A Russian wrestler says he has achieved a lifetime goal after winning gold at the World Wrestling Championships 2021, beating a feared American opponent who had won his first four matches by a combined score of 41-0.
Russian and European freestyle champion Abasgadzhi Magomedov had claimed he was willing to die on the mat before taking on Daton Fix, an Oklahoma fighter who calls himself the ‘greatest ever’ and had whitewashed all of his adversaries on his way to the final in Oslo.
Some analysts had suggested that Magomedov would require an exceptional performance to beat Fix, who had won all of those bouts by technical fall, taking under two minutes in each of his last three encounters.
Behind after the first period, Magomedov took a shot-clock point to make it 2-1 and a takedown with less than 90 seconds remaining as he won his fourth major gold medal of the year and the eighth of his outstanding career.
“I [had targeted] this gold all my life and today this hard long-term work has paid off,” the Dagestan-born star said afterwards.
“Thanks to my family for their support and faith in me, thanks to everyone who participated in my training – coaches, gym partners, all the personnel of the Russian and Dagestan national teams.
“Special thanks to all fans – your support motivates me in the most difficult moments.”
The 61kg king continued his remarkable run this year, winning all 18 of his bouts.
Magomedov had beaten Mongolia’s Tumenbilegiin Tuvshintulga and Turk Emrah Ormanoglu on technical falls on his way to the semifinals, in which he beat Japan’s Toshihiro Hasegawa 10-0.
His victory at the Russian National Championships in Ulan–Ude in March was a successful defense of the title he won for the first time in 2020.
A former US national champion at 57kg, Fix said he was “so thankful for all of the love and support” he had received in the build-up.
“For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be the best in the world,” added the 2019 Pan American Games winner.
“Although I have to settle for second this year, I know that I am right there. God’s plan for me has always been bigger than my own. I am more motivated than ever and cannot wait to get better.”
Magomedov is now aiming to help Russia win again in the team event at the championships.
Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski branded title challenger Brian Ortega a “f*cking drug cheat” in a heated staredown before the pair meet in their main event at UFC 266 in Las Vegas.
Volkanovski makes the second defense of his 135lbs belt against his American rival at the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night, and ahead of the bout the Australian claimed he had only just found out about Ortega’s past ban for taking a prohibited substance.
A young MMA hopeful has passed away aged just 22 after he took part in a fight earlier this month and was then hospitalized amid complaints about headaches in the hours that followed the bout in southern Brazil.
Lucas Gabriel Peres hailed from Peabiru in South America’s largest country with his scrap in a K-1 competition taking place two hours away in Marina, Parana state.
Just hours after his match, when already arriving back in Peabiru, Peres complained of suffering from a headache and was taken to a local hospital in Campo Mourao.
His condition gradually worsening, he was then sent to the Metropolitan Hospital in Sarandi and eventually pronounced dead last Saturday on September 18.
El luchador brasileño, Lucas Gabriel Peres de artes marciales mixtas (MMA), murió a sus 22 años a causa de las lesiones sufridas durante una pelea que disputó hace semanas, según diagnósticos. Se dedicaba a las MMA como aficionado y era tan solo su segunda pelea.#IG pic.twitter.com/2X0d2sK0jX
— Pio Noticias (@pionoticias) September 23, 2021
A report from a local branch of domestic media giant Globo has said that the organizers of the event have been in direct contact with Peres’ family and do not plan to make any comment on the development.
The Medical Legal Institute is looking into the cause of the youngster’s passing, with his death certificate detailing that he suffered from head trauma.
His career barely able to get off the ground, Pires competed just once at amateur level and lost a May bout to compatriot Leandro Pires.
The September outing was meant to be his return to competition, but concluded in the most tragic of fashions.
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Head trauma is fast becoming one of MMA’s hottest topics of discussion alongside fighter pay, with the president of its most elite championship, the UFC, admitting that more could be done to aid those such as Spencer Fisher and others who have shown signs of the condition.
“Listen, we’re all learning every day about the brain injury stuff,” Dana White admitted to MMA Junkie earlie this year.
“We’ve been invested in this [Lou] Ruvo Center [at the Cleveland Clinic] to try and figure out more.”
“But listen, he’s not the first and he’s definitely not going to be the last,” White said of Fisher.
“This is a contact sport and anybody who’s done this younger, myself included, is dealing with brain issues. It’s part of the gig,” he claimed.
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Parrii Srohi didn’t impress the judges at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Krasnoyarsk but the Indian figure-skater has no regrets about competing as she paid tribute to the Russian greats from whom she gained inspiration.
The 17-year-old Srohi failed to impress the judges with her showing at the event in the Siberian city, scoring just 27.56 points in total – including a tally of just 0.84 for the technical elements in her short program, which is reportedly the lowest ever recorded.
Her result saw her rooted to last place in the standings, some 17 points behind the figure-skater in second-last position.
However, the Indian who took up the sport just three years ago says that the defeat is just part of her continuing journey through the sport.
Srohi explained afterwards that the event was her first international tournament, and that coming to skate in Russia held particular significance for her as she valued the chance to work with Russian trainers.
Pointing to some of her inspirations, Srohi named some famous Russians on the ice from down the years, including Sochi 2014 sensation Yulia Lipnitskaya – whose performance at the Winter Olympics seven years ago Srohi described as “legendary.”
Parri Srohi(IND)skating out of pure joy at her first JGP in Russia a week ago. Parri grew up&trained almost entirely in India where there is dearth of ice& artificial ice rinks.Her coach since she started has been @NishchayLuthra of Luthra International Figure Skating Academy. pic.twitter.com/8Mn6TP6QQn
— SouthAsianFigureSkaters (@SouthAsianFS) September 22, 2021
The Czech Foreign Minister has summoned British Ambassador Nick Archer following a critical tweet over a racism row that emerged from Glasgow Rangers’ Europa League match against Sparta Prague.
Czech Deputy Prime Minister Jan Hamacek made the demand of Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek, which has now been realized, to “immediately halt such attacks” while insisting that Czechs are neither racist nor “rotten fruit.”
Hamacek retweeted an outburst from the Equality And Diversity Advisor To The Scottish FA, Marvin Bartley, who wrote: “The worst thing about the scenes in Prague last night is that I’m not shocked in the slightest!”
Bartley was referring to what took place in Rangers’ 1-0 defeat to Sparta in the Czech capital, where Glen Kamara was booed throughout the match by home support that contained some 10,000 children after taking the knee, and was eventually sent off in the 74th minute for a second yellow card.
The worst thing about the scenes in Prague last night is that I’m not shocked in the slightest! In no way is this the fault of the CHILDREN because they’re behaving in a way they see adults do/encourage. What chance do they have when placed in a bowl with rotten fruit. UEFA
