MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
UFC champ loses title belt
Carlos Ulberg fought through an injured right knee to capture the light heavyweight title in UCF 327. He said he lost it hours later. The 35-year-old from New Zealand defeated Jiri Prochazka in the main event at UFC 327 by knockout this weekend in Miami to become the new champion of the light heavyweight division. However, he on Monday told Fox Sports Australia that he misplaced his golden title belt while celebrating his victory. “I’ve lost the belt, bro,” Ulberg said. “Initially after winning, the plan was to not have a drink, but you know how these things go, right? First, someone gives you a champagne to celebrate. Then one thing leads to another and you’re doing shots.” Ulberg said he is fairly confident his belt would be found before he leaves for Las Vegas. “I didn’t want to be carrying the belt around so I think it’s still there at the apartment somewhere. One of the boys probably has it in bed with him,” he said.
Photo: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
CHESS
Vaishali wins Candidates
India’s Rameshbabu Vaishali on Wednesday won the Women’s Candidates Tournament, defeating Kateryna Lagno to secure a World Championship showdown with reigning champion Ju Wenjun of China. Six players were still in the race for first place heading into the final round, with Vaishali and Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubayeva tied on 7.5 points. Vaishali finished on 8.5. The 24-year-old grandmaster ended the 14-game tournament with five wins and two losses, finishing half a point ahead of Assaubayeva, who drew her final game against India’s Divya Deshmukh. Ju has held the title since 2018 after defeating fellow Chinese grandmaster Tan Zhongyi. She has since defended her crown, beating Kateryna Lagno in 2018, Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachkina in 2020, China’s Lei Tingjie in 2023 and Tan last year.
FOOTBALL
Player to plead guilty to fraud
Luther Davis, a member of the University of Alabama’s 2009 national championship team, is expected to plead guilty in a US$20 million case in which he is facing multiple fraud charges for reportedly impersonating NFL players, per the Guardian and court documents acquired by AL.com. Charges were filed in federal court against Davis on March 19 in Atlanta, but had not come to light until the Guardian’s report on Wednesday. Among the charges against Davis are two felonies for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Per the court documents, Davis worked with a partner, C.J. Evins, to obtain 13 loans in the names of current and former NFL players, including Michael Penix Jr, David Njoku and Xavier McKinney. The latter was part of then-Alabama coach Nick Saban’s 2017 signing class. The fraudulent loans obtained totaled more than US$19,845,000, according to the documents. Davis and Evins “executed a scheme to fraudulently obtain millions of dollars in loans from multiple lenders ... by impersonating football players and falsely claiming those players were seeking multimillion dollar loans,” the documents showed. Davis is alleged to have worn a “durag-style head covering” to impersonate Penix and used online photos of players to carry out the impersonations. He and Evins also used wigs, makeup and fake IDs to disguise themselves during “virtual loan closings” in the names of players who had not consented, the documents said.
A seven-year-old horse had to be euthanized on Friday after breaking its back on the final fence of a Grand National steeplechase race that it won despite sustaining the serious injury. It follows the death of four horses at the Cheltenham Festival last month — including one after the prestigious Gold Cup. Gold Dancer was competing in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase during Ladies Day at Aintree’s Grand National Festival. The horse managed to cross the finish line approximately four lengths ahead of runner-up Regent’s Stroll. “The winner of our second race of the day, Gold Dancer, was pulled up after
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung on Sunday topped the men’s horizontal bar event at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, scoring 15.233 to take his third title this season. Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500 and an execution score of 8.633 with a 0.1 stick bonus. His closest competitor was Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who finished second with 14.933 points. It was Tang’s third gold medal in the FIG World Cup series this year, following his horizontal bar wins in Azerbaijan on March 8, and in Turkey on March
The Daredevils yesterday took eight catches in the final as they eked out a victory in the Taiwan Cricket Triangular Tournament against PCCT at Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. PCCT’s batting lineup collapsed after they asked the Daredevils to bowl in the T20 decider of the weekend tournament that also involved the Formosa Cricket Club. PCCT were bundled out for 76 in 16.2 overs against a disciplined Daredevils attack. Ninad Malwade was the top scorer in the innings with 21, but he was among those who offered chances to the fielders. Shane Ferreira and Jason Cameron took three wickets each, with
This year’s Taiwan Athletics Open, which offers Taiwanese athletes an opportunity to compete against their international peers, would be held under a new name after its organizers had earlier announced the event’s cancelation. In a statement issued yesterday, the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association said the competition would still take place on June 6-7 at Banciao Stadium, but under the name “New Taipei City Athletics Open 2026.” The event was given a new name to emphasize its local identity and conform with the international practice of naming World Athletics Tour events after cities, the association said. It said it would soon
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