Almost two months since its last event, the UFC is ready to bounce back with a bang.
The world's leading mixed martial arts promotion are set to run the first of three events in the space of just eight days in Jacksonville, Florida.
UFC 249 had originally been scheduled to take place on April 18 in Brooklyn, New York, but the coronavirus outbreak forced that venue off the schedule.
The UFC then looked to run the event on the same date on tribal land in Lemoore, California to circumvent the government shutdown in the state, but pressure from senior execs from broadcast partners ESPN – and the sports channel's parent company Disney – promoted an 11th-hour rethink.
Now the pay-per-view event is set to take place behind closed doors in Jacksonville under full state regulation.
Fighters, coaches and staffers will undergo Covid-19 tests and a host of additional safety measures will be in place for the show, which represents the first major sporting event to take place in the United States since the coronavirus outbreak.
Expect fireworks
The event itself boasts a fight card jam-packed with fighting talent, with two title fights featured at the top of the card.
The main event, a battle for the vacant UFC interim lightweight title, will see former interim champ Tony Ferguson and former World Series of Fighting champ Justin Gaethje go head-to-head in a fight between two of the most entertaining fighters on the entire roster.
Ferguson was originally set to face undisputed champion Khabib Nurmagomedov on the original April 18 show in Brooklyn, but the advent of the coronavirus put paid to that booking, and extended the apparent jinx surrounding their matchup.
The pair have been booked to fight five times, and five times the fight has fallen through.
With Nurmagomedov currently stuck in Dagestan due to travel restrictions in Russia, the UFC turned to Gaethje to step in and face Ferguson, with the promotion introducing an interim title into the bargain.
Now Ferguson, owner of the longest win streak in the UFC's lightweight division (12 fights), will take on Gaethje, who is renowned as one of the most destructive, exciting fighters in any weight class.
It's a match-up that is absolutely tailor made for an event such as this, as the UFC looks to make an impact on its first show back on TV following the global pandemic struck.
Ready to inspire
The two main event stars say they're inspired by the opportunity to step into the octagon and switch the world back on to live sports once again.
"This is awesome," Ferguson told reporters during a pre-fight conference call.
"I mean, you can hear it in both of our voices, dude. You know, when there are wars going on and everything else there was no sports – they only had the Olympics going on.
"Right now there is no Olympics. There is no Wimbledon ... there is no tennis, there is no soccer, hockey, there is no baseball. This what we bring to the table and we are going out there and do our best and we are going to keep sports alive."
"Yes, this is going to bring a sense of normalcy to people. And you know I'm proud to be a part of it," agreed Gaethje.
"You know, the opportunity to inspire. People need to be inspired right now. They need to not let themselves become depressed, emotional because they can't control what is going on right now.
"We have got to ride it through and they need to be inspired in a way and we can do that. We have the opportunity."
Gaethje also revealed he hoped to pick up another victory on fight night – by getting some essential repairs covered by the UFC.
“I need my nose broken,” he said. "I haven’t been able to breathe through my nose for like 12 years since wrestling. So hopefully one of those elbows cracks my nose – the UFC has to pay for that!"
Gold versus GOAT
The co-main event also features a title fight, as Olympic gold medalist former UFC flyweight champion and reigning, defending UFC bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo puts his title on the line against arguably the greatest bantamweight fighter in UFC history, two-time former champion Dominick Cruz.
Cruz has battled a series of crippling injuries that have cost him years of his fighting prime, but his ability to bounce back from lengthy layoffs and return to the top was proven when he won the bantamweight title for the second time in 2016.
Now, after the longest layoff of his career – almost three and a half years – Cruz returns to take on one of the sport's best pound-for-pound athletes.
Reigning champion Cejudo captured Olympic wrestling gold for the United States in 2008 in Beijing, and transitioned to mixed martial arts five years later.
Cejudo went on to eventually dethrone the great Demetrious Johnson and capture the UFC flyweight title, then moved up and claimed the bantamweight belt with a superb come-from-behind win over Marlon Moraes last year.
Now focusing on life at 135 pounds after relinquishing the flyweight belt, Cejudo wants to cement his legacy by defeating the man considered by many to be the greatest bantamweight of all time.
UFC 249 is available for fans in the UAE to watch via the UFC Arabia app. The main card kicks off at 6am, Sunday May 10.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
In numbers
- Number of children under five will fall from 681 million in 2017 to 401m in 2100
- Over-80s will rise from 141m in 2017 to 866m in 2100
- Nigeria will become the world’s second most populous country with 791m by 2100, behind India
- China will fall dramatically from a peak of 2.4 billion in 2024 to 732 million by 2100
- an average of 2.1 children per woman is required to sustain population growth
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Black Panther
Dir: Ryan Coogler
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o
Five stars
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Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
RESULT
Norway 1 Spain 1
Norway: King (90 4')
Spain: Niguez (47')
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
EXPATS
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.6-litre turbo
Transmission: six-speed automatic
Power: 165hp
Torque: 240Nm
Price: From Dh89,000 (Enjoy), Dh99,900 (Innovation)
On sale: Now
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UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
WITHIN%20SAND
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
The%20specs
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