The execs who steered the UFC from freak show to billion-dollar property are trying the same with a new skateboarding league – by partnering with the go-to streaming site of the rightThe Street League Skateboarding (SLS) Championship Tour made a thrilling return last month in Chicago. The event showcased some of the world’s best skateboaders, including Brazilian Olympic silver medalists Kelvin Hoefler and Rayssa Leal, both of whom captured titles to kick off the 2023 season.The season-opening event marked the latest initiative by Thrill One Sports & Entertainment group, whose portfolio that includes popular motorsport events such as Nitro Circus and Nitro Rallycross, as well as a variety of television shows. The company is co-owned by former UFC owner Lorenzo...
Boxing should not be abolished but it may need reform from within after a tragic weekThere are no easy answers for the tragedies that have rocked professional boxing over the past week. The Argentinian junior welterweight Hugo Alfredo Santillan died on Thursday from injuries suffered during last Saturday’s fight against Uruguay’s Eduardo Javier Abreu in the Buenos Aires, becoming the second fatality in four days after Russia’s Maxim Dadashev succumbed to injuries suffered last Friday’s in Maryland.The double horror is a chilling reminder of the danger at hand any time a fighter climbs through the ropes into the squared circle, the only venue in society, with the exception of war, where a person can be killed but not legally murdered....
The final event of the UFC’s 25th anniversary year served as a proper example of how the promotion has made it this farWhen it opened for business in 1993 the Ultimate Fighting Championship was designed to disrupt.Challenging basic conventions about traditional martial arts this is exactly what the UFC did in its opening act, and from that point forward the company has operated at its best approaching the margins where most people would see only chaos and controversy. Related: Jon Jones stops Alexander Gustafsson in three to win UFC light heavyweight title Related: How Jon Jones sparked UFC 232's 'atypical' move from Vegas to LA Continue reading...
Gamesmanship? Maybe. But the unbeaten Dagestani had no time for his tardy opponent ahead of Saturday’s UFC title showdownKhabib Nurmagomedov wasn’t about to wait for the pomp and circumstance of a video package to accompany him to the stage.He certainly wasn’t going to wait for Conor McGregor to show up. Related: UFC ignores Conor McGregor's troubles as it targets Nurmagomedov payday Related: Why the UFC's 'sportswashing' of Chechnya’s dictator is a problem Continue reading...
The presence of Ramzan Kadyrov in the front row of the UFC’s first show in Moscow highlights a troubling link between the Chechen strongman and the world’s largest MMA promotionOn Saturday 15 September, Ramzan Kadyrov walked into Moscow’s Olimpiyskiy Stadium to watch the evening’s fights. Dressed in beige jeans and a white t-shirt with a matching jacket, the notorious Chechen strongman was surrounded by three of his most loyal henchmen – one of whom has been accused of torture and another of plotting an assassination – as he made his way to the front row of the 35,000-capacity arena. Seated just a few feet away from the cage, Kadyrov and his cronies watched the evening’s fights in an entirely new...