Sports
Exclusive: Aussie duo stun UFC with back-to-back KOs
#Aussie #duo #stun #UFC #backtoback #KOs
Australia’s standing within the UFC may never have been stronger than it is right now – and it took another step up with a trio of Australians claiming victory in Singapore on Sunday.
Jack Della Maddalena and Jake Matthews were both promoted to the main pay-per-view card and repaid the faith shown in them by fight organisers, each recording impressive finishes.
Joshua Culibao won via decision on the preliminary card, while Jacob Malkoun came agonisingly close to making it an Australian clean sweep, only to lose 29-28 on all three scorecards.
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Training partner and former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker clearly disagreed with the decision, as he watched along from ringside.
But Malkoun’s defeat aside, it was a perfect day for the Australian contingent – culminating in Matthews recording the biggest win of his life, knocking out Portugal’s Andre Fialho in the second round.
“I’ve had this sort of skill level my entire career, and thank god we were able to bring it to the fight this time,” he said after the fight.
”Get used to seeing that.”
Matthews used his time on the microphone to make his case to appear on the UFC’s Paris card in September, which will already include Whittaker, Tai Tuivasa and hopefully Tyson Pedro.
”Bonjour Paris!” he said.
“My boys in Australia are fighting in France, I want to get on that card as well, let’s go.”
His win came just minutes after Della Maddalena’s round one TKO of Ramazan Emeev, a flurry of body shots proving too much for the Russian.
Aussie Jack Della Maddalena continues undefeated UFC career
Emeev had never been stopped in the UFC before, winning or losing each of his first seven fights by decision.
Della Maddalena told Wide World of Sports before the fight that it was his goal to win via a stoppage, and he duly obliged in less than two minutes.
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The backstories and controversies that have ignited feuds involving athletes
#30year #Origin #hoodoo #haunting #South #Wales
It’s almost 30 years since a Blues team came back to win a State of Origin series after losing the opener in Sydney, but two stars of that memorable NSW team of 1994 have laid down a blueprint for Brad Fittler’s men to follow.
Brilliant fullback Tim Brasher and giant back-rower Paul Sironen admitted things looked bleak for the Blues when Mark Coyne scored the famous last-minute try to win the Queenslanders an epic Game One that series.
“I know how this team feels – because it’s the same way we felt back in ’94,” Sironen, now a member of the Blues’ management team, told Wide World of Sports from Perth.
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“When you have game one at home you just have to win it – and we blew it.
“We didn’t play as well as we could have and we didn’t execute the way we trained and we knew we were really going to be up against it for the rest of the series.
“But what we did was turn that to our advantage by using that frustration, disappointment and anger at ourselves to spur us on.
“We levelled the series in Melbourne and it then all came down to the decider in Brisbane.”
Brasher has vivid memories of the lead-up to the all-important third match at Lang Park.
“Everyone was telling us about Lang Park being the cauldron and how we would cop it up there and I must admit I wasn’t all that confident in the week leading up to the game,” Brasher said.
“But then on game night, as our team bus went down Caxton Street and they came out of the pub and shook the bus and threw bottles at us, I think that actually did us a favour.
“It galvanised us, gave us a siege mentality and we were determined to go all the way.”
The Blues won the decider 27-12, with a young Brad Fittler playing in the centres.
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Players who made their State of Origin debut as teenagers
#Playing #starters #Magnolia #routs #Phoenix
Magnolia’s Jio Jalalon (second from right) splits the Phoenix defense to finish in double figures. —PBA IMAGES
Magnolia did the math and figured a few people short did not exactly mean a disadvantage in manpower.
“Coach told us that there are only five of us on the floor at a time, so it doesn’t matter if we’re missing some of our key players,” said veteran playmaker Mark Barroca, who keyed a 95-77 rout of Phoenix on Friday in the PBA Philippine Cup at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
“As long as the five on the floor is solid, we’ll be fine,” added Barroca, who finished with 21 points, five rebounds and six assists to help the Hotshots fill the void left by Paul Lee and Calvin Abueva.
Magnolia also drew double-digit outings from Aris Dionisio, Jio Jalalon, Jackson Corpuz and Ian Sangalang to bury the Fuel Masters in holes as deep as 27 points on the way to rising to 3-3 (win-loss).
And that was exactly what the doctor ordered, according to Magnolia head coach Chito Victolero.
“We talked about it before the game—that we’re now in the middle of the tournament,” he said. “It’s time to level up our game, level up our execution, our being smart. That’s why we had a good start.”
Magnolia—finalist of last year’s all-Filipino conference—came out the gates hard, using an 11-0 run to open the contest and take the wind out of Phoenix’s sails early despite the absence of its key starters. Lee was out of the game due to a back problem while Abueva was serving his one-game suspension for his behavior in a victory over Barangay Ginebra last week.
Also out for the Hotshots was backup guard Jerrick Ahanmisi.
“Hopefully, before the elimination round ends, we are able to be complete. That’s only going to improve our run,” said Victolero.
Javee Mocon led Phoenix with 19 points while Sean Manganti added 11 as the Fuel Masters dropped to 2-3.
Later in the night, Barangay Ginebra got 20 points and 10 rebounds from Christian Standhardinger to stop San Miguel Beer, 75-72.
The Gin Kings hiked their record to 4-1 while dealing the Beermen their first loss in four games this conference.
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