Category: 6. Sports

The following day, on Thursday, July 17, UFC athletes Jared Gordon and Brandon Royval hosted a youth meet and greet with the Youth Empowerment Project (YEP), a non-profit organization that engages underserved youth through community-based education, mentoring, enrichment, and employment readiness programs to help them develop skills and strengthen ties to family and community.

During the event, both athletes conducted a Q&A panel over lunch with members attending the organization’s summer educational program. The panel highlighted areas pertaining to the importance of arts, education, and career development. 

“We are so grateful to UFC for their incredible partnership,” said Melissa Sawyer, CEO of YEP. “Our young people were inspired by Brandon Royval and Jared Gordon—two remarkable UFC athletes who opened up about their journeys and the challenges they’ve overcome to reach their dreams. Their words truly resonated and encouraged our participants. Hearing their stories showed our young people that no dream is out of reach. The UFC team was gracious, professional, and their visit brought an energy and sense of possibility that will stay with our young people long after the event.”

Founded in 2004, YEP services more than 1,000 local youth across 13 parishes throughout New Orleans.

Keiffer Moore came off the bench to snatch a dramatic late win for Wrexham as they beat Preston 3-2 in the Carabao Cup.

The 33-year-old took advantage of a mistake from Jack Walton in stoppage time to send the Welsh outfit into round three for the first time since 1981.

Debutant Lewis Dobbin opened the scoring for Preston after seven minutes before Ryan Hardie’s sensational equaliser.

The home team deservedly regained the lead just on 29 minutes through Liam Lindsay but Harry Ashfield levelled again just before the hour.

Daniel Jebbison slipped in Theo Carroll early on but the 18-year-old blazed over as he was closed down.

But Carroll almost immediately teed up another chance for Dobbin, who curled a delightful finish into the far corner from just inside the box.

Wrexham were level within a matter of minutes as Hardie lobbed Walton with an audacious cross-cum-shot to get off the mark for the campaign.

Pol Valentin forced Wrexham’s Arthur Okonkwo into an 18th-minute stop at his near post after good work from Dobbin. Okonkwo had to stay alert shortly after to keep out Alfie Devine.

Pressure eventually paid off as Lindsay met Devine’s corner and headed home from close range.

Okonkwo was forced into his best save on the stroke of half-time, tipping over Devine’s free-kick. Dobbin then slipped Jebbison through but the former Bournemouth man’s dink came back off the post.

Ashfield had tried his luck from miles out in the first half but found more luck from slightly closer range in the 59th minute, sneaking a shot past Walton from just outside the box via a deflection.

Preston had to fend off periods of pressure but nearly went ahead again in the 85th minute as substitute Michael Smith’s curler forced Okonkwo into acrobatics.

But Wrexham won it in the dying embers as Walton fumbled a ball into the box and Moore prodded home.

Information from PA was used in this report.

Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic suffered an embarrassing exit from the Champions League play-off round after they went down in penalties against Kazakh side Kairat Almaty. After both legs ended in goalless draws, the tie was taken to the penalty shootout, where Kairat emerged victorious 3-2 and progressed to the league stage. The Kazakh club will be placed in Pot 4 during the draw.

It used to be said that the shorter formats were a young man’s game.

Well, tonight at Headingley it was two 40-somethings that led the way in the first innings.

Anderson, 43, got it all started. England’s legendary swing king took the new ball, inevitably got the ball moving and after a tidy first five balls, was asked to bowl five more and struck twice.

The first got rid of left-hander Dawid Malan, who played for another in-swinger and skied the out-swinger Anderson sent down, allowing Buttler to come from behind the stumps to take the catch.

If that wasn’t the typical Anderson caught-behind dismissal, his second wicket was much more like it – a nip-backer that caught Dan Lawrence on the crease and was given lbw.

Anderson could have walked off with a four-for but for two dropped catches in the deep – Harry Brook and David Miller the two fortunate batters, showing Anderson can still cause problems for some of the world’s finest.

His figures of 2-30 were dented the ball after the second of those drops as Patel hammered him over square leg for six.

By that point, the 40-year-old had already dispatched Ish Sodhi into the stands as he managed to find his timing where just about every other Superchargers batter had failed on a stopping pitch.

Not bad for a man who admitted he was nervous because he’d been “sitting on a beach in Alicante” prior to his late call-up to The Hundred.

His blistering innings gave Superchargers a chance but unfortunately for Patel, Jos Buttler – a real youngster by comparison at 34 – also got the measure of the pitch to take Originals to victory.