Navajo Stirling 'prepared for the big time' after staying undefeated
Bo Nickal responds to criticism after first MMA loss
Bo Nickal joins for his first interview since falling short against Reinier de Ridder at UFC Des Moines to reflect on his losing his undefeated MMA record, dealing with backlash from fans and fighters, the best advice he's received, how wrestling shaped his mindset on losing, what's next for his career, and more.
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USA Today
40 minutes ago
- USA Today
Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison prediction, pick: Is expected blowout coming at UFC 316?
Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison prediction, pick: Is expected blowout coming at UFC 316? Show Caption Hide Caption Julianna Pena vs. Kayla Harrison prediction | UFC 316 breakdown MMA Junkie fight analyst Dan Tom offers his breakdown and prediction for the UFC 316 co-main event. dan tom MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom goes in-depth to break down the biggest fights in the UFC. Today, he takes a closer look at the UFC 316 co-main event between women's bantamweight champion Julianna Peña and Kayla Harrison. Julianna Peña UFC 316 preview Staple info: Record: 13-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC 13-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC Height: 5'6" Age: 35 Weight: 135 lbs. Reach: 69" 5'6" 35 135 lbs. 69" Last fight: Decision win over Raquel Pennington (Oct. 5, 2024) Decision win over Raquel Pennington (Oct. 5, 2024) Camp: Sikjistu/VFS Academy (Chicago) Sikjistu/VFS Academy (Chicago) Stance/striking style: Orthodox/kickboxing Orthodox/kickboxing Risk management: Fair Supplemental info: + UFC bantamweight champion + 'The Ultimate Fighter' season 18 winner + Regional MMA title + 3 KO victories + 6 submission wins + 4 first-round finishes + Aggressive pace and pressure ^ Puts together punches when feeling in stride + Well-conditioned athlete + Strong inside of the clinch ^ Favors inside and outside trips + Solid transitional grappler ^ Works well toward the back + Effective ground striker +/- 2-1 against UFC-level southpaws Kayla Harrison UFC 316 preview Staple info: Record: 18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC 18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC Height: 5'8" Age: 34 Weight: 135 lbs. Reach: 66" 5'8" 34 135 lbs. 66" Last fight: Decision win over Ketlen Vieira (Oct. 5, 2024) Decision win over Ketlen Vieira (Oct. 5, 2024) Camp: American Top Team (Florida) American Top Team (Florida) Stance/striking style: Southpaw/kickboxing Southpaw/kickboxing Risk management: Good Supplemental info: + 2x Olympic judo gold medalist (U.S.) + 2x PFL tournament winner (2019, 2021) + 6th degree judo black belt + Multiple judo accolades + 6 KO victories + 7 submission wins + 9 first-round finishes + Aggressive pace and pressure + Steadily improving southpaw striking ^ Jabs, kicks and crosses + Strong inside the clinch ^ Excellent trips and takedowns + Solid wrestling ability + Good positional grappling ^ Works well from half guard Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison point of interest: Open-stance affair The co-main event in New Jersey features a women's title fight between two bantamweights who operate out of opposite stances. The orthodox fighter in this equation, Julianna Peña, has seen her share of open-stance affairs before. Sure, there may not be a lot to write home about as far as her skills on the feet go, but Peña has clearly been working hard with Mike Valle and others to improve upon the rawness that we've seen since the 'TUF' house. Now, it is uncommon to see Peña being much more measured in her form, occasionally feinting or throwing away a right hand in order to finish with the left. Peña will still blitz forward in combination when feeling in stride, but she displayed some decent improvements to her jabbing ability in her series with Amanda Nunes. However, in her rematch with Nunes, "The Lioness" was able to change things up successfully on Peña by fighting her from a southpaw stance and scoring multiple knockdowns on the now-champion. Although Harrison is not on the same level as Nunes from a striking perspective, the southpaw judoka has made some measurable strides that Peña will need to respect. Despite initially throwing power a bit naked from her rear side to start, Harrison has been applying the same discipline to striking that she did for judo. Now, in more recent years, Harrison has appeared much better at staying on balance and setting things up off of her lead hand. In fact, having a more active lead hand will likely serve Harrison well considering how potent lead right hands were for Nunes in what was Peña's last official loss. That said, I'm not sure how much Harrison will be looking to strike given that her win conditions are heavily weighted toward the grappling side of the playing field. Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison breakdown: Winning the wrestling Considering that both fighters have traditionally been comfortable operating in closed quarters, I suspect that the clinch with be a key junction in this fight. Although Peña is not shy about getting in on a shot, she secures a vast majority of takedowns via the clinch. Whether she is attempting inside or outside trips, Peña is ultra-aggressive whenever she can get her hands locked around her opponent. When able to get the fight to the floor on her terms, Peña is a blanketing top player who uses both strikes and pressure to encourage opposition into giving their backs. However, given the superior on-paper firepower that Peña will be dealing with in tie-ups, I'll be curious to see what her approach is and if she enters clinch space as recklessly as usual opposite Harrison. A two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo who has six degrees to her black belt, it's safe to say that Harrison is comfortable inside of the clinch. That said, she – like other judokas in the modern era of MMA – has embraced the more traditional wrestling attacks we see in this sport a la double-legs along the fence. Once Harrison can ground her opposition, her hips immediately serve as staples while she looks to see what advances are given to her. Working particularly well from half guard, Harrison shows a combination of wicked shoulder pressure or strikes and will smartly push down and away on her opponent's knees to establish quarter-to-full mount positions. Peña is a dogged grappler from multiple positions, but she could be forced to pick her poison if she allows Harrison to settle in on top. Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison odds The oddsmakers and the public are heavily favoring the challenger, listing Harrison -720 and Peña +450 via FanDuel. Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison prediction, pick Considering all the Ronda Rousey comparisons from the outset of her career, it should be of no surprise that Rousey-like odds have also followed Harrison in kind. And though you can always do much worse than sprinkling on the underdogs in outrageously priced women's MMA matchups, I have a hard time seeing Peña's winning conditions outside of Harrison failing to finish and falling apart down the stretch. Don't get me wrong: we've seen Peña win that way before and falling apart is a real possibility given the amount of weight the Harrison cuts to get down to this division. That said, it's still not enough to sway me from the skills gaps I see at play. Aside from the fact that Raquel Pennington should probably still be champion (as I believe that Pennington-Peña was quietly one of the more questionable scorecards of last year), Peña has proven to be too defensively liable for my liking. From her lack of head movement to her porous takedown defense, she leaves a lot for her foes to work with. Sure, Peña's toughness and staying power are both admirable and undeniable. However, I still don't think it's advisable to stand on the tracks when a freight train is coming through. Prediction: Harrison by submission in Round 2. Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison start time, how to watch As the co-main event, Peña and Harrison are expected to make their walks to the octagon at approximately 11:45 p.m. ET. The fight streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
CBS News
42 minutes ago
- CBS News
History behind Oakmont Country Club ahead of U.S. Open
The story of golf could not be told without the Oakmont Country Club. For a record-setting 10th time, the golf course is hosting the U.S. Open. It's challenged the best in the world for more than 100 years and will host this year's U.S. Open from June 12-15. "The best of the best tend to win here, and sometimes the best of the best have their hearts broken here," Oakmont Country Club historian David Moore said. Since 1903, the Oakmont Country Club has rewarded the perfect shot and punished mistakes. Arguably, one of the toughest spots is the iconic church pews. According to Moore, they've changed names and designs. They got their name during the 1960s from a newspaper writer. "When he said if you hit it into these church pew-like bunkers, only divine intervention can help you save par, and the name has stuck ever since," Moore said at the Oakmont Country Club. As for the name of the club, it can be a bit misleading. More than 90% of it is in Plum Borough. "Oakmont was named after the town in which the train station was in, and that's why it's not Plum Country Club," Moore said. However, its place in golf history can't be questioned. It has hosted the U.S. Open more than any other course, with its first one in 1927. The club has hosted one every decade, except the 1940s, since then. "Between Johnny Miller's 63, Jack [Nicklaus] and [Arnold Palmer] in '62 and Ben Hogan's fourth and final victory in 1953," Moore said. From winning birdies to missed putts and clutch drives, hole 18 may have created the most emotional history. "Eighteen has just been instrumental in crowning or breaking hearts over the last 120 years here," Moore said. Next week, a new chapter will be written.
Associated Press
an hour ago
- Associated Press
NBA's talks about new league in Europe are continuing, though the process remains in early stages
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The NBA's talks with FIBA and other entities about the process of adding a new league in Europe are continuing, Commissioner Adam Silver said, though he noted that it may take at least a couple more years to turn the ideas into reality. Silver spoke at a league event to unveil a refurbished Boys & Girls Club in Oklahoma City on Friday — an off day for the NBA Finals — and said it's difficult to put a specific timeline on the Europe plans. 'I will say it's measured in years, not months,' Silver said. 'So, we're at least a couple years away from launching. It would be an enormous undertaking. And while we want to move forward at a deliberate pace, we also want to make sure that we're consulting with all the appropriate stakeholders, meaning the existing league, its teams, European players, media companies, marketing partners. There's a lot of work to be done.' Silver and FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis announced in March that the league and the game's governing body are finally taking long-awaited steps to form a new league, with an initial target of 16 teams. It had been talked about for years, and decades even on some levels. And since the NBA and FIBA went public with their idea to move forward, talks have gotten more constructive, Silver said. Silver said the NBA has been talking directly with the EuroLeague and with some member clubs about a partnership. It's his preference that the NBA work with the existing league on some level, though it's still too early to say exactly what that means. 'Either way, we continue to feel there are an enormous number of underserved basketball fans in Europe and that there's a strong opportunity to have another league styled after the NBA,' Silver said. About one in every six current NBA players hails from Europe, including Denver's Nikola Jokic (Serbia) and Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) — who have combined for five of the last seven MVP awards — along with the Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic (Slovenia) and San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama (France). The NBA's board of governors will talk more about next steps with the European plans in July at their scheduled meeting in Las Vegas, Silver said. It's possible that the European venture could be unveiled in some way — or possibly start — around the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, just given how much attention will be on international basketball at that time. 'That might be a good launching pad for an announcement around a new competition,' Silver said. Some of the cities that are expected to have interest in being part of the new venture include London, Manchester, Rome and Munich. There will be others, of course. 'We haven't had direct conversations yet,' Silver said. 'But there have been several organizations that have come forward and said they would be interested and potential owners in operating in those major markets in Europe.' ___ AP NBA:
