Abhinav Kini Articles - Page 20

This Saturday night sees a mega clash in the lightweight division as unified 135-pound champion Devin Haney defends his belt against former WBA, WBC and WBO lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It’s a fight that’s been four years in the making as the wheels were first in […]

With the big news of Francis Ngannou signing with PFL, everyone in the combat sports world was eagerly awaiting to see how UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones would respond. Ngannou signed a lucrative deal with PFL on Tuesday where he’ll not only be allowed to box on the side, but also receive a number of […]

Veteran Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka is set to leave the club in the summer. The news was reported Tuesday by London World claiming the Swiss captain is now in search of a new challenge after spending seven seasons in North London. Despite Xhaka’s contract running out in 2024, manager Mikel Arteta was said to be […]

It’s fair to say Twitter is divided on Francis Ngannou and his latest move. On Tuesday, it was revealed that the former UFC heavyweight champion had signed a blockbuster deal with PFL. He will not only get paid an extremely lucrative figure when he makes his debut in 2024, but also receive a number of […]

Things got extremely fiesty between Novak Djokovic and Cam Norrie during their round of 16 affair at the Italian Open on Tuesday. Djokovic earned a 6-3, 6-4 victory over the British No. 1 to advance to the quarterfinals, but had to deal with antics from Norrie such as repeatedly shouting “C’mon” during the match. However, […]

Iga Swiatek wants to see Rafael Nadal compete at the French Open — but not at the expense of his health. Nadal has missed every tournament since a hip injury contributed to his early exit at the Australian Open back in January. He was initially expected to be out for eight weeks at the most, […]

Canelo Alvarez is showing signs of decline according to his former promoter Oscar De La Hoya. Alvarez defended his super middleweight titles against John Ryder earlier this month after a wide unanimous decision victory over 12 rounds. The Mexican superstar dropped Ryder in the fifth round and with the Briton suffering a broken nose early […]

It’s fair to say tennis legend Boris Becker is impressed with Carlos Alcaraz. Although Alcaraz suffered a shock 6-3, 7-6 defeat to Fábián Marozsán in the Italian Open round of 32 on Monday, it’s still been a great year for the Spaniard. He boasts a 30-4 record in 2023, has already won four titles — […]

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski could have fought Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title in a rematch later this year — but he chose to remain active. Makhachev just about outpointed Volkanovski when they met in the UFC 284 headliner in February in a fight many believe the latter edged. Both fighters, especially Volkanovski, called […]

It could turn out to be a very successful summer for the Houston Rockets. The Rockets are projected to have upwards of $60 million in cap space this summer and have far more spending power than any other team in the league. They are already heavily linked with a reunion with James Harden and with […]

Georges St-Pierre expected to get called out by Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254 back in Oct. 2020. Nurmagomedov fought his last fight on that occasion when he submitted Justin Gaethje in the second round and unified the lightweight titles as a result. “The Eagle” would subsequently retire and make headlines as just about nobody expected […]

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have been a constant on the ATP Tour for over two decades — however, one streak they share in particular could come to an end this year. The pair have yet to meet each other on the court in 2023 largely owing to Nadal’s ongoing hip injury problems that have […]

Carlos Alcaraz is excited by the prospect of potentially facing Novak Djokovic in the Italian Open final. Alcaraz is competing in the event for the first time and will face Fábián Marozsán in the round of 32 on Monday after defeating Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4, 6-1 in his opening match. The Spaniard — who will return […]

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith went off on Grizzlies star Ja Morant after his latest gun incident. Just two months after he was seen with a gun in a Denver nightclub on Instagram Live — which resulted in an eight-game suspension and counseling program — Morant was once again seen with a gun as he […]

There is still no update on Conor McGregor and when he will actually return to fight. McGregor was expected to return to action later this year for the first time since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier in July 2021. His opponent is almost guaranteed to be Michael Chandler with the pair coaching opposite each […]

There’s a specific reason why Jimmy Butler wears 22 for the Miami Heat. When Butler signed with the Heat in 2019, he surprised quite a few when he decided to go with 22 as his jersey number. For the Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers, he notably wore 23 while for the Chicago Bulls, he wore […]

Novak Djokovic was honored to be watched by Roma manager Jose Mourinho at the Italian Open. Mourinho was in attendance Saturday as Djokovic earned a hard-fought 7-6(7-5), 6-2 win over Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the second round. The legendary Portuguese football coach — who used to manage Djokovic’s favorite club Real Madrid from 2010 to […]

Sixers head coach Doc Rivers finds himself in a pivotal moment as his side prepare for their crucial Game 7 encounter against the Boston Celtics on Sunday. According to a recent column by NBA insider Marc Stein, Rivers’ role as head coach could be in jeopardy if the Sixers fail to secure a victory in […]

Rafael Nadal has turned down a wild-card offer for the upcoming Challenger tournament in Bordeaux, raising more concerns about his potential participation at the French Open later this month. Nadal has been dealing with an ongoing hip injury that has sidelined him since his early elimination from the Australian Open in January. Having missed every […]

Devin Haney does not like Vasiliy Lomachenko — plain and simple. On May 20 in Las Vegas, Haney defends his lightweight titles against the former champion and pound-for-pound great in a fight that was four years in the making. Back in August 2019, Lomachenko claimed the WBC title while retaining his WBA and WBO titles […]

Daniel Cormier believes Sean O’Malley is the opponent UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has been crying out for. Sterling recently defended his bantamweight title for the third time following a split decision victory over Henry Cejudo this past weekend at UFC 288. He is now set to defend his title against O’Malley in a fight […]

Arsenal have been dealt a major blow as they will lose William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko for the rest of the season through injury. Saliba has been out since sustaining a back issue in Arsenal’s Europa League round of 32 second-leg defeat to Sporting Lisbon in March. Zinchenko, meanwhile, picked up a calf problem in […]

The emergence of Carlos Alcaraz as a top star in tennis has come at a very important time according to former player Feliciano Lopez. Alcaraz is the youngest World No. 1 in tennis history and has already won a Grand Slam with his US Open victory last year at the age of 19. In more […]

Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin could be in store for a busy few days as the Milwaukee Bucks are set to interview him. According to ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the 2021 champions have received permission to interview him for the vacant coaching role after the franchise parted ways with Mike Budenholzer earlier this month. Wojnarowski […]

Colby Covington could become a welterweight champion later this year — and he is eyeing some big matchups after that. Covington is the No. 1 contender and expects to face current champion Leon Edwards in August. Should he come out of that fight victorious as he expects to, “Chaos” has aspirations to fight foes outside […]

Shannon Sharpe is somewhat surprisingly going with the Golden State Warriors over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5. Game 5 takes place Wednesday night at Chase Center with the Warriors 3-1 down in their Western Conference semifinal series against the Lakers. The defending champions have a big mountain to climb now as they not […]

For UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill, it’s disheartening to see Jon Jones hint at retirement. Jones enjoyed a triumphant return to action in March when he quickly submitted Ciryl Gane to become the UFC heavyweight champion. He is now set to defend his title against former champion Stipe Miocic in a fight that is […]

Errol Spence Jr. doesn’t like Canelo Alvarez’s chances against Dmitry Bivol or Artur Beterbiev. Alvarez enjoyed a dominant unanimous decision win over John Ryder this past weekend to defend his super middleweight titles. He’s now targeting a rematch with WBO light heavyweight champion Bivol later this year. However, it’s always good to have alternatives in […]

The MMA world got its first major glimpse of The Ultimate Fighter 31 featuring Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler. The pair served as coaches this season which premieres May 30 on ESPN. The first trailer was officially released and the most notable piece of footage involved a face off between McGregor and Chandler. However, it […]

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is hopeful Lionel Messi “does the impossible” and returns to Barcelona in the summer. The PSG forward is all but guaranteed to depart France when his contract expires at the end of the season with a return to Barcelona already being discussed. Messi, of course, departed the Catalans in 2021 […]

Gareth Bale will not be coming out of retirement to play for Wrexham. The Welsh superstar announced his retirement from football in January at the age of 33. It came a month after Wales played in the World Cup in Qatar — their first World Cup appearance since 1958. However, with Wrexham — owned by […]

There’s good news for Novak Djokovic as his elbow injury seems to have subsided. Djokovic has been dealing with an elbow issue since the Monte Carlo Masters and although he didn’t give an official reason, the injury is likely why he withdrew from the recently-concluded Madrid Open. However, he was expected back for the Italian […]

Canelo Alvarez earned another defense of his super middleweight titles after a dominant decision victory over John Ryder this past weekend in Guadalajara, Mexico. The Mexican superstar made no secret of who he wanted to fight next — Dmitry Bivol. “Everybody knows — we want the rematch with Bivol,” Alvarez said. “If the fight with […]

Nate Diaz has no plans to retire anytime soon. The Stockton native may have departed the UFC after his contract expired last year, but he’s getting ready for his next fight as he boxes Jake Paul in Dallas on Aug. 5. He’s a considerable underdog against the YouTuber-turned-boxer — after all, he is his past […]

As far as Teofimo Lopez is concerned, Devin Haney doesn’t have the dog in him to defeat Vasiliy Lomachenko. Haney defends his lightweight titles against Lomachenko May 20 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The American is slightly favored over the older Lomachenko as well. However, Lopez is picking the Ukrainian to come […]

The biggest rivalry in the UFC by far is Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov. And we now have new footage involving their October 2018 fight. The pair competed in a grudge match for the lightweight title at UFC 229. Nurmagomedov came out on top with a fourth-round neck crank submission victory. After the fight, chaos […]

Four fighters, including former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Thiago Santos, have tested positive for banned substances following the first half of the 2023 PFL season. According to MMA Fighting, Santos as well as fellow UFC veteran Krzysztof Jotko failed drug tests after making their promotional debuts at PFL 1 last month. Santos lost to […]

Klay Thompson’s late three-pointers against the Lakers in Game 4 had many associated with the Warriors dumbfounded, but none more so than head coach Steve Kerr. With a one-point lead with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Thompson took a rushed shot from beyond the arc with the shot clock winding down […]

Just like his fans, Khamzat Chimaev is frustrated at his inactivity in the UFC. Chimaev made a splash with the promotion during the pandemic in 2020 when he fought three times in the space of two months. However, he has only fought three times since 2021 with his last fight coming at UFC 279 in […]