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Kelvin Ekerete
Published 1:28 am
UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou, says Nigerian welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman, has promised to knock out Jorge Masvidal when both fighters square off at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville on April 25.
Usman defeated Masvidal via unanimous decision in 2020, with the American stating he had less than a week to prepare for the fight.
The ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ is unbeaten since joining the UFC franchise in 2015, raking in 13 wins, including a second round knockout win over former teammate, Gilbert Burns, in his last outing at UFC 258 in Las Vegas in February.
Masvidal, who has had the complement of a full training camp, has not entered the Octagon since suffering the defeat to Usman.
Onuachu top scorer as Belgium league ends The Punch
Published 12:24 am
Nigerian footballers had a performance to remember over the weekend, with some on target in some of the top leagues across Europe, reports KELVIN EKERETE
BELGIUM
Paul Onuachu netted a brace in Genk’s 3-2 loss to Royal Antwerp on Saturday as the Belgian topflight league ended at the weekend. The brace, his sixth of the season, took his tally to 29 goals in 33 league appearances for the Blauw-Wit.
The lanky Nigerian scored first in the 22nd minute, before completing his brace from the penalty spot in the 64th minute, but three goals in the 67th, 90th and 92nd minutes ensured the hosts got the better of Onuachu’s side.
Enyimba in dilemma, may not honour Al Ahly Confed Cup tie The Punch
Published 5:00 am
Nigeria’s sole CAF Confederation Cup campaigner Enyimba are on the brink of missing out on Wednesday’s matchday five fixture against Libya’s Al Ahly Benghazi due to flight issues, The PUNCH has learnt.
Enyimba are scheduled to face Al Ahly Benghazi at the Martyrs of February Stadium but have yet to secure Schengen visas for their trip to Libya enroute Turkey with just two days to the match.
Enyimba had written to the Confederation of African Football to have the match rescheduled so they can seek out other means of transportation but CAF on Sunday denied their request which has further placed them in a dilemma, the club’s media officer Zazi Bariza revealed.
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Kelvin Ekerete
Published 6:12 am
Nigerian cruiserweight boxing sensation Efetobor Apochi continued his rise in the category with a third round knockout victory over former undefeated prospect Deon Nicholson in a 12-round WBA title eliminator at the Shrine Explosion Centre in Los Angeles on Sunday.
The 33-year-old improved his record to 11 wins in as many professional fights with a 100 per cent knockout ratio.
He landed 93-of-198 total punches (47 per cent), including 53-of-90 power shots (59 per cent), according to Compubux.
Both fighters went into the bout undefeated, with Nicholson, who had won his previous 14 fights, ranked fifth in the WBA ratings, while Apochi sat in sixth position. But that did not matter as the ‘Nigerian Pitbull’ went to work on his opponent from the sound of the bell, scoring two major knockdowns before finally dismissing the American, producing a stoppage at 1:12 of round three.
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Kelvin Ekerete
Published 3:50 am
Nigeria may miss out of the World Athletics Relays due to the crisis rocking the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, The PUNCH reports.
The WA Relays is billed to hold in Silesia, Poland between May 1 and 2, but Nigerian athletes may not be able to compete as the country is yet to send in its representatives for the event.
The Ibrahim Gusau-led AFN had fixed March 29 and 30 for the national trials at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Port Harcourt which was to serve as qualifiers for the WA Relays.
It was also qualifiers for the World Athletics U-20 Championships (Nairobi), 22nd CAA African Senior Athletics Championships (Algiers) and CAA Region II Championships, Kaduna.