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Adesanya loses bid to reclaim UFC middleweight title

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South Africa’s Drisus du Plessis defeated Israel Adesanya via submission to retain his UFC middleweight title.

 

Adesanya was forced to tap out in submission with his neck locked in a rear-naked choke by Du Plessis in the fourth round of the bout, which was held in Australia, in the early hours of Sunday.

 

The Nigerian-New Zealander, a former two-time champion, came into the fight determined to reclaim the belt he lost to Sean Strickland in September 2023.

 

Du Plessis had claimed the belt after defeating Strickland in January, and Adesanya also failed to match the South African’s repertoire of tricks in the ensuing grudge match.

 

The duo’s rivalry started in 2023 when Du Plessis claimed he wanted to be “the first real African champion” in the UFC.

 

The comment offended Adesanya, who found it disrespectful to other UFC African champions like himself, Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou.

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However, Du Plessis clarified that he aimed to become the first UFC champion to be born in Africa and live and train there.

 

None of Adesanya, Usman, and Ngannou lived or trained on the continent when they were UFC champions.

The bitterness between the two fighters was apparent throughout the championship bout, which featured a flurry of punches and kicks.

 

Adesanya drew the first blood of the contest barely minutes into the fight. He opened a fierce cut on the Du Plessis’ forehead with the early momentum.

 

However, the South African countered later on with his superior grappling skill deep into the bout, and Adesanya’s only response was to tap for the bell as he choked for air.

 

 

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BREAKING: CAF overturns Afcon final result, declares Morocco winner

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The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has overturned the result of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals and declare MOROCCO the winner of the title.

Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in the final on 18 January in a match which was overshadowed when the Senegalese players refused to play after the hosts were awarded a stoppage-time penalty with the match goalless.

Following a delay of around 17 minutes, the players did eventually return and Brahim Diaz’s penalty was saved before Senegal’s Pape Gueye scored an extra-time winner.

However, that result has now been overturned by CAF.

A statement by the African Football’s Governing Body said that Senegal are “declared to have forfeited the final match” with the “result of the match being recorded as 3-0 in favour” of Morocco.

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FG  fulfils promises as D’Tigress receive national honours, house documents

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The Federal Government has fulfilled its outstanding promises to the senior women’s national basketball team, D’Tigress, delivering National Honour certificates and title documents for houses in Abuja.

The presentation took place in Lyon, where the African Champions are currently participating  at  the FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament.

The move follows a directive from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu aimed at clearing a backlog of promises made to the team following their 2023 Afrobasket victory in Kigali, Rwanda.

The Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Mallam Shehu Dikko, led the delegation alongside the Director General, Hon. Bukola Olopade. Speaking during the handover, Dikko characterized the prompt delivery as a “clear departure” from previous administrations, where state-promised rewards often faced multi-year delays.

“This is a prompt fulfilment of promises made by a President who leads with action,” Dikko stated. “Mr. President is giving every Nigerian athlete a renewed confidence that sports is a serious business capable of changing lives.”

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While the physical assets (housing and honours) have been delivered, the NSC Chairman confirmed that the cash rewards promised to the squad are currently in the final stages of administrative processing. He assured the players that disbursement into their respective bank accounts is imminent.

The Director General, Hon. Bukola Olopade, noted that the current administration of President Tinubu  is institutionalizing a “reward system” modelled after developed sporting nations to ensure high-performance outcomes.

President of Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), Engr. Musa Kida, credited the Presidency for prioritizing athlete welfare, citing it as a “legacy of a lifetime” for the sports sector.

Head Coach Rena Wakama and Captain Amy Okonkwo formally accepted the documents, affirming that the timely delivery of these incentives would serve as a catalyst for the team’s upcoming international qualifiers.

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BREAKING: Ex-Eagles captainHenry Nwosu dies aged 62

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Henry Nwosu, a former Nigerian international footballer and member of the 1980 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) winning team, has passed away.

He was 62.

His death was confirmed by fellow ex-international Segun Odegbami in a Facebook post on Saturday.

According to Odegbami, Nwosu passed away at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) in Ikeja after a five-day battle for his life.

He also revealed the details of Nwosu’s final days, stating that the man he fondly called “Youngest Millionaire” died at 4:00 a.m. after being in intensive care since Wednesday.

“After 5 days in hospital battling for his life, the one I call ‘Youngest Millionaire’ passed on at 4:00 am this morning at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos where he had been in Intensive Care since Wednesday,” he wrote.

“It is with deep pain in my heart that I have to be the conveyor of the news of the death of Henry Nwosu MON. May he rest peacefully with our Creator in Heaven.”

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