In the junior girls’ doubles, after recording a semi-final win against Peru’s Alessandra Cisneros and Maria Maldonado (14-12, 11-7, 11-8), Livia Lima and Laura Watanabe accounted for Chile’s Jerusalen Flores and Valentina Rios (11-13, 11-7, 6-11, 11-1, 11-4) to reserve the top step of the podium.
An impressive performance and somewhat national revenge; in the counterpart semi-final, colleagues Giovanna Grilo and Lhays Stolarski had been beaten by Jerusalen Flores and Valentina Rios (11-6, 7-11, 11-7, 11-4).
Gold for Livia Lima in the junior girls’ doubles, it was the same in the junior mixed doubles partnering Diogo Silva. In the title deciding contest, the duo overcame Argentina’s Lautaro Sato and Isabella Fragapane (12-10, 11-9, 11-13, 13-11).
Previously, in the penultimate round Diogo Silva and Livia Lima had beaten Chile’s Eusebio Vos and Valentina Rios (11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7); in the adjacent half of the draw Lautaro Sato and Isabella Fragapane had ousted Ecuador’s Neycer Robalino and Alejandra Vientimilla (5-11, 11-8, 15-13, 11-9).
Cadet titles
Titles secured in the junior age group, Brazil excelled in the younger category. Beatrix Kanashiro and Giulia Takahashi secured the cadet girls’ doubles event at the expense of Ecuador. After recording a semi-final win against Keimy Anchundia and Maria Borja (11-3, 11-1, 11-9), they accounted for Genesis Macias and Fiorella Olaya (11-6, 11-7, 11-1) at the final hurdle.
Impressively, in the corresponding semi-final, Genesis Macias and Fiorella Olaya had beaten Peru’s Karla Mendoza and Cecilia Zea Huacan (5-11, 11-5, 11-8, 13-11).
The top step of the podium for Guilia Takahashi, it was the same in the cadet mixed doubles event. Partnering Leonardo Ilzuka, the pair secured the title at the final expense of Chile’s Josthyn Miranda and Fenanda Araneda (11-8, 12-10, 11-6), having in the penultimate round beaten Colombia’s Felipe Fajardo and Juliana Lozada (11-3, 11-5, 9-11, 11-7). In the adjacent semi-final the Chileans had ousted Brazil’s Nicolas Nishimura and Beatrix Kanashiro (11-9, 9-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-5).
Elusive titles
Four titles for Brazil; two proved elusive. Argentina’s Matias Guadalupe and Matias Velarde won the junior boys’ doubles event, Peru’s Eduardo Mendoza and Sebastian Zeballos emerged the cadet boys’ doubles champions.
After overcoming Chile’s Eusebio Vos and Jeremias Paredes (11-9, 11-7, 14-12, 11-7), Matias Guadalupe and Matias Velarde accounted for Peru’s Adolfo Cucho and Carlos Fernandez (5-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-7, 13-11) to seal the title. In the counterpart semi-final Adolfo Cucho and Carlos Fernandez had beaten Argentina’s Tomas Sanchi and Lautaro Sato (11-9, 9-11, 11-3, 11-7).
Meanwhile in the cadet boys’ doubles, the Peruvians ended the aspirations of Ecuador. At the semi-final stage Eduardo Mendoza and Sebastian Zeballos beat Paul Ponce Cedeño and Joseph Vasquez (11-9, 11-5, 12-10), prior to overcoming Jeremy Cedeño and Diego Piguave (14-16, 13-11, 11-8, 11-13, 11-8) to seal the top prize. Earlier Jeremy Cedeño and Diego Piguave had beaten Brazil’s Leonardo Ilzuka and Nicolas Nishimura (12-10, 11-9, 11-7).
Play concludes on Sunday 8th March when the winners of the junior boys’ singles and junior girls’ singles events, alongside the cadet boys’ singles and cadet girls’ singles competitions, will be decided.
DUQUOIN, Ill. – Trey Robb made a point on Saturday night inside the Southern Illinois Center: there was no one better in a winged micro sprint than he was during the fifth annual Shamrock Classic.
After winning his Dash for Cash on Friday night to earn the pole for the 30-lapper, Robb darted out to the lead from the outset and never looked back.
He wired the field to pick up the winner’s check in dominating fashion, beating Brady Bacon to the checkered flag by 1.453 seconds in the end.
“We accomplished what we came here to do tonight, and that was win,” Robb said in victory lane. “I’m just really excited for our team. We’ve run well at all these big races in the past and it’s nice to finally bring home a trophy for all our efforts.”
Though Robb pulled out to a near-two second margin prior to halfway, it was a sequence of timely cautions in the second half of the race that iced the victory for him.
Shortly after the crossed flags were displayed, Robb was on the verge of catching the back of the field and being mired in heavy traffic, potentially opening the door for those behind him to pounce.
Then came a caution for the spun car of Mariah Ede in turn one with nine to go, and the way was cleared like Moses parting the Red Sea.
“You just had to be really aggressive coming off turn four (to pass slower cars); you couldn’t really do anything down the backstretch, so you just had to drag race down the front and hope it stuck,” Robb explained. Luckily I was able to drive in deeper to turn one than a lot of guys were, and that helped us for a while there.
“This is a good feeling. There’s a lot of good cars here,” he added. “I knew Brady was behind me, and when the track’s around the bottom he’s usually really strong, so to beat him tonight is great for us.”
Bacon tried everything he could to chase Robb down at the end, alternating his line on each end of the track and going both low and high in an attempt to make up ground, but simply couldn’t close.
“Starting position was everything; we just started too far back,” Bacon lamented. “The midgets can’t do on the bottom quite what the micros can. I just couldn’t keep my speed up on top in (turns) one and two, and he was better than I was on that end on the bottom, so he was going to have to mess up if I wanted a shot at him and he just didn’t mess up. Props to Trey; he ran a great race.”
After running second for the first 18 laps, Milan faded slightly down the stretch but hung on to complete the podium.
Friday’s second Dash for Cash winner, Ryan Timms, and Alex Burgener were the balance of the top five.
Finishing sixth through 10th were Aiden Purdue, Chase Porter, Joe B. Miller, Chad Elliott and Chris Cochran.
The finish:
Trey Robb, Brady Bacon, Scotty Milan, Ryan Timms, Alex Burgener, Aiden Purdue, Chase Porter, Joe B. Miller, Chad Elliott, Chris Cochran, Dylan Kadous, Kameron Key, Jordan Howell, Mariah Ede, Jordan Clary, Laydon Pearson, Andy Bishop, Alex Midkiff, Andrew Cockman, Zach Hubbard, James Scott, Michael Brummitt.
BITHLO, Fla. – With a new car and new engine combination, Justin Bond set the new quarter-mile elapsed-time record for centrifugal superchargers when he recorded a 5.623-second, 253.14 mph pass Saturday at the Drag Illustrated World Doorslammer Nationals presented by CTech Manufacturing at Orlando Speed World Dragway.
Bond’s pass also put him in the No. 1 spot in the quickest NHRA-legal Pro Mod field in history.
“I think the performance of the car has been very good,” Bond said. “I think the time slips speak for that. The car responds to all the changes, and we just have a really awesome crew and a really awesome tuner.”
Bond is in only his fourth race in Pro Mod competition. His ProCharger-boosted, Pro Line-powered ’69 Camaro is one of several new cars entering NHRA Pro Mod competition after the centrifugal supercharger combination was added to the rulebook. Bond’s 5.623-second pass is quicker than the current NHRA Pro Mod E.T. record, a 5.643 recorded by Stevie Jackson in 2019.
Bond and his Bahrain 1 Racing team, led by tuner Brad Personett, are still getting acclimated with the ProCharger combination. They threw down a 5.626-second run at 254.90 mph in the third qualifying session Saturday afternoon, then repeated with the 5.623-second pass.
“We were expecting to go significantly slower,” said Bond, who will face Steve Matusek in the first round. “I’d never actually driven the car to the finish line [before the 5.626], so we didn’t know what it would do. The air really affects this combination a lot. Even when I drove it before to 5 seconds, we were running in 2,500 feet of air. We’ve had this car out two times before. It had 11 runs on it before we unloaded it here on Thursday. We just don’t know what to expect and we’re just finding our way.”
While the World Doorslammer Nationals isn’t an NHRA-sanctioned event, the technical department is following the NHRA rules. NHRA tech officials were also at the event and confirmed Bond’s car was up to spec when it made the pair of 5.62 passes.
“We hurt a valve on the first 5.62, so we had to take a cylinder head off,” Bond said. “[NHRA tech officials] were checking it, checked the bore and the stroke and the valves. They’re currently looking at our torque converter and they checked the rear end, so they’re going through the car with a fine-tooth comb.”
Sitting No. 2 behind Bond is two-time Pro Extreme world champion Jason Scruggs, who is going into his third season in NHRA-legal Pro Mod competition. He fired off a 5.656 at 254.86 in his roots-blown “Mississippi Missile” ’20 Camaro during the final qualifying session.
“My dad [Mitchell] and everybody on the team, we’ve been through a lot of struggles since we started doing this,” Scruggs said. “It feels good to get rewarded every now and then with those good runs. But at the end of the day we’re still new and we still have a lot to learn. Tonight was just one of those times where the air was really good and we just went down the racetrack on a clean run. That’s half of the battle.”
Scruggs will take on 2018 NHRA Pro Mod world champion Mike Janis in the opening round of eliminations.
He recognizes the significance of qualifying in the ultra-fast field, which is separated by just over a tenth of a second between Bond’s 5.623-second pass and Matusek’s 5.739-second run on the bump spot.
“We just have to race our own race in every round,” Scruggs said. “Everybody is fast. There’s no easy round, no matter who you’ve got. There’s guys that didn’t make clean runs tonight that can outrun me and have been outrunning me. We’re just going to go out, run our race and try to go some rounds. When it gets that tight, you’ve got to have your stuff together, but you’ve got to have a little luck go your way. That’s just what we’re looking for, one round at a time.”
Alex Laughlin is heading into race day in the No. 3 qualifying spot with a 5.660-second pass at 251.77 mph. In addition to Pro Stock, he’s racing Pro Mod this weekend in a car he had never even driven before stepping onto the property earlier this week. The roots-blown ATI Performance ’69 Camaro is owned by the Caruso family, and is actually the car that Marc Caruso wrecked into the sand trap in Bristol last year. The car’s been repaired and is clearly proving that it can still make some quick runs down the racetrack.
The Texas-based racer’s weekend started off a little slow, but the car has consistently improved all weekend.
“I hadn’t even sat in this car until I got out here,” Laughlin said. “Every car has its own personality, fits different, feels different. I get a little bit more comfortable in it every pass. Qualifying third, not only in Pro Mod, but the quickest field in the history of Pro Mod, that is an absolute testament to what the Carusos are doing between their team and their equipment.”
“As long as I do my job tomorrow and we have a consistent racecar like we’ve had, we have as good of a chance to win this thing as anybody else.”
Laughlin will line up against the No. 14 qualifier, Jim Whiteley, tomorrow during round one.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – On a Saturday night that honored history, Eli Tomac made some of his own at Daytona Int’l Speedway, winning the 50th annual Daytona Supercross.
Tomac, aboard a Kawasaki, became the fourth rider to win the Daytona Supercross four times. His other titles came in 2016, ’17 and ’19.
Saturday’s victory did not come easy. Tomac fell behind Ken Roczen early in the 20-minute/plus one lap race, with the gap growing to nearly nine seconds at one point. With less than two minutes left before the white-flag lap, Tomac completed a long, steady comeback by taking the lead when Roczen’s Honda bobbled slightly in a tight turn and Roczen nearly went down.
Roczen, from nearby Clermont, Fla., rallied late to finish second, only .707 seconds behind Tomac. Defending series champion Cooper Webb, also from Clermont, Fla., finished third on his KTM. The 1-2-3 finish also mirrored the current standings in in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross 450SX class.
“Tonight it was just a little bit of patience in the beginning because the pace was hard early on,” Tomac said. “Somewhere about halfway I realized I had to get going and make the moves and the passes. It was tough to make up the time. Gosh, that was close.
“Big night. We’re in a really good spot in the points, a spot we haven’t been in. So, we’ll just keep trucking along.”
Prior to the headlining 450SX main event, the 250SX main was won by Garrett Marchbanks on a Kawasaki. Marchbanks rode a holeshot start to an early, sizable lead and a dominating victory – the first of his career in 250SX competition.
Honda riders Chase Sexton and Jeremy Martin finished second and third.
“I hadn’t gotten a holeshot in I don’t know how long,” Marchbanks said. “I rode smart, after I got out front I rode some good laps. You know, [it’s] don’t look back [at that point], just keep on going.”
The Daytona Supercross was first held in the Daytona Int’l Speedway infield in 1971 and the course for the 50th annual event, designed by five-time Daytona Supercross champion Ricky Carmichael, had a throwback feel. That nod to history included elements from past courses such as an over-the-wall jump, a Daytona tunnel jump and grass on some portions of the racing surface.
In line with the evening’s historical theme, a number of past Daytona Supercross champions attended and were introduced during pre-race ceremonies, including the winner of the inaugural Daytona Supercross in 1971, Swedish motorcycle legend Gunnar Lindstrom.
A dramatic late goal from Carlos Tevez gave Boca Juniors the Argentine league title on Saturday, as the Buenos Aires club overcame Gimnasia 1-0 to pip their arch rivals River Plate on an breathtaking last day of the season.
River led the Superliga from Boca by a point going into their final round of games and could have guaranteed the title with a victory.
However, they could only scrape a 1-1 draw away at Atletico Tucuman.
At the same time, Boca needed to win at home to Gimnasia and hope River tripped up.
They got the three points they required to leapfrog their rivals when Tevez rifled home from 20 metres out with 18 minutes remaining.
It was Boca's third league title in four years and robbed River of their first league flag since 2014.
The win was a revenge of sorts for Boca, who lost to River in the Copa Libertadores final in 2018 and semifinal last year.
It was a terrible blow for coach Marcelo Gallardo, who was hoping to win his first league title. The league is one of the few trophies the former River midfielder has yet to win in a victorious career as coach.
To add a further layer of intrigue to the occasion, Boca's dramatic win came against a side coached by Diego Maradona, the Boca fan and former player who has publicly fought with another Boca idol and now the club's vice-president, Juan Roman Riquelme.
Two years and four days since he last was allowed inside the Octagon, Sean O'Malley finally made his return. And it was a triumphant one.
O'Malley, who was one of the UFC's hottest young prospects before a failed drug test derailed his hype train, picked up right where he left off with a fluid and powerful performance in finishing Jose Quinonez in the first round on Saturday night in the featured prelim of UFC 248 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
O'Malley, 25, ran his record to 11-0 and unofficially didn't absorb a shot. He came out showing off speedy footwork and potent kicks, and Quinonez never got close. He tried, but when the Mexican charged forward nearly two minutes in, O'Malley dropped him with a counter right hand. Quinonez quickly climbed to his feet, but O'Malley immediately floored him again with a head kick, then delivered hammer fists before the referee jumped in at 2 minutes and 2 seconds.
After having his hand raised, O'Malley had an emotional moment before he could be interviewed inside the cage.
"It's hard to put into words," O'Malley said. "You can't really put it into words. It feels good."
He then watched a video replay of the finishing sequence and noted that he's not the same fighter he was when he left two years ago.
"Yeah, definitely Suga Show 2.0," he said. "I have so many more tools and so much more sweet finishes. I wanted to show more, but it is what it is."
This fight was scheduled to take place in October 2018, but O'Malley was pulled from the bout after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency found the banned substance ostarine in his system. He was suspended for six months, and upon his return last year he was scheduled for a fight but once again was pulled after failing another test because of the presence of the same substance.
"I felt great in there, it definitely doesn't feel like it's been two years, but it's good to be back," O'Malley said. "I've been through a lot to get here. I had two surgeries, two pulled fights, it was a lot. I didn't know how I would feel making that walk, I tried to picture it in my head so many times, but you never know until you are out there.
"I felt great, it felt right. I think I'm the best MMA striker out there. I know a lot of people won't agree with that because they haven't really got to see it, but I truly believe I am the best MMA striker. I can throw anything from either stance and I have so many tools, especially when I'm out there with people that I know I am way better than. I never had a consistent strength and conditioning coach in between camps, but I have that now and I feel way better. I've put on good muscle and I can really tell. I trained so hard and so much for this, it's hard to put into words just how much all of this means. I'd like to come back as quickly as possible now really, I'm not hurt, I'm in shape, so whatever they call with."
Quinonez (8-4) has lost two of his past three fights.
Dariush loaded up on a left haymaker and did not miss. He crushed Klose with the punch, sending him limp into the fence. Dariush's punch nearly sent Klose's mouthguard fully out of his mouth.
It was quite the twist of fortunes. Just seconds earlier, Klose rocked Dariush with a right hand and was closing in for a flurry of his own when Dariush caught him with a counter right that wobbled him.
It was an absolutely wild sequence of events and the first time Klose had ever been finished.
Dariush has 12 victories since joining the UFC lightweight division in 2014, the most by any lightweight in that time, per ESPN Stats & Info.
In the first round, Dariush rode out most of the five minutes on Klose's back working for a rear-naked choke. It never came, but it was a dominant round. And at the end, it ended up an excellent victory for the Kings MMA product. Dariush, 30, has won four straight, the last three by stoppage. The Iraq native, who lives and trains in California, is 6-2-1 in his last nine fights.
Klose, a 30-year-old Arizona resident, had won three straight coming in.
Returning to the Octagon after a career-long absence of 476 days, Magny made up for lost time with an all-around masterful performance. Li had some moments early, but Magny, who had been sidelined by a drug-test failure, persevered through the best that the Chinese fighter could bring and quickly turned the fight his way.
Though Li scored two takedowns in the opening session, Magny avoided any damage and quickly got the fight back to standing. Li put out a lot of energy in getting the takedowns and had little to show for them.
The second round was all Magny. Unofficially, he had a 58-1 edge in total strikes in the round, with much of his work coming from in close. It was more of the same in Round 3 as Magny had a 44-7 edge in strikes and added a takedown. Li kept coming, trying to get back into the fight with his power. But Magny fought smartly, engaging in exchanges against the cage, then slipping away and out of any potential peril.
Returning to the Octagon after a career-long absence of 476 days, Magny made up for lost time with an all-around masterful performance. Li had some moments early, but Magny, who had been sidelined by a drug-test failure, persevered through the best that the Chinese fighter could bring and quickly turned the fight his way.
Though Li scored two takedowns in the opening session, Magny avoided any damage and quickly got the fight back to standing. Li put out a lot of energy in getting the takedowns and had little to show for them.
The second round was all Magny. Unofficially, he had a 58-1 edge in total strikes in the round, with much of his work coming from in close. Magny was glued to Li" never="" of="" opponent="" p="" pair="" room="" s="" the="" to="" whole="" work.="">For Magny, it was his third win in four fights -- although that run stretches back to 2017.
Returning to the Octagon after a career-long absence of 476 days, Magny made up for lost time with an all-around masterful performance. Li had some moments early, but Magny, who had been sidelined by a drug-test failure, persevered through the best that the Chinese fighter could bring and quickly turned the fight his way.
Though Li scored two takedowns in the opening session, Magny avoided any damage and quickly got the fight back to standing. Li put out a lot of energy in getting the takedowns and had little to show for them.
The second round was all Magny. Unofficially, he had a 58-1 edge in total strikes in the round, with much of his work coming from in close. Magny was glued to Li" never="" of="" opponent="" p="" pair="" room="" s="" the="" to="" whole="" work.="">Li saw his three-fight winning streak end. He had won seven of eight.
Returning to the Octagon after a career-long absence of 476 days, Magny made up for lost time with an all-around masterful performance. Li had some moments early, but Magny, who had been sidelined by a drug-test failure, persevered through the best that the Chinese fighter could bring and quickly turned the fight his way.
Though Li scored two takedowns in the opening session, Magny avoided any damage and quickly got the fight back to standing. Li put out a lot of energy in getting the takedowns and had little to show for them.
The second round was all Magny. Unofficially, he had a 58-1 edge in total strikes in the round, with much of his work coming from in close. Magny was glued to Li" never="" of="" opponent="" p="" pair="" room="" s="" the="" to="" whole="" work.="">"It feels great to finally get back in there and win," Magny said. "Over the last year now, I've been finding myself in a real down place. I've put that all behind me now and came out on top tonight, so it feels great. In a weird way, this time off has been a blessing. It allowed me to spend a lot of time with family, even grow my family back at home.
Returning to the Octagon after a career-long absence of 476 days, Magny made up for lost time with an all-around masterful performance. Li had some moments early, but Magny, who had been sidelined by a drug-test failure, persevered through the best that the Chinese fighter could bring and quickly turned the fight his way.
Though Li scored two takedowns in the opening session, Magny avoided any damage and quickly got the fight back to standing. Li put out a lot of energy in getting the takedowns and had little to show for them.
The second round was all Magny. Unofficially, he had a 58-1 edge in total strikes in the round, with much of his work coming from in close. Magny was glued to Li" never="" of="" opponent="" p="" pair="" room="" s="" the="" to="" whole="" work.="">"I also made some changes in my camp and made sure we were doing everything as well as possible. We went back and looked at my last five fights, the wins and losses, and really looked at where I could improve. One of the biggest things we found was foot positioning, I feel like we addressed that well tonight. Another thing is pressure, I wanted to sit back and calculate a little bit more, so it's been improvement all around. I think this gets me right back in the mix. The division has been shaken up a bit since I've been gone, but I showed tonight that I can jump back in there with the best of them, so I'd love to jump back in there with [Michael] Chiesa."
Oliviera hugged his coaches, then embraced Griffin and raised his hand. It was clearly an emotional moment, snapping a three-fight losing streak.
"I want to fight again," Oliveira said afterward. "Give me another one."
Oliveira came away with a hard-fought split-decision win to open the main card. Oliveira opened up a nasty cut on Griffin's forehead with an uppercut in the second round and seemed to only gain momentum from there.
Griffin had a very solid first round. He snapped Oliveira's head back with several right hands and landed a nice trip takedown out of a clinch.
The uppercut seemed to be what shifted things. The cut from the punch was so bad that referee Mark Smith asked the ringside doctor to come in to check on it.
Griffin was able to continue, but was never the same. Oliveira landed a nice Superman punch in the second and put Griffin on his back in the third. Late in the third, Griffin mounted a comeback, sweeping Oliveira and landing some short elbows from half guard. But the damage had been done and the judges awarded Oliveira the victory.
Oliveira, 32, was potentially fighting for his UFC job. The Brazilian, nicknamed "Cowboy," had not won since 2018.
Griffin, a 34-year-old California native, has lost four of five.
Early in Round 1, Mark O. Madsen takes Austin Hubbard for a ride that Daniel Cormier approves. For more UFC, sign up here for ESPN+ http://plus.espn.com/ufc.
For two rounds, Madsen had his way with Hubbard. The former Olympic silver medalist in Greco Roman wrestling was stuck to Hubbard like glue, grinding him out and putting him on the ground with his superior grappling. Hubbard got Madsen in some trouble in the third. But it was not enough.
Madsen earned a unanimous decision (29-28 on all three cards) win. He remains an intriguing older prospect in the lightweight division with his wrestling pedigree.
In the first, Madsen landed a huge German suplex that drove Hubbard to the mat. He worked for several chokes. The second round was much of the same. Madsen landed takedown after takedown and nearly had a D'arce choke at one point.
But Hubbard remained game. He landed a big knee in the clinch in the third round, rocking his opponent. Hubbard, clearly seeing Madsen's tendency to lean to his right in the clinch, landed two more nice knees and a spinning elbow on a clinch separation. Madsen was hurt and possibly tired, but time ran out before Hubbard could get the finish he needed to win.
Madsen, 35, has won both of his UFC fights and remains undefeated. The 2016 Olympian out of Denmark landed 8 of 12 takedowns and had almost eight minutes of control time. Hubbard, a 28-year-old Illinois native, had won four of five coming in.
Madsen was transported to the hospital after the fight for precautionary reasons.
The lesson for all UFC middleweights: Don't go kicking Vieira in the face. If you do, your kick had better finish him, or watch out.
Safarov landed a front kick to the chin in the fight's first minute, and it shook Vieira, who went on retreat momentarily to get his bearings. Within seconds, though, he changed direction and took down the Russian, who briefly put up a fight on the canvas before succumbing to a head-and-arm choke at 2:58 of Round 1.
Vieira, a four-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion and a seven-time World Cup champion, made it look like another day at the office in running his record to 7-0. But the day at the office did not come without damage. As he was waiting to have his arm raised, Vieira was holding a towel against the left side of his face. And when he moved the towel away, it revealed a badly swollen left eye, apparently suffered during the grappling scramble.
His finish was relentless and efficient. Once he had Safarov on the canvas, he quickly gained back control and was looking for a rear-naked choke. Safarov has a combat sambo background and was wise to the danger of being flattened out on his stomach, so he maneuvered onto his back. But that was no safe haven as Vieira simply switched to a different choke and finished the job.
"I knew I had to end it in the first round," Vieira said through an interpreter, "because it would have been hard to continue the fight without being able to see out of the left eye."
Viera was transported to the hospital after the fight for precautionary reasons.
For most of the fight, it was Winn landing the haymakers and Meerschaert trying to keep him from closing the distance with straight punches and a steady diet of jabs.
In the end, it was Meerschaert who landed the biggest blow of the bout -- a left hand that rocked Winn and led to the finish. Meerschaert picked up a very nice submission win at 2:13 of the third round.
After Meerschaert wobbled Winn, he picked up the pressure and landed a combination. Winn slipped, Meerschaert pounced and then ended up on Winn's back.
Meerschaert, an opportunistic submission specialist, saw an opening and cinched in a rear-naked choke. It was the 22nd submission win of Meerschaert's career and his 28th finish in 30 career wins.
The shorter Winn landed the harder blows in the first round. He was able to get inside Meerschaert's range and land hard shots. Meerschaert had a black right eye before the conclusion of the round, but he made adjustments in the second by using a very nice jab to keep Winn at bay and landing multiple body shots.
In the third, Winn got off to a nice start and actually momentarily stunned Meerschaert with a big right hand that he loaded up on. But Meerschaert's precise combos ended up leading to the finish.
Meerschaert, 32, has won two of his past three bouts. The Wisconsin native has compiled a 6-4 record in the UFC's middleweight division.
"I'm not overall thrilled with my performance, but I'm happy with the win," Meerschaert said. "Putting him away was good, he did catch me, he's a tough guy, but it feels great to get back in there and get another submission. This is a big confidence boost for me. It lets me and everyone else know that I belong and that I'm here to stay."
Winn, a 30-year-old California native and protégé of former champion Daniel Cormier, started 6-0 before losing his past two, including a split decision to Darren Stewart last October.
In the final seconds of the first round, Giga Chikadze and Jamall Emmers each attempt a spinning strike at the same time. For more UFC, sign up here for ESPN+ http://plus.espn.com/ufc.
By the end, it was Emmers who looked like the world-class striker, but Chikadze's strong start was enough to earn him the nod on two of the three 29-28 scorecards.
That's four wins a row for Chikadze, the past two in the UFC. The native of the nation of Georgia, who now is based at Kings MMA in Southern California, is a former professional kickboxer, and that pedigree showed early on. He came out with a spinning back fist, which missed but set the tone. For the rest of Round 1 and for much of the second, Chikadze kept the fight at his preferred range with kicks from distance.
But Emmers, who was making his UFC debut while riding a four-fight winning streak, gradually closed the distance, and a minute and a half into the second round he got his first takedown. He didn't do much with it, but once he introduced wrestling into the fight, things began to turn his way.
Chikadze appeared to tire as the fight wore on, with his punches and kicks coming less frequently and with less steam on them. According to UFC Stats, Emmers outlanded Chikadze 54-38 in significant strikes, including 32-13 in Round 3. But in the view of two judges, Chikadze had done enough out of the gate.
Chikadze was transported to the hospital after the fight for precautionary reasons.
Training at JacksonWink MMA is paying off. Batgerel, who did this training camp at the Albuquerque, New Mexico, gym, stopped Cannetti via knockout at 3:01 of the first round in the UFC 248 prelim opener.
Batgerel landed several nice combinations that snapped Cannetti's head back in the early minutes. The knockout punch was a beautiful left hook off a counter of a Cannetti punch. Cannetti dropped to the canvas and Batgerel pounced with ground-and-pound.
The one unexpected name to reach the last eight of the junior boys’ singles competition was the host nation’s Kassa Dikizeyiko; he recorded a second round success in opposition to compatriot Mbilizi Tshoma-Tshoma (7-11, 12-10, 11-4, 10-12, 11-3, 11-4).
Hard fought success for Kassa Dikizeyiko, for Congo Brazzaville’s Arxy Gauchy, the no.6 seed, the success was even harder fought, he needed the full seven games to beat Congo Democratic’s Christian Muta, only emerging successful by the minimal two point margin in the deciding game (6-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-6, 11-13, 11-9).
Progress and for the top four names, progress in a less dramatic manner. All from the host nation, facing compatriots; Noredi Bongo, the top seed, beat Lituli Nsingi (11-3, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8), Christian Mbonga, the no.2 seed, overcame Mpunga Kimpangula (11-7, 11-8, 11-8, 11-5). Likewise Exauce Ngefuassa, the no.3 seed, accounted for Marc Tshilenge (11-5, 11-8, 11-1, 11-6), Rabby Kasota ended the hopes of Togo’s Abidou Soufianou, the no.7 seed (11-4, 11-3, 8-11, 11-7, 11-6).
The host nation prominent, the one interloper is Dryche Ekoya Kanga from Congo Brazzaville, he overcame Congo Democratic’s Neredi Mutshu (11-8, 11-9, 5-11, 11-9, 11-5) to book his last eight place.
Success for leading pairs
Similarly, in the junior boys’ doubles, there was success for the leading pairs. At the semi-final stage Noredi Bongo and Rabby Kasota meet colleague Palata Masilu and Abidou Soufianou; in the opposite half of the draw an all Congo Democratic affair sees Jean Kalubuenda and Josue Olenga oppose Christian Mbongia and Exauce Ngefuassa.
Meanwhile, in the junior girls’ singles competition the leading names have yet to start their main draw campaigns; however, the junior girls’ doubles semi-finalists are known. Hungary’s Helga Dari and Oumehani Hosenally from Mauritius meet Congo Democratic’s Nzangani Kindandi and Makaya Landu; in the adjacent half of the draw, also from the host nation Gloria Dianda and Lily Dinanga oppose Angola’s Eugenia Simoes and Kailane Sousa.
Likewise, play in the main draw of the cadet girls’ singles event has yet to start; conversely, the opening round of the cadet boys’ singles has been completed. Moreover, there was an upset; Congo Brazzaville’s Marc Tshilenge, the no.2 seed, was beaten by colleague, Lituli Nsingi (11-8, 11-8, 4-11, 8-11, 12-10.
Somewhat differently there were no such problems for Exauce Diampovisa, the top seed; in an all Congo Democratic affair he overcame Djemila Senghor (13-11, 11-7, 11-7).
Semi-finalists known
The opening round completed, in the cadet boys’ doubles, the semi-finalist are realised. All pairs from the host nation Exauce Diampovisa and Kassa Dikizeyko face Chris Kunga and Milvi Lusemo; in the adjacent half of the draw Tamayala Mbaka and Omba Okende oppose Kididi Mata and Christian Mata.
In cadet girls’ doubles semi-finals it is the same situation, Muteba Dialumona and Julie Kayembe play Mbenza Landu and Blessing Mbela; Nzangani Kindandi and Makaya Landu confront Bombanga Sita and Nsumbu Zaina.
Jorge Cardona and Marlon Lopez, missing the services of José Manuel Ruiz, had to settle for third place in their group; thus it was elimination, journey’s end.
The combination of Poland’s Igor Misztal and Italy’s Lorenzo Cordua concluded matters in top spot ahead of the Netherlands combination of Bas Hegerlink and Bart van der Zanden.
Rather differently it was second place and this progress to the main draw for Joshua Stacey and Ashley Facey-Thompson. They experienced a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the outfit formed by Australia’s Ma Lin and Montenegro’s Luka Bakic. Ma Lin and Luka Bakic duly remained unbeaten to top the group.
Problems for notable combinations
Second place behind the unbeaten group winners for the British pair, they were not alone in the men’s team event, other seeded pairs experienced problems.
In class 5, the two leading teams both had to settle for runners up spot. The top seeded Chinese Taipei combination of Cheng Ming-Chih, Lin Wei-Hsin and Lin Yen-Hung experienced a 2-1reverse when confronting the pairing of Germany’s Jan Guertler and Japan’s Kentaro Doi; by the same margin, the Korea Republic pairing of Kim Kiyoung and Kim Kyungyoung lost to the outfit formed by Croatia’s Tomislav Spalj and Turkey’s Hamza Caliskan.
Meanwhile, in class 3-4, the top seeded French pair of Fabien Lamirault and Alexandre Delarque remained unbeaten but Slovakia’s Peter Mihalik and Boris Travnicek, the no.2 seeds, suffered a 2-0 defeat against the pairing of Ireland’s Colin Judge and Italy’s Matteo Orsi. Thus runners up spot was their lot.
Similarly, in class 6-7, the team formed by Japan’s Masachika Inoue and Belgium’s Ben Despineux, the top seeds, secured first place in their group; conversely for the no.2 seeds, Croatia’s Pavao Jozic and Russia’s Mars Gabdullin it was a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Poland’s Maksym Chudzicki and Michal Diegsler.
Defeat but except for Jorge Cardona and Marlon Lopez; alongside the teams who proved their undoing, all are through to the knock -out stage.
Prominent outfits undefeated
Surprises amongst the leading men’s teams, not in class 1, class 8, nor in class 11 where there were two groups in the initial stage.
In class 1, Poland’s Rafal Czuper and Tomasz Jakimczuk, the top seeds, reserved first place, as did the next in the order of merit, the outfit formed by the Czech Republic’s Jiri Suchanek who joined forces with the Russia’s Rasul Navirov and Dmitry Lavrov.
Likewise in class 8, the top seeds, Belgium’s Marc Ledoux and Great Britain’s Billy Shilton secured first place in their group as did the no.2 seeds, the partnership formed by Hungary’s Andras Csonksa and Slovakia’s Richard Csejtey. In class 11, the pair at the head of the order Belgium’s Florian van Acker and Korea Republic’s Jeong Kyuyoung remained unbeaten to reserve first place; a situation that applied also to Japan’s Taskeshi Takemori and Takashi Asano, the no.2 seeds.
Polish duo hit form
Surprises in the men’s team event, in the women’s the situation was much less prevalent; class 11 witnessing the upsets.
Administered on a group basis, Krystyna Lysiak and Dorota Nowacka beat Russia’s Anzhelika Kosacheva and Maria Galkina, the top seeds, a 2-0 result being the outcome. Later they recorded a 2-1 success in opposition to Japan’s Kanami Furakawa and Maki Ito, the no.2 seeds. Krystyna Lysiak and Dorota Nowacka ended the day the only unbeaten team in the group.
Otherwise in the women’s team events, it was progress for the leading lights. In class 2-3, the combination of Croatia’s Helena Dretar and India’s Bhavina Patel, the top seeds remained unbeaten as did Great Britain’s Sue Gilroy and Megan Shackleton.
Likewise in group staged competitions, in class 6-8 and in class 9-10, the respective top two pairs ended the day unscathed. In the former Poland’s Dajana Jastrzebska and Katarzyna Marszal remained unbeaten as did their main rivals, the pairing formed by Italy’s Yuri Tomono and Italy’s Elena Elli. In the latter it was the same for the Australian trio of Melissa Tapper, Yang Qian and Lei Lina, a situation that applied also to Chinese Taipei’s Tiau Shiau-Wen and Lin Tzu-Yu, the no.2 seeds.
Play in Platja d’Aro concludes on Sunday 8th March.
Romain Ntamack will look to continue France's Grand Slam charge against Scotland with a note from his father urging him to "be better than me".
It has become a routine for the 20-year-old, who has helped his side win their first three Six Nations games.
Ntamack's father, Emile, made 46 appearances for France between 1994-2000, winning a Grand Slam as a player and a coach.
"My dad pushes me to do better than him," Ntamack said.
"He has just one desire, that I am better than him in everything. Before every match, even the smaller ones, he always sends me a message or calls me a few minutes to wish me luck, to try and reassure me."
Head coach Fabien Galthie has kept faith with his in-form but inexperienced half-back partnership of Ntamack and 23-year-old scrum-half Antoine Dupont as France search for their first win at Murrayfield since 2014.
Despite their relationship at Test level, they have only started at half-back together twice for record 20-time French champions Toulouse.
"It's important to have a dynamic and to know how one another works," Ntamack said. "We're team-mates at club level, which allows us to build a dynamic much quicker with France.
"I hope, with the club, I'll have more chance to play at 10 with Antoine at nine to improve the dynamic."
Ntamack's task on Sunday has been made easier with Finn Russell's continued exile from Scotland duty after the Racing 92 fly-half's breakdown in his relationship with head coach Gregor Townsend.
"Just because there's no Russell, we can't tell ourselves 'OK the game's won'," he said. "Russell's an extraordinary player, he shows that every weekend with Racing and every time he plays for Scotland.
"Russell or no Russell, it changes nothing in our plans. We have to be careful of all their players, be that their forwards or backs, because they have enormous talent."
Winger Damian Penaud will return from injury to replace Teddy Thomas at Murrayfield having missed Les Bleus' three opening victories with a calf injury.
Elsewhere, prop Jefferson Poirot takes the place of Cyril Baille, who sustained a shoulder injury at the Principality Stadium.
There's an understandable love-in going on around the France team right now, a celebration of their revival, a glorying in their return as Grand Slam contenders after a decade of failure. They're back. Maybe.
In a championship that has been decidedly underwhelming in terms of quality and has now become fractured by coronavirus, the Six Nations has needed this storyline from Paris. But are we totally sold on France's invincibility? Are they actually the real deal or are we so desperate for them to be the real deal that we're ignoring some vulnerabilities that might yet find them out?
Fabien Galthie's team answered some questions in Cardiff a fortnight ago but they have a few more to answer at Murrayfield on Sunday. They have lost three in a row in Edinburgh. The local diehards - and serial optimists - could construct a case around Scotland winning this one.
Home advantage for a start. France's scrum has been giving up penalties, France's defence, though improved, has given up seven tries in three games. They won at the Principality but they probably should have lost. Depending on what colour eyes you have, that's either a positive or a negative.
France have only been behind for a sum total of three minutes in this championship. They haven't been asked to play catch-up. Scotland have to put them in that dark place if they are to stand a chance.
The Scots have had an odd championship, narrow losses to Ireland and England and a flawed victory over Italy in Rome. Their own defence has been excellent, their attack wasteful. Where before they blew themselves out of games through comedy errors and minimal resistance when the pressure came on them, they now seem to have a significant resilience, an ability to scrap and fight and stay in the hunt.
As one player said last week: "When we put it all together, somebody's getting turned over." Can they, though? Without Finn Russell, do they have the unpredictability required?
Gregor Townsend has brought back Fraser Brown at hooker and Nick Haining at No 8, the two most physical players he could have selected in those positions. France have many things going for them and power is just one. In this fixture in Paris last year, they did such a huge number on Scotland in the aggression stakes that you almost wanted to look away at times. Scotland fancy themselves in that department nowadays.
There's a rapprochement, but no return of Russell, so they'll have to unlock this France defence with pretty much the same crew that have produced just three tries in three games, all against Italy. Townsend might draw comfort from the fact that multiple opportunities were created outside of the three chances they actually took. But they need to start taking them now.
Can Scotland beat kings of fast start?
There is a recurring theme around Galthie's team as they bear down on Scotland and their pursuit of a Grand Slam. It's not just the consistency of their results that stands out - three wins in a row in the championship for the first time in a decade - it's the way they've established a platform for those results.
France have become kings of the fast start. In all three of their games so far they've scored a try inside the opening seven minutes, which is a bit of a continuation of a theme from the World Cup in Japan, where they scored against Tonga and United States inside six minutes before scoring twice inside eight against Wales.
That quarter-final in Oita in October ended up in defeat thanks to the steepling stupidity of Sebastien Vahaamahina, who has now retired from international rugby - one of 21 French players who played in last season's Six Nations but who have not and - almost certainly - will not play in this one. Some turnover, some turnaround.
On their road to Murrayfield on Sunday, the French have led pretty much all the way. When they get ahead, they stay ahead. That stability is also new. The Shaun Edwards Factor, if you like. France have had consistency of selection compared to the musical chairs policy. They have a young team that have been allowed to bond.
In four games, including Sunday, France have made just one change to the starting pack. One. And it was an injury that caused it. For Murrayfield, Jefferson Poirot comes in for Cyril Baille at loosehead - and that's it. The same hooker and tighthead four games running, the same second-row and back-row, too. The selectorial axe has been replaced by a tickle stick.
There is so much to admire in this team, from the lethal intelligence of Anton Dupont at nine and the brilliance of Romain Ntamack at 10 to the resilience of the heavy mob up front, particularly in the back row, a wonderful amalgam of brutality and dexterity, carriers and leaders.
France have flair but they also have a new pragmatism and a streetwise dimension. They're kicking for territory now more than before - and more than anybody else in the championship. Way more. Once they gain territory they've been pretty clinical in their execution.
In their victory against England, they spent less than two minutes attacking in England's 22, whereas England had more than 10 minutes attacking in France's 22. French efficiency won the day.
The same in Wales. Wayne Pivac's team had more than seven minutes on the ball in their 22, France had just over two minutes down the other end. France won. An intercept try and an horrendous refereeing call that went against Wales helped them along the way, of course.
They have dropped Teddy Thomas, another sure sign of how things have changed. Thomas is a wondrous attacker but a flaky defender. He's gone. Damian Penaud, who has been injured, is back. The last time Penaud played against Scotland he scored two tries. He's an exceptional talent. Another one.
Scotland know the importance of getting out of the blocks early, of imposing their game on France rather than the other way around. Denying the visitors their fast start is critical in the setting of the tone and the unsettling of the juggernaut.
They know what they need to do, but doing it against a team with confidence and class, momentum and power, is another story. The championship might want the fairytale story of the French Slam. The Scots need to revel in their role of the bad guy.
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