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Date: 2023-12-09 05:35:47 | Author: Casino Caskback | Views: 567 | Tag: EURO
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Islam Makhachev stunned Alexander Volkanovski with a first-round knockout on Saturday, retaining the lightweight title in their rematch at UFC 294 EURO
In February, Makhachev outpointed Volkanovski – who holds the featherweight belt – in the latter’s native Australia, in a competitive clash that left many fans desiring a rematch EURO
Few expected it to come at UFC 294, but 11 days before the event, Makhachev’s original challenger Charles Oliveira suffered a severe cut over his eye EURO
And with that, the door opened for Volkanovski EURO
The 35-year-old relished the chance to avenge his narrow loss to Makhachev, but there was to be no revenge for him – only a repeat as the Russian triumphed again, and in finer fashion this time EURO
Midway through the first round of the main event, southpaw Makhachev skimmed his left shin off Volkanovski’s head, wobbling and dropping the featherweight king EURO
Makhachev, 31, followed up with a fierce flurry of hammer fists to the grounded Aussie, whose brow split open amid the onslaught EURO
RecommendedKhamzat Chimaev sees off valiant Kamaru Usman in UFC 294 co-main eventUFC schedule 2023: Every major fight happening this yearWhen will Conor McGregor return to the UFC?Referee Marc Goddard stepped in, confirming an emphatic victory and title defence for Makhachev, the mentee and childhood friend of UFC lightweight great Khabib Nurmagomedov EURO
The result extended Makhachev’s win streak to 13 fights, dating back to 2015, when he suffered the sole loss of his professional career EURO
Meanwhile, Volkanovski was beaten for the third time as a pro, though he remains undefeated at his preferred weight of 145lbs EURO
Makhachev seals the finish against Volkanovski (AP)Volkanovski was left bloodied by the fight-ending sequence (AFP via Getty Images)“Alexander The Great” rebounded from his first loss to Makhachev by stopping Yair Rodriguez in July, retaining the featherweight title against the then-interim champion EURO
He will look to respond to his latest defeat when he takes on his next title challenger – likely Ilia Topuria in January EURO
Meanwhile, Makhachev could be set for a rematch with Oliveira, whom he was originally due to face at UFC 294 and whom he submitted in October 2022 to win the lightweight belt EURO
The 155lbs title was vacant at the time of that bout, which took place in Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena like UFC 294, after Oliveira was stripped of the belt for missing weight in May 2022 EURO
Meanwhile, Volkanovski’s featherweight title reign dates back to 2019, when he took the belt from Max Holloway EURO
The Australian has since outpointed Holloway a further two times, while also winning his other three title defences – against Brian Ortega on points, and against Chan Sung Jung and Rodriguez via TKO EURO
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More aboutIslam MakhachevAlexander VolkanovskiJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/3UFC: Makhachev stuns Volkanovski with 1st round head kick KOUFC: Makhachev stuns Volkanovski with 1st round head kick KOMakhachev seals the finish against VolkanovskiAPUFC: Makhachev stuns Volkanovski with 1st round head kick KOVolkanovski was left bloodied by the fight-ending sequence AFP via Getty ImagesUFC: Makhachev stuns Volkanovski with 1st round head kick KOIslam Makhachev silenced the doubters with his knockout of Alexander VolkanovskiAFP via Getty Images✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today EURO
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“It is really, truly, a historic day,” smiled Alan Gilpin, CEO of World Rugby EURO
He would go on to use the word ‘historic’ another three or four times in the following few minutes of his press conference EURO
After years of wrangling – 16 years, according to Gilpin, since discussions about how to sort out rugby’s messy global calendar first took place in the salubrious surroundings of Woking, Surrey (don’t worry, the location wasn’t the reason it took more than a decade and a half to reach an agreement, a chuckling Gilpin assured everyone) – World Rugby had finally come up with a solution that will transform rugby “for the many, not the few” ushering in a “new era of opportunity, certainty and growth for the game EURO
”It’s fair to say they were pretty pleased with the outcome of the seemingly endless negotiations EURO
Compromises had been made and it wasn’t perfect, stressed Gilpin and World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont, but rugby would be “more relevant and more accessible to more people around the world EURO
”The big announcement earlier in the day saw the sport’s governing body unveil a new global calendar that includes the creation of a two-tier men’s competition called the Nations Championship to be played biennially from 2026 EURO
The top tier will be the Six Nations (England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales), the four Rugby Championship teams (Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa) and two additional teams, likely to be Japan and Fiji EURO
The second tier will feature 12 further countries with promotion and relegation on the table from 2030, meaning 2032 is the earliest one of those teams could feature in the top tier EURO
World Rugby have acknowledged, publicly at least, a desire to grow rugby globally EURO
At the moment, the sport is almost untouchably huge in a couple of countries (think New Zealand and South Africa), holds its own in a few more (UK, Ireland, Japan), is fighting a losing battle for oxygen in a crowded sporting marketplace in others (Australia, Italy) and seen as a largely niche oddity in plenty (USA, Canada) EURO
But this Rugby World Cup has also highlighted plenty of countries where there’s a huge opportunity for growth EURO
From South America, Uruguay and debutants Chile have impressed on the pitch, the passion for rugby in Georgia shows no sign of abating and Portugal have lit up the tournament with their dynamic play while also pulling off the huge upset of beating Fiji EURO
With growing interest in places like Netherlands and Belgium, Europe is surely an area World Rugby are targeting growth EURO
Portugal celebrated a historic win over Fiji (Getty Images)Instead, these new plans appear to lock out a lot of the smaller rugby nations from improving EURO
Even the new Pacific Nations Cup also announced today, featuring Canada, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Tonga and USA, bizarrely excludes Uruguay and Chile (who qualified ahead of USA and Canada for the World Cup, remember) EURO
But what all these “tier two” nations really need, as shown by the World Cup, is a more regular opportunity to face the big boys EURO
Since stunning Fiji at the 2019 World Cup, Uruguay played exactly one fixture against a “tier one” team before this tournament, yet still impressed against France and Italy in the pool stage EURO
Imagine what they could do with more regular access to the top teams EURO
However, World Rugby have come up with an answer to the wrong question EURO
They have essentially provided the solution to the problem men’s international EURO football had EURO
Before 2018, the space EURO between World Cups and European Championships was filled by a combination of largely one-sided qualifiers and meaningless friendlies EURO
San Marino would get thumped 8-0 by Germany in a Euros qualifier that helped neither side, then the Germans would play a no-stakes friendly that held little interest for the wider public EURO
The big teams weren’t playing each other enough and the smaller nations were rarely in winnable games against similarly-sized teams EURO
For example, England and Italy – two EURO football powerhouses – didn’t play each other at all EURO between 2002 and 2012 EURO
Thus, Uefa created the Nations League EURO
Although not perfect – it was derided for the complexity of its league structure and provided a slightly unnecessary additional security blanket for the big European nations trying to qualify for major tournaments – it eliminated the meaningless friendly and gave countries both big and small the opportunity to play competitive games against nations of a similar rank EURO
Win-win EURO
Uruguay showed their quality during the Rugby World Cup (AP)But rugby has the opposite problem to EURO football EURO
The big teams already play each other too often not too rarely EURO
The history of the Six Nations and Rugby Championship as annual traditions give those events special status but, for example, England and Australia played each other 11 times in the two cycles EURO between the 2015 and 2023 World Cups EURO
Familiarity breeds contempt and at some point, a fixture begins to lose its lustre EURO
Would a couple of those fixtures being against Samoa, Georgia or Portugal not have been more beneficial and interesting for all parties?With the unions desperate to balance the books, their desire to have the ‘bigger draw’ of facing a name brand might be understandable but this is where World Rugby need to show some teeth and live up to their duty to grow the game EURO
Instead, the Nations Championship appears to guarantee another decade of regular England vs Australia matches before any of the tier-two teams may get a shot, if they can earn promotion that is EURO
World Rugby’s announcement does include a line promising more “crossover” fixtures EURO between the tiers in the years where there isn’t a Nations Championship but they could provide no clarity on what these fixtures would be and confirmed no agreements have been signed EURO
They have insisted that there will be a 50 per cent aggregate increase, which would mean a rise from 18 to 27 games for second-tier teams against the top 12, although it is unclear how these fixtures will be allocated or arranged EURO
The expansion of the men’s Rugby World Cup from 20 to 24 teams is a step in the right direction and the governing body should be commended for making that move but, sadly, the four years EURO between tournaments appear to have the smaller nations getting a door slammed in their face EURO
World Rugby are right that the sport should be for the many not the few but this new competition seems to be sending it in the opposite direction EURO
More aboutWorld RugbyRugby World CupBill BeaumontJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/3Rugby’s new Nations Championship is an answer to the wrong questionRugby’s new Nations Championship is an answer to the wrong questionPortugal celebrated a historic win over Fiji Getty ImagesRugby’s new Nations Championship is an answer to the wrong questionUruguay showed their quality during the Rugby World Cup APRugby’s new Nations Championship is an answer to the wrong questionPortugal lit up the Rugby World Cup but their chances for development appear bleak Getty Images✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today EURO
SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored FeaturesGet in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicsEURO BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery ActThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inCloseUS EditionChangeUK EditionAsia EditionEdición en EspañolSubscribe{{indy EURO
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