01-15-2020, 07:42 AM
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- In a battle of fan-favorite heavyweights, it was the power of Roy Nelson that proved supreme Friday as he earned a first-round knockout win over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Colorado Avalanche Store . The bout served as the main event of the "UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Nelson" card at the du Arena. Nelson (21-9) was in control from the start, working in frequent jabs and occasionally launching his right hand. One of those shots scored flush in the early stages of the fight and Nogueira (34-9-1) went tumbling to the floor, but Nelson didnt rush the finish and instead allowed his opponent to stand and re-engage. The patience paid off as Nelson delivered a thunderous right a short time later that saw Nogueira fall stiff as he hit the mat. Nelson didnt bother to wait for referee Leon Roberts to step in, raising his hand in victory at the 3:30 mark of the first round. "I was expecting a five-round battle but things ended a little early," Nelson said. "My game plan was to throw more lefts and mix in some takedowns and eventually try to win each round. I didnt think I was going to be the hometown favorite but Abu Dhabi really was behind me tonight." In the nights co-feature, veteran featherweight Clay (The Carpenter) Guida outworked Japans Tatsuya (Crusher) Kawajiri for a win via unanimous decision. Guida (31-11) was relentless from the start, pressing the pace and looking to strike but often finding himself in a clinch with his opponent. Guida took advantage of those situations by locking the body and dumping his opponent to the canvas, even as Kawajiri (33-8-2) looked repeatedly to secure an armlock from the position. The two went back and forth for the full 15 minutes. Kawajiri always looked dangerous, but Guida kept a high pace until the final bell and enjoyed too many dominant positions to be denied a victory. Afterward, Guida called out Irish featherweight prospect Conor McGregor. "After your injury, once youre healed up, you want to fight a real man, there aint no gold at the end of that rainbow, man," Guida said in his post-fight interview. "Just a chest-hair sandwich from a mullet with a caveman at the end of it." In a welterweight contest, Ryan LaFlare looked impressive in a unanimous-decision win over John (Doomsday) Howard, though the contest was marred by an accidental foul. LaFlare (11-0) proved the better wrestler in the three-round matchup, repeatedly taking his opponent to the floor. But in the second round, LaFlare landed an inadvertent knee to the groin that sent Howard (22-9) to the canvas and threatened to end the fight. Howard chose to fight on but was in clear pain for the remainder of the bout. After earning the decision win, LaFlare admitted he was disappointed in how the incident played out but was happy to get a win. In the nights first main-card matchup, lightweight Ramsey Nijem (10-4) earned a scintillating victory over the previously undefeated Beneil Dariush (7-1). Nijem, who entered the cage holding a Palestinian flag, scored with a clean left hook in the late stages of the first round, and Dariush never recovered. Nijem seized the opportunity and rushed forward with additional strikes, finally earning the TKO call at the 4:20 mark of the first round. "I wanted this to be violent," Nijem said after the win. "I want everybody to be scared in my weight class." Avalanche Jerseys 2020 . In a matter of days, he went from unwanted to wanted, from fired to hired, from discarded by the Philadelphia Eagles with reputation tarnished to rock star treatment and a new fat contract from the Washington Redskins. Custom Colorado Avalanche Jerseys . The Thornhill, Ont., native, who is ranked 11th in the world, said hed hoped he would be ready when Canada begins its World Group first-round tie against Japan in Tokyo on Friday. https://www.cheapavalanche.com/ . The Jets have now won three straight at home and four of the last five at the MTS Centre. After a scoreless first period, Brad Marchand scored his first goal in eight games eight seconds into the second. Footballs World Cup. A Super Bowl ring. The tiny Ashes urn in cricket. And, of course, the yellow jersey. No list of the most famous trophies in sports can be complete if it doesnt include that gaudy shirt from the Tour de France -- and British speedster Mark Cavendish aims to get his hands on the first one this year. Over the next three weeks, 21 of them will be distributed at the 100th Tour. None will be more important than the last one -- worn by the overall winner on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on July 21: Many pundits believe that will be either Britains Chris Froome or two-time Tour champion Alberto Contador of Spain. But it would be a mistake to reduce the Tour to a two-horse race. Multiple heartbreaks, crashes and other dramas await over the meandering 3,404-kilometre (2,110-mile) trek along wind-swept sea sides, through flat plains and Alpine and Pyrenean mountain punishment, and even to a medieval island citadel in the English Channel. The first story could be written by Cavendish: the "Manx Missile" is a favourite to win the mostly flat Stage 1 over 213 kilometres (132 miles) from Porto Vecchio to Bastia in the race debut on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica on Saturday. The Briton, whose muscle, timing and accelerations make him the finest sprinter of his generation, has already won other coveted prizes in his sport. In 2011, he won both the green jersey given to the best Tour sprinter and the rainbow-striped jersey awarded to cyclings road-race world champion. The yellow jersey, however, has eluded his grasp. "Its not just one of the most iconic symbols in cycling, its one of the most iconic symbols in the world of sport," Cavendish said. "To be able to wear that for at least a day in your life, its a thing to make any riders career. Its a thing you dream about when youre a child. It would be a beautiful thing." Cycling could use some beautiful things. This is the first Tour since Lance Armstrong was stripped of his record seven victories for doping, which he finally admitted to on U.S. cable TV after years of denials that were exposed as lies by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Despite millions spent on fighting drug use in the peloton, blasts from cyclings checkered past keep on coming: Ahead of this race, French media reported that a Senate investigation into the effectiveness of doping controls pieced together evidence that a urine sample provided by long-beloved French rider Laurent Jalabert contained EPO, cyclings designer drug, at the Tour of 1998. Tour organizers will be hoping the racing drama of the next three weeks will push such miseries to the background. In the traditional pre-race presentation, the 22 teams took a stage one after the other Thursday in Porto Vecchio, with its idyllic mountain backdrop on Frances "isle of beauty." Hundreds of fans clapped politely, as white yachts stuck up like teeth from the shimmering blue Mediterranean. Contador predicts an action-packed race in this comeback year for him. The 30-year-old Spaniard was stripped of his 2010 Tour title and missed out last year ovver a doping ban. Colorado Avalanche Gear. He could be the biggest danger for Froome. Both riders excel in mountain climbs that feature heavily this year. But Contador said there would be more to this Tour than simply their rivalry. "This year wont just be the story of two riders; well have more actors in this film," he said. "This year will see more action than in past years," he added. Of Froome, he said: "I would have no motivation to be here if I thought I couldnt beat him." Among longer-shot contenders are 2011 Tour winner Cadel Evans of Australia -- though at 36, his legs arent the freshest -- and his young BMC teammate Tejay Van Garderen of the United States, plus Spaniards Alejandro Valverde of Movistar and Joaquim Rodriguez of Katusha. Bradley Wiggins, the 2012 Tour winner and a Sky teammate of Froome, is sitting out this year due to injury. Last year Froome was more impressive than Wiggins in the mountains, but that race was more heavily weighted to time trials -- Wiggins specialty -- than in this years edition. Like Wiggins last year, Froome has had a nearly flawless run-up to the Tour: the 28-year-old Kenyan-born Briton won four of five races he started. He said hes confident, but not fond of the "favourite" moniker. "Its an absolutely privilege for me to be in this position," he said, but "there is a certain amount of pressure that comes with it." "Coming in as the race favourite sets that precedent of people looking to beat you ... so it definitely opens doors that people may be ganging up," he said, acknowledging the possibility that Valverde, Contador and Rodriguez might form a Spanish alliance against him. Contador is high in Froomes mind. "I dont think we have seen Contador at his best yet," he said. "His goal was never to perform well at any of the races building up to the Tour, but then to come to the Tour at his absolute best. I believe hell be here at his best -- and thats what well expect." Andy Schleck, who inherited the 2010 title stripped from Contador for testing positive for the muscle-building drug clenbuterol, said this years mountainous course would have suited him under normal circumstances. But hes coming off a rough year -- including a crash injury to his lower back that kept him out last year. The Luxembourg rider considers himself an "outsider" -- not a favourite. The race spends three days on Corsicas winding, hilly roads. It then sets off on a clockwise run through mainland France along the Mediterranean, into the Pyrenees, then up to Brittany and the fabled Mont-Saint-Michel island citadel before a slashing jaunt southeastward toward the Alps before the Paris finish. "The Tours always full of surprises," said Garmin-Sharp team director Jonathan Vaughters, insisting his American squad could have contenders like Ryder Hesjedal of Canada and Andrew Talansky of the United States. "The easy answer is: Yes, its Chris Froome vs. Alberto Contador -- but I think were going to try and make the answer not as easy." ' ' '