 minutes.
The current play-in stage runs through July 1, with four teams competing in a double elimination bracket. Teams are seeded according to results from the First Stand Tournament and compete in best of five matches throughout. The eventual winner advances to the bracket stage, an eight-team tournament that provides a $2 million prize pool including a $500,000 check for the first-place finisher.
Kim “Peyz” Soo-hwan paced T1 with 32 kills, while Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok had a 6.3 kills-deaths-assists ratio. Lim “Quid” Hyeon-seung had 17 kills for Liquid.
For Karmine, Kang “Kyeahoo” Yea-hoo scored a 12.5 KDA ratio, while Caliste “Caliste” Henry-Hennebert (25) and Martin “Yike” Sundelin (21) each exceeded 20 kills.
Liquid and Deep Cross are now left to face off in an elimination game, while T1 and Karmine will square off to determine which side will take its first loss.
Late Sunday matchups:
Round 2:
T1 vs. Karmine Corp
Team Liquid vs. Deep Cross Gaming (elimination)
–Field Level Media
Sports
USMNT's World Cup Path Gets Tougher After Group Stage Draw
It seemed like things were going to break the right way for the US Men’s National team. Unfortunately, the final round of the group stage didn’t go as planned, and the FIFA World Cup bracket got significantly more challenging for the home underdogs.
The US starts bracket play on Wednesday against Bosnia and Herzegovina, where they will be a -270 favorite, their largest for a single game so far in the World Cup. This round-of-32 match is simply a must-win for the United States.
Over the years, the USMNT has struggled to get Americans to buy into the World Cup, but after an exciting group-stage performance, buy-in is at an all-time high, with most of the tournament taking place on US soil.
Given how the US has looked under manager Mauricio Pochettino, they shouldn’t have many issues against Bosnia; however, they did beat Italy, FIFA’s twelfth-best team, which prevented them from playing in the World Cup. There’s no such thing as a gimmie, but this game cannot be lost at home.
It’s only uphill from there, with the second round a much tougher test between the winners of Belgium and Senegal. The US did beat Senegal in a recent friendly right before the start of the World Cup, but they also got walloped in a friendly one month prior against Belgium.
If they managed to get past the round of 16, they’d be faced with one of Spain, Portugal, Croatia, or Austria. A very challenging path for the red, white, and blue, a path they’ll need to climb if they want soccer to be more than a trendy fad within the United States.
This team felt different than years prior. They haven’t looked like the plucky underdog; they were the by far best team in the group. They weren’t sitting back in a defensive shell, looking for one attack to break through; they were on the front foot in the group stages.
This iteration of the USMNT has a level of talent they’ve never had in a World Cup. A healthy Christian Pulisic is a good starting point, but having outside backs like Sergiño Dest and Antonee Robinson has been a game-changer on the outside this year. Also, Folarin Balogun has been incredible up front for the US.
Veterans Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams have been incredibly solid in the middle, filling out a US team far more talented than we are used to. If they are matched up with Belgium in the round of 16, not only will it be a rematch of Tim Howard’s incredible performance in 2014, but it can be a changing of the guard.
Belgium’s golden generation might finally meet its match in Father Time, whereas the US would finally show they can contend on the World Stage. Winning is the only thing that truly matters in the US, and if they can’t make it to the quarter finals, we will have to wait four more years for Americans to be all in on soccer.
Sports
Giants activate OF Heliot Ramos (quad) from IL
May 11, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; San Francisco Giants left fielder Heliot Ramos (17) doubles in two runs in the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images The San Francisco Giants activated outfielder Heliot Ramos from the injured list Sunday while first baseman Buddy Kennedy was designated for assignment.
Ramos, 26, last played on May 15 due to a right quadriceps strain. He was batting .267 with four home runs and 20 RBIs in 44 games this season.
In five major league seasons with the Giants, the 2024 National League All-Star is a career .257 career hitter with 48 home runs and 163 RBIs in 356 games.
Kennedy, 27, did not have a hit in seven at-bats over seven games in his first season with the Giants. In five major league seasons for six different clubs, Kennedy is a career .171 hitter with two home runs and 20 RBIs in 74 games.
–Field Level Media
T1, Karmine Corp advance with Rd 1 wins at Mid-Season Invitational
Star Trek Showrunner Confirms Doctor Who Crossover Almost Happened
