LAS VEGAS: The city of Las Vegas is gearing up to host the Riyadh Season Noche UFC at the iconic Sphere in Las Vegas on Saturday.
This event will be the first-ever sports championship held at the Las Vegas Sphere as part of UFC events, and it also marks Riyadh Season’s debut as a sponsor in the United States.
Following the success of the Riyadh Season Card in Los Angeles, this event is granting UFC the prestigious title of naming partner for the first time to a sponsor, renaming UFC 306 to Riyadh Season Noche UFC.
The highly anticipated event features a bantamweight title bout, headlined by Sean O’Malley from the United States defending his title against Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili.
The octagon will also feature an electrifying women’s flyweight title bout, as Mexico’s Alexa Grasso faces off against Valentina Shevchenko from Kyrgyzstan.
Additionally, the event will feature a featherweight bout between Brian Ortega from the United States and Diego Lopes from Brazil.
Raul Rosas Jr. from Mexico will face Aoriqileng from China in the bantamweight category. Another bout will see Irene Aldama from Mexico taking on Norma Dumont from Brazil in a women’s bantamweight bout.
In the lightweight category, Manuel Torres from Mexico and Ignacio Bahamondes from Chile will compete for the title. Edgar Chairez from Mexico will face Joshua Van from the United States in a flyweight bout. Another flyweight fight will feature Ronaldo Rodriguez from Mexico versus Ode Osbourne from Jamaica.
The event will also feature a women’s strawweight bout between Yazmin Jauregui from Mexico and Ketlen Souza from Brazil, with the event concluding with a lightweight fight between Daniel Zellhuber from Mexico and Esteban Ribovics from Argentina.
Riyadh Season previously hosted UFC Fight Night on June, 22, 2024, where Australian Robert Whittaker delivered a knockout victory against Russia’s Ikram Aliskerov in the main middleweight event at Kingdom Arena.
Iconic Sphere in Las Vegas to host Riyadh Season Noche UFC
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Iconic Sphere in Las Vegas to host Riyadh Season Noche UFC
Turki Alalshikh reveals undercard for December’s Ring of Fire Reignited
RIYADH: Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, has confirmed the undercard for the Ring of Fire Reignited fight between heavyweights Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh.
One of the showpiece events of Riyadh Season 2024, the undercard for the colossal Usyk-Fury rematch on Dec. 21 is certainly one that is fitting for a fight of this billing.
Former WBA light-middleweight champion Israil Madrimov returns to action at Riyadh Season as he looks to bounce back following his points defeat to Terence Crawford in Los Angeles against Serhii Bohachuk, who narrowly lost out to Vergil Ortiz in an epic battle by majority decision last time out.
Heavyweight Moses Itauma is also confirmed, having featured on the original Ring of Fire card back in May when he won the vacant WBO Intercontinental heavyweight title following a second-round stoppage victory against Germany’s Ilja Mezencev, retaining his title with another second-round stoppage against Mariusz Wach.
His opponent for December will be Australian fighter Demsey McKean, back in action after a 22-fight winning run was brought to an end by Filip Hrgovic last year.
In another heavyweight battle, Johnny Fisher will look to extend his explosive knockout streak against Dave Allen, coming off his second points win of the year.
Elsewhere, Dennis McCann puts his unbeaten record on the line against Peter McGrail, who recently produced arguably the best win of his professional career against Brad Foster, while Isaac Lowe is back at Kingdom Arena, where he secured a fourth straight win against Hasibullah Ahmadi on points during May’s Ring of Fire undercard.
Lowe will take on Lee McGregor, the former British and European bantamweight champion.
Aryna Sabalenka relishes ‘much-needed’ tennis rivalry with Iga Swiatek
- Top-ranked Iga Swiatek is absent from the field in Wuhan and withdrew from the China swing after splitting with her coach
- Sabalenka has a chance to close the gap on the Polish world number one with a strong run in Wuhan
WUHA, China: World number two Aryna Sabalenka said Wednesday that she believes her rivalry with top-ranked Iga Swiatek is “much-needed” in women’s tennis.
The Belarusian advanced to the Wuhan Open third round with her 50th victory of the season, 6-4, 6-4 against Katerina Siniakova.
Swiatek is absent from the field in Wuhan and withdrew from the China swing after splitting with her coach of three years Tomasz Wiktorowski.
Sabalenka has a chance to close the gap on the Polish world number one with a strong run in Wuhan, with the battle for the top spot likely to come down to the wire at the season-ending championships in Riyadh next month.
“Having this rivalry with Iga is something big for tennis and something much-needed, I would say, in women’s tennis.
“To keep this competition going would be really good for tennis,” said Sabalenka, who will next face Yulia Putintseva in the last 16.
Sabalenka, 26, spent eight weeks at the summit of the rankings last season and says reclaiming the world number one spot is one of her biggest goals.
“I hope she’ll figure out the coach situation and she’ll be back in the finals in her best shape.
“Hopefully we can play against each other there in... a fight for world number one.”
Coco Gauff followed up her China Open title in Beijing on Sunday with a smooth 6-1, 6-2 win over Viktoriya Tomova.
Gauff has a seven-match win streak and faces 13th seed Marta Kostyuk in the last 16.
Kostyuk received a walkover after her opponent Amanda Anisimova withdrew with a left hip injury.
“Both mentally and physically I’m a little tired, if I’m being honest,” said Gauff. “But when I got on the court, I felt fine.
“How I approached Beijing, I was like, I want to approach this how I would play tennis as a kid.
“Sometimes I try to go back into that mindset and realize at the end of the day this is my dream now, and it was my dream as a kid.
“If I don’t want to do it for myself now, I can definitely do it for myself then.”
Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova crashed out to American qualifier and world number 102 Hailey Baptiste 6-3, 7-5 in just 94 minutes.
Seventh seed Krejcikova let a 3-1 lead slip in the opening set, as well as a 5-3 advantage in the second.
The 22-year-old Baptiste will next take on Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova for a place in the quarter-finals.
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson set for six weeks out
LONDON:Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker is expected to be sidelined for around six weeks with a hamstring injury, which would rule him out of matches against Chelsea and Arsenal.
The 32-year-old Brazil international was hurt during last weekend’s 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace and went off late in the second half.
Reports in the British press say tests have shown Alisson is not likely to be fit to play until after next month’s international break.
That would mean the first match he would potentially be available for would be the trip to Southampton on November 24.
Arne Slot’s Premier League leaders face Chelsea on October 20 and Arsenal a week later, while their next two Champions League fixtures pit them against RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen.
Caoimhin Kelleher, who missed the Palace match through illness, will be expected to deputise, as he did last season when Alisson was ruled out with another hamstring injury.
Speaking after the victory at Crystal Palace, Slot predicted a lengthy lay-off for his number one goalkeeper.
“We have to wait and see but it will be a few weeks for him to be back. I think it is, yes (his hamstring),” he said.
“He’s clearly our number one, he’s the best goalkeeper in the world. It’s always a blow when he gets injured, not only for him but us as a team.”
Liverpool have 18 points from seven Premier League matches — one more than defending champions Manchester City and Arsenal.
Saudi Arabia pays for naming rights to Atletico Madrid's stadium for 9 years
MADRID: Saudi Arabia has consolidated its branding push with Atletico Madrid by paying for naming rights to the Spanish club’s stadium for the next nine years.
Atletico, which has been sponsored by Riyadh Air since last season, said Wednesday that its Metropolitano stadium will be known as the Riyadh Air Metropolitano henceforth until 2033.
Atletico did not say how much it was receiving for the new agreement “which makes the Saudi Arabian company the most important sponsor in the club’s history.”
The deal for shirt sponsorship from 2023-27 was already worth a reported 40 million euros a season to the club.
“The final installation of the new name of the stadium on the main, northeast and southeast facades will take place in the next few weeks,” Atletico said.
The establishment of Riyadh Air was announced by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in March 2023. It is yet to begin commercial operations.
Top tennis player Sinner to face Medvedev in Shanghai Masters quarter-finals
- Jannik Sinner put some old demons to rest in overcoming American Ben Shelton 6-4, 7-6 (7/1)
- Medvedev and Sinner have met four times this year already in the final stages of tournaments
SHANGHAI: World number one Jannik Sinner will face Daniil Medvedev in the Shanghai Masters quarter-finals, after both had straight sets victories on Wednesday.
Sinner put some old demons to rest in overcoming American Ben Shelton 6-4, 7-6 (7/1), while Medvedev took out Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.
Shelton, ranked 16, knocked Sinner out at the same stage last year, but on Wednesday the Italian looked confident from the start as he won in 88 minutes.
The US Open champion pulled ahead in the ninth game of the first set, breaking when Shelton hit long, then dominated the second set tiebreak.
“It was very tough, you don’t have so much control when you play against him... I just tried to stay strong mentally,” said Sinner.
World number five Medvedev and Tsitsipas were meeting for the 14th time.
Tsitsipas started the second set strongly, breaking in the first game, but Medvedev broke in the fourth and eighth to progress.
Medvedev and Sinner have met four times this year already in the final stages of tournaments.
Sinner beat Medvedev in the semifinals at Miami, the quarter-finals at the US Open and in the Australian Open final, but the Russian ended the Italian’s hopes in the last eight at Wimbledon in an epic five-set battle.
Also in action on Wednesday are world number two Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Sinner in the China Open final a week ago, four-time Shanghai champion Novak Djokovic and world number three Alexander Zverev.
