Premier league stars of the season

Posted on | October 18, 2018 | No Comments

There have already been a number of star performers even at this early stage of the premier league season. Chelsea are the surprise package at present as punters continue to use the latest offer at fanduel to support them for the title. Can they topple the defending champions Manchester City and the attacking powerhouses of Liverpool? Here we cover some of the stars of the season thus far.

ALISSON – LIVERPOOL

Liverpool’s keeper, Alisson has been a key addition to the squad. He has made a solid start to the season as the club continue to challenge for the league. At present eight games in, he is one of two keepers to have only conceded three goals. He also sits at the top of the table for saved shot percentage, so can be help them end their wait for another league title.

JOHN STONES – MANCHESTER CITY

It is exciting times for English football as the national team continues to go from strength to strength. They are coming off the back of a starring performance in beating Spain, and one player who is continuing to improve is defender, John Stones. The Manchester City defender is proving a revelation at the back since a stuttering start as pressure piled on him due to his big money move. He sits at the top of the interception, clearance and pass completion charts. He is set to play a leading role in their attempt to defend the premier league title.

JORGINHO – CHELSEA

He does not do anything flash but the impact he has on the team is unquestionable. He followed Chelsea’s new manager Sarri over from Napoli just showing the esteem he is held in. Chelsea are now renowned for the vast amount of passes they make and this is headed by the Italian. Jorginho continues to control the side from the middle and is all but set to break the premier league passing record unless an injury occurs.

EDEN HAZARD– CHELSEA

Another Chelsea player and the current star of the season is Eden Hazard. He kicked off the current campaign in flying form following a starring role for Belgium at the world cup in Russia. He sits at the top of the scoring charts and he really looks to be excelling from the role he is playing under new manager, Sarri. Hazard is now in talks as a future winner of the Ballon d’or but can he first help lead Chelsea to another premier league title.

 

5 Fighters who have stayed in the UFC Cage the longest

Posted on | October 5, 2018 | No Comments

All eyes will be on the big fight this weekend as KhabibNurmagomedov and Conor McGregor will be facing off against each other for the Lightweight Championship. The Khabib McGregor odds suggest that the unbeaten Russian lightweight is the favourite, but it could go either way.

These two fighters might be some of the biggest names in the sport at the moment, but they aren’t the longest serving competitors in the competition. We have taken a look 5 fighters with the longest UFC careers.

Jim Miller – 30 bouts
American fighter Jim Miller currently holds the record for the most UFC bouts, entering the cage 30 times during his career. The UFC lightweight started his professional mixed martial art career in 2005 in the ‘Reality Fighting’ competition, but didn’t join the UFC until July 2008.

His debut came just a few months later at UFC 89. Although Miller was only one of the preliminary matches, his UFC career got off to the best start by defeating David Baron via submission, being awarded the ‘Submission of the Night’ award.

Since making his UFC debut ten years ago, Miller has gone on to make 30 appearances in the cage, winning 18 of them.

Jeremy Stephens – 29 bouts
Like Miller, Jeremy Stephens started his professional mixed martial arts career in 2005, fighting in numerous competitions before joining the UFC in 2007. However, unlike Miller, Stephens’ first fight didn’t go to plan as he was defeated via a second round armbar submission against UFC veteran Din Thomas.

Although the lightweight and featherweight fighter didn’t get off to the best start in the promotion, Stephens has enjoyed a fairly successfully career. In total, Jeremy Stephens has entered the cage 29 times in the past, winning 15 of them.

His defeat to José Aldo put an end to his three-fight winning streak, but leaves him just one fight away from matching Jim Miller’s bout total.

Michael Bisping – 29 bouts
Although Michael Bisping might have announced his retirement from MMA competitions earlier this year, he will be regarded as one of the longest serving competitors in the competition with 29 bouts under his belt. Whilst the majority of UFC fighters usually started their professional career at 18, Bisping started in 2004 at the relatively late age of 25.

Despite the ‘late’ start to his career, Bisping got off to a great start by winning his first 10 fights before being signed by the UFC.

Although he didn’t maintain his unbeaten record throughout his career, his record during his time in the UFC was very respectable, finishing with 20 wins and 9 defeats in 29 matches.

Diego Sanchez – 28 bouts
Since joining the competition in 2005, Sanchez has spent the majority of his career in the UFC and is currently the longest tenured UFC fighter on the active roster. The American has competed in many different fighting divisions over the years, and is currently competing as a ‘lightweight’ and ‘welterweight’.

After spending the first few years of his career in the ‘King of the Cage’ tournaments, Sanchez finally got his ‘break’ with the UFC as he was a participant and winner on the first season of the reality show ‘The Ultimate Fighter’. His victory led to the fighter signing a contract with the UFC and immediately being put in a ‘main card’ fight in his first UFC competition.

From 2005 to 2009, Sanchez was one of the most feared and ‘unstoppable’ fighters in the competition, winning 10 of his first 13 bouts. Although Sanchez has failed to put together a good winning

streak in the past few years, his is still considered one of the best competitors in the UFC.

In total, Sanchez has been involved with the UFC for 4,926 days (as of 03/10/2018) – the longest out of any active UFC fighter.

Frank Mir – 27 bouts
Although Diego Sanchez is currently the longest tenured active fighter, Frank Mir held that title before his release from the UFC in 2016 with 5,557 continuous days with the UFC from 2nd November 2001 until 20th March 2016.

From a young age, Mir showed huge potential in wrestling and martial arts and was soon signed up to the UFC in 2001 following two wins in other MMA competitions. Throughout the majority of his time in the UFC, Mir won most of his fights by knockout or submission, only relying on the judges’ decision twice. In the later years of his time with the UFC, Mir experienced more defeats than wins. Despite this, Mir has gone down as a legend in the competition.

The “biggest fight in UFC history” is set to take place this Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Vegas. Although it’s the first time that the two will be fighting against each other, the two fighters have a history with one another which has turned from respect into a full blown rivalry.

Considering that Khabib hasn’t experienced a single defeat in his professional career and McGregor hasn’t entered the cage in two years, it seems that a Khabib win is the most likely outcome. However, McGregor is a very difficult fighter and will want to put an end to his rivals’ unbeaten record.

Is Amanda Nunes capable of ending Cris Cyborg’s incredible run in the UFC?

Posted on | September 26, 2018 | No Comments

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will host one of the most anticipated fights in the women’s division, as two champions go face-to-face with each other in what will be anything but atypical fight.

On December 29th, UFC 232 will see the Women’s Bantamweight champion, Amanda Nunes, take on Cris Cyborg, the current Women’s Featherweight champion. The pair have exchanged barbs on social media, in particular, with regards to the date of their fight.

Since @Amanda_Leoa wants me to sit 10 months without fighting… any Featherweights willing to fight #ufc228? Nunes last fight only sold 85k ppv ….I’m not counting on much help from her to reach that $2.50 ppv bonus. https://t.co/sHHjqQdIRB

— CyborgVNunes #UFC232 (@criscyborg) July 12, 2018

The odds suggest that Cris Cyborg is the most likely to end up as the victor, being priced at 3/10. But can Nunes upset the odds and defeat one of the most dominant women the UFC has ever seen?

The Build-Up

Cyborg was hoping to have the fight in September, so as to avoid a substantial amount of time since last having a competitive fight in the Octagon. However, Nunes’ camp said the Bantamweight champion wouldn’t be ready for the UFC 228 pay-per-view in September and instead a picture was posted of Nunes signing a contract for the fight to take place at UFC 232 on December 29th in Las Vegas.

Talk of the fight began earlier this year as Nunes and her camp called for the match to take place. Cyborg was more than willing to accept the challenge, but has become frustrated at having to wait nearly 10 months to fight again, having defeated Yana Kunitskaya in March.

When the two finally collide inside the Octagon, it will be an historic fight, as the winner will become the first woman to hold two championships at the same time, something that has only been achieved in the UFC twice overall, with Conor McGregor and Daniel Cormier having achieved the feat in the men’s divisions.

Conor McGregor takes on Khabib Nurmagomedov at the UFC 229 pay-per-view and the Khabib vs McGregor odds are in favour of the undefeated Russian, with Khabib at 4/7 to win.

Amanda Nunes

Nunes, from the Bahia region of Brazil, is currently undefeated in her last 7 professional fights. She last tasted defeat back in September 2014 at the hands of Cat Zingano. Her current record in the UFC is nine wins and one loss.

She captured the UFC Women’s Bantamweight championship in July 2016 after defeating Miesha Tate via submission at UFC 200. She has since successfully defended her championship on three occasions against Ronda Rousey, Valentina Shevchenko and Raquel Pennington.

Despite her success in the UFC, it will be interesting to see how Nunes fares in moving up a weight class. Could it be that she loses some of her speed, creating an opening for Cyborg to pounce with her precise striking ability?

Cris Cyborg

Cyborg, whose real name is Cristiane Justino Venancio, has not lost since opening her professional account with a defeat against Erica Paes in 2005. However, she has since remained undefeated and is currently 5-0 in the UFC. Much like her opponent, Cyborg hails from Brazil and there has been speculation that this could be her final fight in the UFC.

It was in July 2017 that Cyborg won the vacant UFC Women’s Featherweight championship, defeating Tonya Evinger via technical knockout in the third round. She has since successfully defended it against Yana Kunitskaya and Holly Holm, the latter of whom famously beat the previously undefeated Ronda Rousey.

When her contract expires in March 2019, Cyborg has stated that she wishes to make the move over to boxing, something she has long desired to do. Boxing is a part of her style, along with muay thai, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and wrestling, all of which make her a fierce competitor inside the Octagon.

Prediction

This fight will no doubt be a close call, as both women have proven themselves in their respective weight classes.

Cyborg’s striking ability could be the difference between victory and defeat for the Featherweight champion, while Nunes should look to takedown her opponent and try to strike her while in a prone position.

A submission victory is unlikely, with the pair of Brazilians preferring to instead try for the knockout victory.
With Cyborg having the size advantage as well as being used to competing at the 145lb weight, our prediction is for Cyborg to defeat Nunes via knockout.

Can Diogo Jota Rise to the Challenge in the Premier League?

Posted on | July 31, 2018 | No Comments

Diogo Jota was one of the key players in Wolverhampton Wanderers’ impressive Championship promotion campaign last time out, and now the Portuguese youngster will have his sights set on lighting up the Premier League. The former Atletico Madrid man will be crucial in the years to come for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, and if he can get off to a flying start in the top flight there is no telling how far this team can go.

The progress made at Wolves in the last year is astounding, and the Midlands club have completed some impressive player swoops thanks to their links with super-agent Jorge Mendes. Nuno’s side are a club on the rise, and this is highlighted by the fact that the newly promoted Championship winners aren’t even considered among the favourites for relegation in the season ahead. In fact, at the time of writing, with all football odds they can be backed at 9/1 to finish in the top six.

Wolves are expected to do well upon their return to the top flight due to the fact that they have some young stars in their ranks, such as Ruben Neves and Jota. Jota was the club’s top scorer last season, with 17 goals and 5 assists during his loan spell at the Molineux Stadium. Wolves were quick to make the deal permanent this summer, and it could turn out to be an incredible bit of business.

Jota began his senior career at Pacos Ferreira, where he scored 14 goals in 41 league appearances. This attracted the interest of La Liga giants Atletico, but the youngster was immediately loaned out to Porto upon his arrival at the Estadio Vicente Calderon. It was during his time with the Portuguese heavyweights that Jota began to make a name for himself as a potential future star.

At only 21 years old, Wolves have acquired Jota at the perfect time and can mould him into a dangerous weapon in the English top flight. The newly promoted side spent around £12 million on the winger, but this could turn out to be a bargain in today’s market. In fact, if he continues on this trajectory the Portuguese U23 international could be worth triple that in a couple of years.
While Jota was one of the standout names in the lower tier last season, it isn’t always easy for players to make the step up to the top flight. Players like Dwight Gayle and Matt Ritchie have been dominant forces in the Championship in the past, but have never quite had the same effect in the Premier League. However, some do succeed. Charlie Adam and Rickie Lambert are two examples of players who managed to bring their second-tier form into the top division.

Wolves have a fairly tough start to their return to the Premier League and will face Everton, Leicester City, and Manchester City in their first three fixtures. In these games, Wolves may be forced to sit back and defend, but Jota could be deadly on the break. If the Portuguese can play his football against these teams, he could easily start his journey towards becoming a top-flight star.

The final whistle has blown, but the football fun doesn’t end here

Posted on | July 19, 2018 | No Comments

The recent 2018 FIFA World Cup was astonishing.

Whilst Gareth Southgate’s team are not coming home with the cup this year, England pulled off an incredible performance. They made it all the way to the semi-finals for the first time since 1990 and have inspired us all to dream big for the club’s future.

But after such a widespread case of football fever sweeping the nation throughout the tournament, it’s hardly surprising that many English football fans are now feeling rather lost without the constant stream of World Cup news and TV coverage to excite them. Luckily though, we have plenty of fun ideas to help you keep on getting your footie fix until the next World Cup kicks off in 2022 – including playing the best soccer-themed slot games on your phone!

You’ll find plenty of games to choose from with lots of different themes and features. Score cash prizes in the penalty shootout-style bonus round of Football Champions Cupor join a group of comically-animated animals on the pitch in Hot Shots. What’s more, many online casino sites and apps will give you free spins no deposit to try out some of their top-rated slots without risking any of your own cash!

Just make sure the online casino you choose to join is licenced and regulated so you can enjoy a safe and rewarding online gaming experience. Power Spins is a popular choice with UK players. Power Spins have a great slot game selection and promise to attach no wagering requirements to the generous bonuses and rewards they give you. It’s free to join, simply visit powerspins.com now to find out more. . .

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