LAS VEGAS — Amanda Nunes’ impressive reign atop two UFC divisions is showing no signs of decline.
In fact, her dominance is making history.
Nunes became the first UFC fighter to defend two championship belts while actively holding the titles in both weight classes Saturday night, earning a dominant unanimous decision over featherweight contender Felicia Spencer at UFC 250.
Former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt also knocked out Raphael Assunc?o an instant before the second-round bell in the co-main event at a fan-free gym on the UFC’s corporate campus in Las Vegas.
UFC 250 was the second event held at the UFC Apex gym in the promotion’s hometown since its resumption in competition amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Apex octagon is 25 feet in diameter instead of the typical 30 feet, and those close quarters resulted in several entertaining finishes, including spectacular knockouts by Garbrandt and fellow bantamweight star “Suga” Sean O’Malley.
Nunes (20-4), widely considered the greatest female fighter in mixed martial arts history, is the UFC’s champion of the bantamweight and featherweight divisions. The list of two-division UFC champions is short, and no one else has defended both belts.
“Guys, no one else ever did that before!” Nunes said. “It’s amazing. I knew something big was going to happen in my life. Sometimes you’re surprised by how big it is.”
While Nunes’ dominance was tested in her last bout against bantamweight Germaine De Randamie in December, the relatively inexperienced Spencer (8-2) provided little challenge to the champ, other than the remote possibility of breaking her hands in repeated collisions with Spencer’s face.
Nunes battered the slower Spencer with her fearsome striking power from the start, cutting the challenger’s face and later sending her mouthpiece flying away during the third round. Spencer had a nasty hematoma growing on her forehead after the fourth round.
Nunes comfortably defended her featherweight belt for the first time since taking it from Cris “Cyborg” Justino in December 2018. She has defended the bantamweight belt five times since 2016.
She got the new belt!
Garbrandt (12-3) had lost three straight fights before this impressive performance ended with a right cross that knocked out Assuncao in the final second of the second round. Garbrandt retreated to the fence, dodged Assuncao’s right hand and landed a perfect shot to the face, sending Assunc?o tumbling backward and face-first to the canvas.
The win was Garbrandt’s first since December 2016, when he beat Dominick Cruz for the 135-pound title.
O’Malley (12-0) opened the pay-per-view portion of UFC 250 with a vicious one-punch knockout of veteran Eddie Wineland just 1:54 into their bout.
O’Malley’s right hand to the jaw deposited Wineland flat on his back with his hands still raised. O’Malley imperiously walked away from his single punch before the senseless Wineland or the referee knew what happened.
“When you’re as fast and accurate as I am, I’m gonna land first and I’m going to land early,” O’Malley said. “And I landed on the button.”
Later, Aljamain Sterling rendered Cory Sandhagen unconscious with a rear naked choke just 88 seconds into a fight to determine the next contender for the bantamweight title. Sterling (19-3), who has five straight victories, swiftly locked in a full body triangle and a deep choke to finish Sandhagen, who tapped out right before going to sleep.
Light heavyweight Devin Clark took a knee with his fist raised in the air during his pre-fight introduction from Bruce Buffer. Clark then earned a unanimous-decision victory over previously unbeaten prospect Alonzo Menifield, persevering through a left eye closed by punches.
Clark and teammate Jon Jones spent time on the streets of Albuquerque last weekend, speaking to protesters and helping in the cleanup effort for property damage.
Clark didn’t speak to the media after his fight, instead heading to a hospital for immediate care.
But Sterling spoke out in support of the widespread protests following the death of George Floyd in his post-fight interview.
“The world is in shambles right now, especially America,” Sterling said. “We’ve got a lot going on in this country. It’s a great country, but there’s a lot of things that need to be changed, especially the injustices happening to minorities all across America. This one is for everybody back home fighting the good fight, protesting. I support you guys. I’m with you guys all the way.”
Featherweight Cody Stamann earned a dominant decision over Brian Kelleher just 10 days after the death of Stamann’s 18-year-old brother, Jacob.
“It’s been real hard,” said Stamann, who was visibly emotional in the cage. “I’ve been fighting tears all day. I had to buckle up and be a man and get this done for my family, for myself.”
The UFC led North American sports’ return last month with three shows in Florida. President Dana White is determined to hold near-weekly shows going forward, and he still intends to stage fights this summer on a private island dubbed “Fight Island.”
Although White has been secretive about the location where he will stage bouts between fighters unable to reach the U.S. due to coronavirus travel restrictions, lightweight Herbert Burns let slip that Fight Island is in Abu Dhabi after he beat Evan Dunham in the opening bout of UFC 250.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
