Paige Bueckers lashes WNBA over 'disrespectful' proposal as bitter pay dispute hangs over All-Star showcase
More than 40 players attended the negotiations this week, including star rookie Paige Bueckers from the Dallas Wings, who said it was her first time at the negotiating table.
"It's been powerful, and I think we're going to continue to fight for that because the proposal that they gave back to us was kind of disrespectful," she said.
The WNBPA admonished the league after the latest meeting on Thursday, local time, saying the WNBA had failed to "address the priorities we've voiced from the day we opted out".
Players in October voted to opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement, once seen as a landmark deal for women's sports, but now viewed by many players as woefully inadequate amid a surge of popularity in the WNBA.
Swarmed by reporters on Friday as part of a pre-All-Star Game media availability, WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike said she felt the meeting was a missed opportunity.
"Yes, we're celebrating amazing growth, but I think it's not lost on us that we're living the growth as we're negotiating our worth," she said. "The fans know what we're worth. Now we need the league to know what we are worth."
Reached for comment on Friday, the WNBA pointed to a statement commissioner Cathy Engelbert provided to the Associated Press on Thursday, calling the meeting "very constructive dialogue".
Engelbert is expected to meet with members of the media on Saturday for a press conference.
Ogwumike said there had been no direct conversation about a work stoppage but that union leadership cautioned players over the possible outcomes of a failed negotiation.
"What we want to do is negotiate a good deal," she told reporters.
"But we also wouldn't be doing our job if we didn't let players know, 'Hey, the league is in a different place. We're in a different place. Just be prepared for anything that can happen.'"
Reuters
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Daily Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Daily Telegraph
Max Holloway defeats Dustin Poirier for the BMF title, UFC 318 results
Don't miss out on the headlines from UFC. Followed categories will be added to My News. Dustin Poirier retires from the UFC one of the 'baddest mother**ers' the promotion has ever seen. But he isn't the baddest. That title still belongs to Max Holloway after the former featherweight champion defended his crown via unanimous decision in the UFC 318 main event on Sunday, which also doubled as Poirier's final fight. Watch the biggest Aussie sports & the best from overseas LIVE on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. It was the third time the two had met, with Poirier winning the previous two fights after submitting Holloway in the 33-year-old's UFC debut and then later defeating him by unanimous decision seven years later with the interim lightweight title on the line. A classy Holloway had a few words for the crowd before quickly handing the microphone over to Poirier. 'First things first, I love you Louisiana. I know I had to be the villain. I'm so sorry,' Holloway said. 'But thank you for the hospitality. All I'm going to say is a lot of motherf***ers coming after this belt, come get me and I've got some issue with the champ, so UFC you're moving next. 'This ain't my moment. I'm done talking, this is Dustin's retirement fight. Give it up for the man.' When Poirier stepped up to the microphone, he wasn't as emotional as he was after the UFC played a tribute video to the 36-year-old on the big screen, although even then he was able to hold the tears in as he reflected on all he had achieved in his career. 'It's been overwhelming honestly. I feel appreciated. I feel seen,' Poirier said. 'I've never been able to step outside of fighting and look at it this way honestly. I've been going through fighting and trying to grind to the next thing and provide for me and the family. 'I've never been able to get it from third person. This week has been incredible. I feel loved by the fans, Louisiana and the company. I didn't know I'd touched as many people as I had by chasing my dreams. I'm grateful... I love you all.' Holloway had the first big moment of the fight, dropping Poirier early in the first round and then continued to pour on the pressure in the second. The champion had all the momentum at that point until Poirier sent Holloway to the canvas in the final stages of the round and immediately jumped on the guillotine attempt. When he realised he didn't have enough time to lock it in Poirier transitioned to the ground and pound, unleashing a series of brutal elbows but Holloway was able to make it to the bell. It was the closest Poirier got to finishing Holloway, with the champion having particular success working to the body as he outlasted a determined Poirier to claim the win. Australian Alexander Volkanovski had predicted Holloway would spoil Poirier's final fight and it was a striking clinic from the BMF champion, who had the advantage 113-99 in significant head strikes, 46-5 in significant body strikes and 23-9 in leg kicks. 'He's coming off the first knockout loss ever. Not many people can bounce back from that,' Volkanovski said on Fight Week. 'A lot of people change after that. But there's only few that can bounce back in a positive way, and I know he's one of them. 'I know he'll be the type of guy to make the right adjustments or come back not only the same guy he was, maybe even look better. You might see Max even better. 'I think he's that type of guy that can come back with a bounce back – not only bounce back to where he was, which was already incredible, but bounce back even more than that. If he does that, it just shows you how good that bloke is.' COSTA CALLS OUT 'MOTHERF***ER' CHIMAEV IN CO-MAIN EVENT Earlier, Paulo Costa beat middleweight contender Roman Kopylov with a solid showing of striking in the co-main event, winning via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28). The Brazilian then called out Khamzat Chimaev, as expected, telling earlier in the week of his plans should he reign supreme on Sunday. He also previously declared on Ariel Helwani's show that 'win or lose, I want to fight that motherf***er'. In fact, Costa went as far as to say he wants a shot at Chimaev more than he wants a fight for the world title. 'I don't care about the title. I care, but this is most important to me,' he said. Speaking after his win, Costa doubled down. 'Everybody knows I hate that guy, everybody knows who. That motherf****r Chimaev, yeah. He is a big a*****e,' 'You know my wife is over here, he DM her. This is not good. This is bad thing in every culture, he says bad things about me, about her. 'But he never says (it) to me because he is a coward. Chimaev you are a coward and I'm here, I'm going to look for you, I am going to chase for you. 'I will not stop until I get to you.' CRUTE CAN SEE A WORLD TITLE IN HIS FUTURE FOR THE 'FIRST TIME' Australian Jimmy Crute said he can picture a world title in his future for the 'first time' in his career after securing his first win in the UFC since 2020 on Sunday. Crute submitted the tricky Marcin Prachnio with a nasty armbar late in the first round of their UFC 318 fight on the early prelims, showing off his grappling skills early in the fight to take control before getting the finish. 'The armbar used to be my move,' Crute said in his post-fight press conference. 'I used to hit everyone with the armbars earlier in my career. I sort of went away from it because you lose position but he gave it to me and I went thank you. 'As soon as I got it I'm like, 'Oh he's not going to tap and I have to do some damage here'. Instead of reefing on it too early though I tried to play the position, get it nice and secure and then rip on it.' An honest Crute admitted that it had been a 'rollercoaster' of a week, with so much on the line for the 29-year-old given his recent run of results inside the octagon. 'The nerves were up and down,' Crute said. 'I've sort of played it off before, but getting a victory does mean a lot because I put so much work into this. I really put everything into this man. Every waking moment I'm training or I'm thinking about training. So for it to pay off is just nice.' Crute's last win came via a first-round knockout of Modestas Bukauskas almost five years ago, with the Australian recording two draws and three losses since that point. Crute called out fellow light heavyweight Dustin Jacoby after the victory, challenging him ahead of the UFC's Fight Night card in Perth in September. 'I just think it's a good fight for both of us,' Crute said. 'It's a good test for both of us. I know that's not an easy fight, he's a hell of a crafty dude. So that's just the name that came to my head. I didn't think about it beforehand. But when I was in the moment, it just popped into my head.' While Crute's career trajectory seemed to have stalled in recent years, the Australian was once one of the UFC's most-highly rated prospects and was even ranked ESPN's top MMA fighter under 25 in 2020. That was despite Crute effectively 'learning on the job' and it is why the Bendigo brawler feels like he still has a run towards the title left in him. 'I had one amateur fight, seven pro wins and outside of that I had like 50 jujitsu matches on the regional scene in Australia, no striking matches. So I've been learning on the job pretty much in the UFC,' Crute said. 'I don't have much experience in the way of fights so I feel like it's my time to shine now. I see a world title in my picture for the first time in my career. I've never been able to visualise it and I see it there.' Originally published as 'I'm so sorry': Holloway's classy act as Poirier falls short of title dream
News.com.au
6 hours ago
- News.com.au
‘I'm so sorry': Holloway's classy act as Poirier falls short of title dream
Dustin Poirier retires from the UFC one of the 'baddest mother**ers' the promotion has ever seen. But he isn't the baddest. That title still belongs to Max Holloway after the former featherweight champion defended his crown via unanimous decision in the UFC 318 main event on Sunday, which also doubled as Poirier's final fight. It was the third time the two had met, with Poirier winning the previous two fights after submitting Holloway in the 33-year-old's UFC debut and then later defeating him by unanimous decision seven years later with the interim lightweight title on the line. A classy Holloway had a few words for the crowd before quickly handing the microphone over to Poirier. 'First things first, I love you Louisiana. I know I had to be the villain. I'm so sorry,' Holloway said. 'But thank you for the hospitality. All I'm going to say is a lot of motherf***ers coming after this belt, come get me and I've got some issue with the champ, so UFC you're moving next. 'This ain't my moment. I'm done talking, this is Dustin's retirement fight. Give it up for the man.' When Poirier stepped up to the microphone, he wasn't as emotional as he was after the UFC played a tribute video to the 36-year-old on the big screen, although even then he was able to hold the tears in as he reflected on all he had achieved in his career. 'It's been overwhelming honestly. I feel appreciated. I feel seen,' Poirier said. 'I've never been able to step outside of fighting and look at it this way honestly. I've been going through fighting and trying to grind to the next thing and provide for me and the family. 'I've never been able to get it from third person. This week has been incredible. I feel loved by the fans, Louisiana and the company. I didn't know I'd touched as many people as I had by chasing my dreams. I'm grateful... I love you all.' Holloway had the first big moment of the fight, dropping Poirier early in the first round and then continued to pour on the pressure in the second. The champion had all the momentum at that point until Poirier sent Holloway to the canvas in the final stages of the round and immediately jumped on the guillotine attempt. When he realised he didn't have enough time to lock it in Poirier transitioned to the ground and pound, unleashing a series of brutal elbows but Holloway was able to make it to the bell. It was the closest Poirier got to finishing Holloway, with the champion having particular success working to the body as he outlasted a determined Poirier to claim the win. Australian Alexander Volkanovski had predicted Holloway would spoil Poirier's final fight and it was a striking clinic from the BMF champion, who had the advantage 113-99 in significant head strikes, 46-5 in significant body strikes and 23-9 in leg kicks. 'He's coming off the first knockout loss ever. Not many people can bounce back from that,' Volkanovski said on Fight Week. 'A lot of people change after that. But there's only few that can bounce back in a positive way, and I know he's one of them. 'I know he'll be the type of guy to make the right adjustments or come back not only the same guy he was, maybe even look better. You might see Max even better. 'I think he's that type of guy that can come back with a bounce back – not only bounce back to where he was, which was already incredible, but bounce back even more than that. If he does that, it just shows you how good that bloke is.' Earlier, Paulo Costa beat middleweight contender Roman Kopylov with a solid showing of striking in the co-main event, winning via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28). The Brazilian then called out Khamzat Chimaev, as expected, telling earlier in the week of his plans should he reign supreme on Sunday. He also previously declared on Ariel Helwani's show that 'win or lose, I want to fight that motherf***er'. In fact, Costa went as far as to say he wants a shot at Chimaev more than he wants a fight for the world title. 'I don't care about the title. I care, but this is most important to me,' he said. Speaking after his win, Costa doubled down. 'Everybody knows I hate that guy, everybody knows who. That motherf****r Chimaev, yeah. He is a big a*****e,' 'You know my wife is over here, he DM her. This is not good. This is bad thing in every culture, he says bad things about me, about her. 'But he never says (it) to me because he is a coward. Chimaev you are a coward and I'm here, I'm going to look for you, I am going to chase for you. 'I will not stop until I get to you.' CRUTE CAN SEE A WORLD TITLE IN HIS FUTURE FOR THE 'FIRST TIME' Australian Jimmy Crute said he can picture a world title in his future for the 'first time' in his career after securing his first win in the UFC since 2020 on Sunday. Crute submitted the tricky Marcin Prachnio with a nasty armbar late in the first round of their UFC 318 fight on the early prelims, showing off his grappling skills early in the fight to take control before getting the finish. 'The armbar used to be my move,' Crute said in his post-fight press conference. 'I used to hit everyone with the armbars earlier in my career. I sort of went away from it because you lose position but he gave it to me and I went thank you. 'As soon as I got it I'm like, 'Oh he's not going to tap and I have to do some damage here'. Instead of reefing on it too early though I tried to play the position, get it nice and secure and then rip on it.' An honest Crute admitted that it had been a 'rollercoaster' of a week, with so much on the line for the 29-year-old given his recent run of results inside the octagon. 'The nerves were up and down,' Crute said. 'I've sort of played it off before, but getting a victory does mean a lot because I put so much work into this. I really put everything into this man. Every waking moment I'm training or I'm thinking about training. So for it to pay off is just nice.' Crute's last win came via a first-round knockout of Modestas Bukauskas almost five years ago, with the Australian recording two draws and three losses since that point. Crute called out fellow light heavyweight Dustin Jacoby after the victory, challenging him ahead of the UFC's Fight Night card in Perth in September. 'I just think it's a good fight for both of us,' Crute said. 'It's a good test for both of us. I know that's not an easy fight, he's a hell of a crafty dude. So that's just the name that came to my head. I didn't think about it beforehand. But when I was in the moment, it just popped into my head.' While Crute's career trajectory seemed to have stalled in recent years, the Australian was once one of the UFC's most-highly rated prospects and was even ranked ESPN's top MMA fighter under 25 in 2020. That was despite Crute effectively 'learning on the job' and it is why the Bendigo brawler feels like he still has a run towards the title left in him. 'I had one amateur fight, seven pro wins and outside of that I had like 50 jujitsu matches on the regional scene in Australia, no striking matches. So I've been learning on the job pretty much in the UFC,' Crute said. 'I don't have much experience in the way of fights so I feel like it's my time to shine now. I see a world title in my picture for the first time in my career. I've never been able to visualise it and I see it there.'
ABC News
6 hours ago
- ABC News
Tim Tszyu's defeat to Sebastian Fundora shows he is no longer at a boxing crossroads
This isn't how it was meant to end for Tim Tszyu. His return to Las Vegas for the rematch against Sebastian Fundora, the site of his lowest ebb as a professional boxer, where he lost his long-sought world title, was supposed to be a return to triumph. Vengeance, redemption, and glory were the words being used in the lead-up. Instead, he heads home in defeat, heartbreak, and pain. Some fans may find the bloodied image of Tszyu refusing to back down almost a year-and-a-half ago hard to reconcile with the footage of the referee waving the fight away as Tszyu sat, immobile, on his stool at the end of the seventh round against the same opponent. Fans who watched the fight may find it even more baffling, given Tszyu had just fought his best round of the bout, clearly hurting Fundora with a monster overhand right. Every boxing fan in the world knows the immortal utterance of Panamanian legend Roberto Durán when he sat himself down in the eighth round of his rematch against Sugar Ray Leonard. "No más," Durán was reported to say — no more — before plonking himself in his corner. The accusation of quitting is the most heinous that can be levelled at a boxer — in Panama, there was disgust over how Durán quit. The Tszyu camp was at great pains to say that staying down was not Tim's decision. He never uttered the words himself, although his post-fight admission that he "just couldn't do it" tells its own story. Sometimes a look means more than two short words ever will. The vacancy behind the eyes, the blankness and heaviness weighing down on a set of shoulders that already carry such a burden imposed by a family history that is nigh-on impossible to match. If a corner's job sometimes is to save a boxer from themselves, then those closest to Tszyu are the only ones who know the truth. In Tszyu's case, that corner is his family. Saving him from potentially irreversible harm has to come first. Tszyu went to the hospital after the bout, raising questions about the long-term impacts the sport has on its practitioners. Never forget, a spectacle that battles humanity's primal instincts of self-preservation has real impacts on real people. And now, the question must be reasonably asked: does his corner prioritise his long-term health by asking him about retirement? Pre-fight, Tszyu had said how the bloody defeat to Fundora in March 2024 had changed him. "A big fear of mine was how I was gonna react to my first loss," Tszyu said in his dressing room at the MGM Grand. "Now I've had that, it's made me a different person, and now I've got this new level of hunger." The fact that Tszyu is different is now, sadly, without doubt. The seeds of this change came from the bloodbath of the T-Mobile Arena last year. But far more damaging was the savage beating at the hands of Bakhram Murtazaliev the following October. Back-to-back world title fights. Back-to-back defeats. And yet, the seeds of this fall were planted even earlier. Arguably, Tszyu's first foray into the United States delivered a warning that he simply refused to heed. Terrell Gausha provided a stern test of Tszyu's abilities offensively, while exposing his glaring deficiencies defensively. Tszyu was knocked down, for the first time in his career, in the very first round, as Gausha gratefully accepted the large, static target of Tszyu's head as a punch magnet. "In the first three rounds, everything's flash, everything's quick," Tszyu explained ringside after that fight in 2022. "You sorta blink and you're down and you think, f***, how did that happen?" Perhaps Tszyu wasn't given enough time to learn from that experience. Winning covers a multitude of sins. Tszyu's next opponents, Tony Harrison, Carlos Ocampo, and Brian Mendoza — all fighting in Australia — were bossed around the ring by a dominant fighter. The first time they met, even Fundora was awed by Tszyu's domineering presence in the ring, the stoic, terminator-style marching down of his rivals — a horrific vista in Fundora's case, amplified by Tszyu's wide eyes staring through a grotesque veil of streaming blood. But the four knockdowns against Murtazaliev were the straws that broke Tszyu's spirit. Cowed by the horror of that previous, bloody mess, one of the most fearless fighters around realised he was no longer the indestructible force of nature he believed himself to be. Murtazaliev simply confirmed it. No lateral movement. No stalking intensity. Playing the bogeyman doesn't scare the true dangers of this world. In the rematch, Fundora played his cards perfectly. The giant American used his extreme reach advantage to beat Tszyu to the punch. Working behind a jab that Tszyu was powerless to evade, that static head absorbed telling blows. Tszyu also failed to adapt to Fundora's southpaw stance, his only lateral movement going to the right, straight into that jab and leaving him vulnerable to the left hook. It was a glaring tactical error that has been exposed in three of his last four fights. So, where next can he go? "He's not finished at the top level," former world champion Shawn Porter was at pains to say on Main Event. "He can still get it done against elite guys; it's gonna happen back in Australia for a little while. "I don't believe Tim Tszyu is done on the world stage, primarily because he still fought very hard, very courageously, and we're now at the stage in the sport where it's about what you can bring to the stands, not what your status is." Never has a backhanded compliment stung more. A man who has taken pains to distance himself from his world champion father's achievements and stand on his own two feet, reduced to using his name to draw a crowd. Nevertheless, Tszyu is now most definitely at a crossroads. For many, there is only one sensible direction the newly-married 30-year-old should travel. No más. No more. Save yourself from the savagery of this brutal profession. Because while the other roads are still available — just look at how 46-year-old Manny Pacquiao performed in his 73rd career fight — there is too much doubt down those paths.
