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Forbes
5 days ago
- Sport
- Forbes
UFC 321 Main Event: Tom Aspinall Vs. Ciryl Gane Opening Betting Odds
Tom Aspinall becomes heavyweight champion after beating Curtis Blaydes during the Heavyweight bout ... More at the Co-op Live Arena, Manchester. Picture date: Sunday July 28, 2024. (Photo by Richard Sellers/PA Images via Getty Images) UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall gets his first official title defense on October 25 when he faces former interim champ Ciryl Gane in the main event of the UFC 321 pay-per-view fight card from Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. We look at the opening betting odds for Aspinall vs. Gane UFC 321 Fight Card Main Event: Tom Aspinall Vs. Ciryl Gane Opening Betting Odds And Line Movement Not long after UFC CEO Dana White announced the UFC 321 main event, BetOnline came out with betting lines for the fight. Aspinall opened as the -350 betting favorite over Gane, who opened as the +285 betting underdog. Less than 24 hours since White announced the matchup, Aspinall has moved to -400, while Gane is now +300. UFC 321 Fight Card Main Event: Tom Aspinall Vs. Ciryl Gane MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JULY 27: Tom Aspinall of England reacts after his knockout victory against ... More Curtis Blaydes in the interim UFC heavyweight championship bout during the UFC 304 event at Co-op Live on July 27, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) Tom Aspinall (15-3) had a 7-2 professional MMA record when the UFC inked him to a deal in 2020. Aspinall made his promotional debut in July 2020 with a 45-second knockout win over Jake Collier. The win earned the then 27-year-old his first 'Performance of the Night' bonus. A knockout win over Alan Baudot followed in October of that year. Aspinall made it three stoppages in a row in February 2021 when he tapped Andrei Arlovski in the second round of their matchup, a card that was headlined by Curtis Blaydes losing to Derrick Lewis by second-round KO. Aspinall's win over Arlovski broke him into the rankings at No. 13. First-round stoppage wins over Serghei Spivac (TKO) and Alexander Volkov (submission) followed the Arlovski triumph. The Blaydes matchup was next on Aspinall's schedule. The injury he suffered in that contest kept him out of action until July 2023 when he stepped into the Octagon to face Marcin Tybura. Aspinall showed no hesitation or ill effects from his knee injury, as he dispatched Tybura in 73 seconds, winning the fight by TKO. Then, with UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones injured and out of his scheduled UFC 295 matchup against Stipe Miocic, the UFC tapped Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich to face off for the interim heavyweight title at UFC 295. Aspinall won the bout, and the title, with a 69-second knockout. Aspinall defended the interim crown once, defeating Curtis Blaydes via knockout at the 1:00 mark of Round 1 of their UFC 304 matchup. Now 32, Aspinall has seven first-round stoppage wins and one second-round stoppage victory under the UFC banner. He has never gone past 1:09 of the second round in UFC action. Aspinall has earned seven 'Performance of the Night' bonuses during his UFC run. The only win he has where he failed to pick up a post-fight bonus was his win over Baudot in 2020. LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 07: Ciryl Gane of France looks on before a heavyweight bout against ... More Alexander Volkov of Russia during the UFC 310 event at T-Mobile Arena on December 07, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) Ciryl Gane (13-2) is the No. 1 fighter in the official UFC heavyweight rankings. The 35-year-old French competitor has only lost in UFC title fights, falling to Francis Ngannou by decision in 2022 for the undisputed title, and losing to Jon Jones via submission in 2023 for the vacant belt. Gane did capture the interim heavyweight belt in 2021 with a knockout of Derrick Lewis. Gane debuted with the UFC in 2019 following a Muay Thai career. He was 3-0 in MMA when he first fought inside the Octagon. Gane went 7-0 to begin his UFC career. His first loss came in a title unification bout against Ngannou. Gane enters UFC 321 on a two-fight winning streak. He defeated Serghei Spivac by TKO in September 2023. In his most recent trip to the Octagon, Gane bested Alexander Volkov via decision at UFC 310. Tom Aspinall Named UFC Heavyweight Champ LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 08: UFC CEO Dana White holds a press conference after the UFC 313 event at ... More T-Mobile Arena on March 08, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) In June, then-UFC heavyweight champ Jon Jones retired. The UFC named Aspinall the undisputed champion at that time. "Jon Jones called us last night and retired. Jon Jones is officially retired. Tom Aspinall is the heavyweight champion of the UFC," White said during the post-fight press conference following the UFC Baku fight card. "I obviously feel bad for Tom that he lost all that time and money, but we'll make it up to him," White added. "Tom Aspinall is a good guy. He's been incredible through this whole process that we've gone through. He's been willing to do anything – fight him anywhere at any time and do this. Now he's like, 'I'll fight anybody. Tell me who and I'll fight him.' Aspinall has been great. He's going to be a great heavyweight champion for us and I'm excited to work with him." "International Fight Week starts Monday in Las Vegas," White continued. 'Tom will be in Vegas all week with us, so we'll get together with him and figure out what's next.' Tom Aspinall Was The Longest Serving UFC Interim Champion LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 13: UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall attends the UFC 300 ... More event at T-Mobile Arena on April 13, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) Aspinall won the interim UFC heavyweight crown in November 2023 with a knockout victory over Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295. Aspinall took that fight on short notice when the original main event for that card, Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic for Jones's heavyweight title was scrapped following an injury to Jones. Despite Aspinall winning the interim crown, UFC CEO Dana White remained steadfast in saying that Jones vs. Miocic was the fight to make. That fight did not take place until November 2024. Jones held on to his belt that night, beating Miocic by TKO in the third round. By that time, Aspinall had already defended his interim crown, scoring a first-round knockout win over Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in July 2024. Aspinall, who has not fought since he defeated Blaydes, had been waiting for the title unification bout with Jones since Jones's win over Miocic in November. In late April, Aspinall became the longest-serving UFC interim champion, topping the 535-day reign of Renan Barao, who defended his interim title twice before being named undisputed champion. UFC 321 Official Fights Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane: For Aspinall's UFC heavyweight title Alexander Volkov vs. Jailton Almeida: Heavyweight Aleksander Rakic vs. Azamat Murzakanov: Light Heavyweight Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Chris Barnett: Heavyweight Ikram Aliskerov vs. Junyong Park: Middleweight Azat Maksum vs. Mitch Raposo We will have more on UFC 321, including opening betting odds for the co-main event when that fight is made official.
New Statesman
6 days ago
- Business
- New Statesman
Brewdog Britain is dead
Photo by PA Images/Alamy Punk. Elvis Juice. Hazy Jane. Wingman. Malt Fiction. Crazy Monk. In 2007, Scotsmen James Watt and Martin Dickie founded BrewDog with a simple goal: stick two fingers up at the stuffy, supercilious world of Big Beer by making some of the most unquaffable booze in all of Christendom. And for much of the early 2010s they really did capture a particular millennial zeitgeist, as the aesthetic once lazily branded as 'hipster' – the beards, the Black Keys, the BBQ pulled pork – ingrained its Red Wing boots firmly into the British public's psyche. Post-recession, the traditional English pub, with its sticky, patterned carpets, plush ruby red banquettes, and intimate, convivial atmosphere was on the way out (a whopping 1,973 establishments closed in the year following the financial crash). What followed was a reshaping of the public house itself, with BrewDog at the dark heart of it. Suddenly, exposed brick, industrial ventilation shafts, and harsh lighting became de rigueur, as pubs turned from welcoming third spaces, which often felt like extensions of someone's front room, into experiential holding pens; places where the deep nidor of sticky wings and dragon fries mixed with the stale smell of spilt cloudy IPAs. The chairs were uncomfortable, the drinks were expensive, and the branding was very much a focus group's idea of hip. BrewDog always claimed to do things differently. Its headline initiative was Equity for Punks, a crowdfunding scheme which allowed regular old pintmen like you and me to become shareholders in the company (the Financial Times recently reported that unless a buyer comes in with a mammoth offer for BrewDog soon, the shares sold to its 130,000 Equity Punks will be worthless). They drove a tank down Camden high street, decrying 'tasteless, apathetic, fizzy mainstream lagers produced by huge global breweries' (leaked emails from 2018 show that James Watt was open to a partial sale to Heineken). They projected themselves naked onto the Houses of Parliament, for some reason. This week, BrewDog announced the imminent closure of 10 of their public houses – including their Aberdeen flagship and three London sites – citing 'ongoing industry challenges', such as 'rising costs, increased regulation, and economic pressures'. It's no secret that the hospitality industry is currently in dire straits, but it's been a particularly tough half-decade for these countercultural upstarts. In June of 2021, a significant number of former employees penned an open letter, highlighting the 'cult of personality', 'toxic attitudes', and the 'residual feeling of fear' felt by staff at the company. In 2022, a BBC One Disclosure investigation alleged inappropriate behaviour from then-CEO James Watt towards female employees, which he denied. In 2024, the brewer dropped their pledge to pay all staff the real living wage. Later that year, a second open letter – this time from team members at BrewDog's showpiece pub in Waterloo station – hit the news, with claims of 'bullying, gaslighting … racism, sexism, and ableism'. Up until now, these allegations don't seem to have impacted BrewDog's bottom line too much. The company's financial results for the year ending 31 December 2024 showed gross revenues of £357m, bringing them back into profitability for the first time since 2021. But might this recent batch of closures turn the tide against the brand? Trade union Unite described the move, which will go ahead with just four days notice this Saturday, as 'not just morally repugnant, [but] potentially unlawful'. As for the consumer, walk into BrewDog Waterloo on any given weeknight and you'll find a peculiar mix of commuters, tourists, and team-bonding trips. There's a slide, there's a podcast studio, there's an ice cream truck. It's certainly hard to imagine the pub being anyone's local. And it's also hard to imagine the next generation of drinkers ever being particularly bothered about stepping foot inside its cavernous walls. Much has been said about Gen Z's supposed abstinence (a recent study by IWSR's Bevtrac found that alcohol consumption among 18-25 year olds actually rose in the UK from 66 per cent in 2023 to 76 per cent in 2025) but, anecdotally, you only need to cross the threshold of a traditional London pub on a Friday or Saturday night to see that the one thing BrewDog rallied against is now undoubtedly cool again: the proper boozer, with its packets of pork scratchings and mass-produced lager and stout. Pubs like The Blue Posts on Berwick Street, The King's Head in Finsbury Park, and The Army & Navy in Dalston are regularly teeming with young people chasing fun and authenticity (and, yes, splitting the G). Even the relatively new buzzy Soho boozer du jour, The Devonshire, eschews the stripped-back millennial aesthetic in favour of a classic, cosy pub feel. It's part of a broader trend away from the bland minimalism of the 2010s towards something markedly messier and more free – and towards something that, crucially, is far less concerned with artificial anti-establishment posturing. Of course, one has to wonder if James Watt even cares particularly at this stage. In 2024, he stepped down from his role as CEO after 17 years, 'to take a bit of time off, to travel, [and] to spend more time with my family and friends'. James Arrow, the Chief Operations Officer who replaced him, also quit in March of this year. But since resigning, Watt has found a second wind as something of an online celebrity, creating banal video content with his wife Georgia 'Toff' Toffolo (of Made in Chelsea fame), launching a Dragons Den-style TV show called House of Unicorns, and rubbing shoulders with Jim Davidson and Lee Anderson at Nigel Farage's 60th birthday bash. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe So is this the beginning of the end for BrewDog? Have we reached peak Punk? The world is a very different place now to what it was in 2007. The try-hard PR stunts, the private equity, and the bad employment practices – all under the inauthentic guise of 'punk' – feels, in 2025, deeply uncool. So, drink up your Lost Lager. It's almost time for last orders. [Further reading: A drinker's guide to offshore London] Related
The Hindu
12-07-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
IND v ENG, Lord's Test: Jofra Archer registers searing speeds in relieving comeback to England Test setup
As the temperature soared and a packed Lord's chanted his name on Saturday afternoon, Jofra Archer bowled the fastest over of his Test career, clocking 150 kmph, 150 kmph, 149 kmph, 146 kmph, 148 kmph and 148 kmph as Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy struggled to pick his short-pitched deliveries. Returning to Test cricket after a four-and-a-half year gap, Archer breathed fire in his four-over burst in the post-lunch session. Averaging around 148 kmph, Archer gave the crowds and those watching on television a timely reminder of what England was missing in the time he spent away from the Test setup. 149.2 kmph 149.8 kmph 148 kmph 145.6 kmph 148 kmph 147 kmph Jofra Archer clocking some serious speeds at Lord's 🔥# — Sportstar (@sportstarweb) July 12, 2025 With Rishabh Pant falling at the stroke of lunch and K.L. Rahul following suit soon after scoring his century, England unleashed Archer and he did not disappoint. Making sure that Nitish and Jadeja had some troublesome times, Archer went full throttle, with long follow-throughs. A view of the big screen displaying the speed of England's Jofra Archer over on day three of the Third Rothesay Men's Test at Lord's Cricket Ground, London. Picture date: Saturday July 12, 2025. (Photo by Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images) | Photo Credit: Getty Images His average speed in the four-over burst post lunch remained at 145.3 kmph - his second-fastest spell in nine home Tests, pipped only by his run with the new ball on day two where he clocked 144.49 kmph. The 71st over of the Indian innings, which saw Archer clock an average speed of 148.18 kmph was the fastest one of the series, followed by the 73rd over (147.94 kmph) and the 69th (145.77 kmph). Related Topics Jofra Archer
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wimbledon: No. 1 Jannik Sinner knocks off No. 10 Ben Shelton in straight sets to reach semifinals
No. 1 Jannik Sinner advanced to the Wimbledon semifinals for the second time in three years after knocking out American Ben Shelton in straight sets on Wednesday. (Photo by Ben Whitley/PA Images via Getty Images) No. 1 Jannik Sinner defeated No. 10 Ben Shelton 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 in Thursday's men's quarterfinal at Wimbledon. Sinner will now advance to the semifinals for the second time in three years and face either Flavio Cobolli or Novak Djokovic on Friday. Sinner, who was wearing a sleeve over his right arm after injuring his elbow against Grigor Dimitrov on Monday, was efficient, besting Shelton with 33 winners and making only 17 unforced errors to Shelton's 38. It was the Italian's second straight win this year against the American after Sinner knocked Shelton out of the Australian Open semifinals in January on the way to his third career Grand Slam title. Advertisement "I'm very, very happy with this performance. Playing against him is so difficult," Sinner said afterward of Shelton. The 23-year-old Sinner is now 69-9 in his major tournament career after winning the first set of a match. The victory improves Sinner's lifetime record against Shelton to 6-1, which includes a win during last year's Wimbledon Round of 16, and puts him in the semifinals for the fourth straight major tournament (2024 U.S. Open, 2025 Australian Open, 2025 French Open). Friday's other semifinal will feature defending back-to-back Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz and No. 5 Taylor Fritz.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wimbledon: No. 1 Jannik Sinner knocks off No. 10 Ben Shelton in straight sets to reach semifinals
No. 1 Jannik Sinner advanced to the Wimbledon semifinals for the second time in three years after knocking out American Ben Shelton in straight sets on Wednesday. (Photo by Ben Whitley/PA Images via Getty Images) No. 1 Jannik Sinner defeated No. 10 Ben Shelton 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 in Thursday's men's quarterfinal at Wimbledon. Sinner will now advance to the semifinals for the second time in three years and face either Flavio Cobolli or Novak Djokovic on Friday. Sinner, who was wearing a sleeve over his right arm after injuring his elbow against Grigor Dimitrov on Monday, was efficient, besting Shelton with 33 winners and making only 17 unforced errors to Shelton's 38. It was the Italian's second straight win this year against the American after Sinner knocked Shelton out of the Australian Open semifinals in January on the way to his third career Grand Slam title. Advertisement "I'm very, very happy with this performance. Playing against him is so difficult," Sinner said afterward of Shelton. The 23-year-old Sinner is now 69-9 in his major tournament career after winning the first set of a match. The victory improves Sinner's lifetime record against Shelton to 6-1, which includes a win during last year's Wimbledon Round of 16, and puts him in the semifinals for the fourth straight major tournament (2024 U.S. Open, 2025 Australian Open, 2025 French Open). Friday's other semifinal will feature defending back-to-back Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz and No. 5 Taylor Fritz.
