Category: News

Valentina Shevchenko (23-3) earned a split decision victory to retain her flyweight belt against Taila Santos (19-2) at UFC 275 at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.

Shevchenko was measured with her strikes to open the fight, attacking Santos and pushing her back against the cage. Santos and Shevchenko scrambled to the ground and the challenger took the champion’s back, attempting to lock in a rear-naked choke, but never quite locking it in before the buzzer signaling the end of the round.

In the second, Shevchenko again tried to push her gameplan, but it was Santos earning the takedown and holding ground control. Late in the round, Shevcheno landed a judo throw takedown, but it was Santos who won the scramble and earned top control through the end of the round.

A bit less aggressive to open the third, Shevchenko avoided the clinch and opted to stand and throw hands. Late in the round, Santos worked Shevchenko into the cage and earned yet another takedown, moving to the champ’s back and trying to lock in a choke for the finish. Santos could never quite get under her chin and again exhausted the round with ground control.

Knowing she likely needed a finish, Shevchenko came out firing to open the championship round. An accidental clash of heads appeared to close Santos’s right eye. Late in the round, it was Santos taking points with yet another big takedown. In the fifth and final round, it was Shevchenko going for takedown after takedown, earning time on the ground and looking for opportunities to finish the fight.

Since earning a unanimous decision victory over Joanna Jedrejczyk back in 2018, Shevchenko had been dominant in the flyweight division, taking out all six challenger that have dared to step foot in the Octagon with her.

Santos had been on a roll heading into her showdown with Shevchenko, losing her only UFC fight by decision in her debut. After that loss, Santos rattled off three decision victories before earning a submission over Joanne Wood and a shot at UFC gold.

Two years removed from a decision victory in one of the best UFC fights in the organization’s history, Zhang Weili didn’t let her UFC 275 bout with Joanna Jędrzejczyk go the the judges again. Weili (22-3) knocked Jędrzejczyk (16-5) cold out in the second round Saturday night at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.

Weili and Jędrzejczyk opened the fight right where they left off two years ago, exchanging big shots. Midway through the round, Weili got Jędrzejczyk on the ground and looked for a finish with a ferocious ground-and-pound. As Jędrzejczyk maneuvered her way around the mat, Weili continued to follow until the bell.

The second round saw a composed Jędrzejczyk continuing to battle Weili until a counter spinning backfist put her to sleep for the gigantic knockout.

For Jędrzejczyk, who hadn’t fought in two years since her loss to Weili, this will end up being her final bout, as she called it quits on an extraordinary career following the loss.

The win positions Weili for what should be a title shot against Carla Esparza, who defeated Rose Namajunas for the belt in a snoozer at UFC 274. Namajunas would certainly vouch for a rematch against Esparza, losing the title via decision, and with two consecutive wins over Weili just a year ago.

Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio got fined earlier this week following comments he made to reporters about the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. After being asked to explain a post he made on his Twitter account where he criticized the congressional inquiry into the insurrection, Del Rio called what happened a “dustup” and referenced the summer of 2020 in which millions of Americans took to the street in protest of police brutality following the murder of George Floyd.

“Why are we not looking into those things — if we’re going to talk about it — why are we not looking into those things?” Del Rio said, per ESPN. “I can look at images on the TV, people’s livelihoods are being destroyed, businesses are being burned down, no problem. And then we have a dustup at the Capitol, nothing burned down, and we’re going to make that a major deal. I just think it’s kind of two standards, and if we apply the same standard and we’re going to be reasonable with each other, let’s have a discussion. That’s all it was. Let’s have a discussion.”

The comparison was patently ridiculous, and after he issued up an apology, Commanders coach Ron Rivera fined him $100,000 and excoriated him in a statement that said Del Rio’s comments “do not reflect the organization’s views and are extremely hurtful to our great community here in the DMV.”

Still, $100,000 is a drop in the bucket for Del Rio, and he will remain the defensive coordinator on a team whose defense was ranked 27th in DVOA last season. The whole situation caught the attention of Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed, who called for Commanders players to respond to these comments.

Del Rio has since deleted his Twitter account.

John Cena is many things: a wrestling god, a movie and TV star, a pretty good dancer. He’s also a gregarious person. According to The Wall Street Journal, the hulking Renaissance Man is making news after coming to the aid of a Ukrainian boy with Down syndrome who needed a hero to get him through tough times.

Misha Rohozhyn, a 19-year-old who has the disorder and is unable to speak, was forced to flee the embattled nation along with his mother Liana, finding themselves in the Netherlands. Liana wanted her son to be able to cope with having his life upended. So she told him that what they were really doing was looking to meet John Cena.

Cena, who was in London shooting a project, caught wind of this story. So he did the right thing: He boarded a one-hour flight and met Misha and Liana, documenting it for posterity. In the video, Cena tells Misha, “I’ve come a very long way to see you.”

He wound up praising the two. “Misha’s ability to embrace persistence. That’s extraordinary,” he said. “Those words “Never Give Up”— we’ve all thought about those in our life. They’re very powerful. They’re two great examples of how persistence can lead to joy even through the toughest of times.”

When video of Cena meeting Misha and Liana was made public, people were incredibly moved.

Cena has a habit of granting the most wishes for the Make A Wish Foundation, having done so at least 650 times, more than any other celebrity.

(Via WSJ)

Texas trio Khruangbin has put forth a pretty strong 2022 year so far. Their four months removed from the release of their Texas Moon project with Leon Bridges, which is the companion release of their 2020 drop Texas Sun. The former project comes after they dropped a remix edition of their Mordechai effort last year. This past weekend, Khruangbin took their talents to Barcelona’s Primavera Sound Festival which has been ongoing since the beginning of the month. It was here that they performed a special edition of a 2018 song with a hip-hop legend.

During Khruangbin’s set, they invited Yasiin Bey on stage to perform a hip-hop version of “Maria Tambien.” The original song is housed on Khruangbin’s 2018 album Con Todo El Mundo, and the new take of the song is an incredible listen that was a part of a just-as-incredible set from the Texas trio. Khruangbin and Bey also delivered their own renditions of Incredible Bongo Band’s “Apache” classic and Dick Dale’s “Misirlou” during Bey’s time on stage with the group.

This is also not the first time that Bey performed the hip-hop version of “Maria Tambien” as he previously did so during a 2019 concert in Chicago.

You can watch Khruangbin and Mos Def perform “Maria Tambien” in the video above.

AAA video game get put in the spotlight during this time of year. We all clamor to see what PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo has coming, or what major project is coming out of studios like EA or Ubisoft. However, while those major companies take up a lot of the oxygen, there are usually tons of indie showcases for fans to check out.

On Saturday, Guerilla Collective and Wholesome Games both put on showcases of indie games that will come out in the near future. We saw way too many games to possibly highlight all of them, so here are 10 that stuck out.

Alaloth: Champions of The Four Kingdoms

Alaloth: Champions of The Four Kingdoms has the look of a game that is going to put the player on a grand adventure. Every detail of the environments shown is similar to how someone might view their personal DnD campaign. It’s an action RPG with an overhead view. It feels similar to something like Diablo or the recentl- released Lost Ark. It’s going to appeal to a certain kind of player so be sure to check out some gameplay footage before getting it for yourself. We’ve seen this game at a handful of summer games showcases so far, but this latest trailer gave us a release date for the end of the month so we won’t have to wait too much longer to finally play it.

Boundary

What if you gave astronauts guns and had them fight in space? That is the entire premise of Boundary and it honestly sounds really fun. We’ve had plenty of games take place in space stations, but what about actually happening in space? That is what Boundary is offering us and that small hook is all we need to be intrigued. Most of the trailer showed us multiplayer gameplay, so this might be a PvP only experience. That’s fine, because the premise feels unique enough to justify not having a single-player option of some kind.

The Last Worker

The Last Worker is going to be one of those games that makes people think about the world. The player takes on the role of the lone human in a packaging plant. You have never once made a mistake, and that’s why you’re the only one who has kept their job, and this has led to a lot of pride. However, as a resistance group contacts you for assistance in figuring out a deep mystery involving the plant, you’re forced to dive deeper into areas you’re not supposed to be in. The game has promised commentary on capitalism, horror elements, and some comedy thrown in for good measure. It has a strong voice cast to support it, which adds to the game’s potential.

Slope Crashers

Remember how fun Snowboard Kids was? Okay so take that, make all the characters animals instead, and we have Slope Crashers. Everything that an arcade snowboarding game needs to be successful is present throughout this trailer, like cartoonish characters, fun power-ups, and over-the-top level design. It even has split-screen multiplayer to invoke that classic feeling of playing on a Nintendo 64. There’s a demo available for anyone who wants to give it a try, and we can’t wait to see more from this game in the future.

Alterium Shift

If there were any JRPG fans not already paying attention to Alterium Shift, they definitely are now. This game takes direct inspiration from classic JRPG’s like Final Fantasy but adds some of its own twists to the formula. The big hook of Alterium Shift is how the player can choose three different characters, each with a unique class, and all of them will go on their own separate adventure. Of course, since this is a JRPG, we’re sure there will be a lengthy story full of twists and turns along the way.

A Frog’s Tale

A Frog’s Tale is another turn-based RPG, but instead, it stars a frog battling against enemies like flies, snakes, and owls. It feels like the kind of adventure that is much more down-to-earth and meant to tell a more personal story. Since the trailer was shown during the Wholesome Direct, we’re assuming the stakes never get too big, and that’s okay! A nice easy RPG is exactly what you want sometimes. As long as it plays well and has a good hook, we’re gonna put the time in.

Kitori Academy

Kitori Academy! is a wholesome game where the player is able to go on a magical adventure in a school for magic. It has a really cute art style and looks like an all-around good time. A lot of us have been wanting to experience what it’s like to be a witch or wizard, and this is going to give us that opportunity. We’re excited to play this one.

The Spirit and the Mouse

The Spirit and the Mouse lets players take on the role of a mouse exploring a city, finding collectibles, and completing quests. However, the trailer shows that the player is no ordinary mouse. They have electrical powers that will help the mouse complete these quests and all of that just sounds delightful. What was maybe the most impressive about the trailer was how everything looked. There’s a beautiful shade to everything that really makes colors pop in a way that other games don’t try to do sometimes. This is going to be a great world to explore and get into the tiny details through the eyes of a random electrical mouse.

SCHiM

SCHiM is a game where the player takes on a little shadow creature and gets them from place to place. What’s really unique about this game is the art style and how the game incorporates that into its gameplay. Everything has a hand-drawn style and the shadows are created through shading and movement. Part puzzle game, part platformer, SCHiM looks like a really fun time. We’re interested to see how deep this game goes. Is it going to just be a bunch of individual puzzles or is this an adventure with a heartfelt story behind it? We can’t wait to learn more.

Lonesome Village

Lonesome Village is a puzzle game but also a social simulation game — think Stardew Valley but with more puzzles. The game stars a fox and has a really adorable art style to it. We’re really excited to see what this game looks like when it launches, but for now, we can be enraptured by how cute it looks. Of course, as with any social sim you need a good hook to keep players invested and we assume that’s where the puzzles come in. A strong set of puzzles and some cute villagers to talk to in our downtime sounds really relaxing.

When Disney+ aired Loki last summer, the spin-off show had a lot of surprises. One of them was about the nature of the trickster god: It was revealed he was bisexual and gender fluid, making him the first openly queer lead character in the MCU. They didn’t show him getting any kind of action, which caused some critiques, but it was still a milestone, and the actor who plays him is fully behind the move, even saying it has basis in Norse mythology.

“Back from my early days of researching the character in the ancient myths, the identity of Loki was fluid in every aspect and in gender, in sexuality,” Hiddleston told Lily James during Variety’s Actors on Actors (as caught by IndieWire). “It’s a very ancient part of the character and I think I thought about it. … It hadn’t emerged in the stories we’ve told. And I was really pleased and privileged, actually, that it’s came up in the series.”

Hiddleston called the move “a small step,” and that there’s “so much more to do,” but that the MCU “has to reflect the world we live in.” He added, “So it was an honor to bring that up. It was really important to me. It was really important to [director] Kate Herron and [showrunner] Michael Waldron, and I’m pleased that we could bring it into our story.”

So perhaps the next time you see the semi-villain, he’ll do a little more than simply acknowledge that he goes both ways.

(Via Variety and IndieWire)

Draymond Green has come under some criticism for his performance in the 2022 NBA Finals. Whether those critiques are fair (he has struggled, particularly on offense, against the Boston Celtics’ defense) or not (his penchant for podcasting after games), Green has objectively not looked like the kind of guy whose ability to influence games on both ends of the floor was crucial to Golden State’s success for years.

The criticism has come from all over, and on Friday night, Green had an up-and-down game during the Warriors’ Game 4 win in Boston. In the aftermath, Green’s mother, Mary Babers-Green, speculated on Twitter that his performance made her ask if he had been replaced by a clone.

The whole thing was pretty funny, and in his postgame podcast, Green addressed his mom’s tweet by saying that she had a point.

“I saw my mom tweeted that it’s been a tough series for me,” Green said. “Absolutely, it definitely has, but figure it out how you gotta figure it out. It’s not the toughest thing I’ve had to deal with in my life thus far, but I’m sure I’ll have a tougher challenge in life.”

Give Green credit for both taking this on the chin and appearing to have fun with the whole thing. As the saying goes, mother knows best.

Michael Jordan‘s basketball playing career is defined by a whole lot of performances and moments that can be referenced by even the most casual of sports fan. One such performance came in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals, when an ill Jordan led the Chicago Bulls into Utah to take on the Jazz. The series was tied at two games each, and Jordan — who looked like he was having an extremely bad time — scored 38 points in a 90-88 Bulls win.

Chicago would go on to win the series, 4-2, while Jordan’s performance in Game 5 became affectionately known as the “Flu Game.” Saturday marks the 25th anniversary of that game, and as a way to celebrate it, the official SportsCenter Twitter account posted the highlights, as ready by the late, great, Stuart Scott.

Thanks to The Last Dance, we learned that calling this the “Flu Game” isn’t quite right — Jordan, longtime trainer Tim Grover, and his friend George Koehler revealed that the Hall of Fame inductee got really weird over having an entire pizza to himself, to the point that he spit on it so no one else would eat it. The pizza, as they claim, ended up giving him a particularly nasty case of food poisoning. Whatever it’s called, this is high on the list of the best games of Jordan’s career.

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot kicked off its hearings on Thursday, to big ratings. Among the bombshells was this: Ivanka Trump, the former president’s eldest daughter, agreed with his former Attorney General Bill Barr that he lost in the 2020 election. She said it as sheepishly as possible, so as not to over-enrage her father. It didn’t exactly work. The next day, Trump himself claimed on Truth Social that she didn’t know what she was talking about as she had ”checked out” by then.

The following night, Jimmy Kimmel weighed in on the hearings and the responses from the GOP, including Trump. “I love his argument that Ivanka, his senior White House advisor, had checked out,” joked Kimmel. “In the Trump family, that’s called being thrown under the Access Hollywood bus.”

Kimmel also zeroed in on Fox News, which refused to air the night’s hearing, at least on their main channel. Instead, it was business as usual, with one alteration: Tucker Carlson’s show was aired without commercials, as though viewers couldn’t have a break to check out what everyone else was airing.

“Fox News is so intent on burying their viewers’ heads in the sand [that] not only didn’t they show the hearing last night, they went commercial-free for two-and-a-half hours so their viewers wouldn’t switch the channel to see what is actually going on,” Kimmel said. “They went into overdrive trying to make it seem like what happened was just a rowdy group of party people sneaking into the movies or something.”

Kimmel didn’t mind showing the footage. “It looks like a coup,” he said about scenes of Trump supporters violently storming the Capitol building and assaulting police officers. “Five people were killed on that day by those nutty goofball protesters.”

To him, the “worst part” was that the former president surely loves being back in the news, saying, “you know Trump is at home so thrilled to be back in primetime he can’t stop pullin’ his nipples. He’s crazy. He loves it.”

You can watch Kimmel’s opening monologue in the video above.