Uriah Hall has won four fights in a row. Sean Strickland has won four fights in a row. On Saturday night, they meet to determine whose momentum will be supercharged.
Hall (17-9) has been at center stage under the bright lights before. This weekend’s middleweight fight at the Apex in Las Vegas will be the third UFC main event for the 36-year-old New Yorker by way of Spanish Town, Jamaica. His last two wins have come against high-profile former champions, Chris Weidman and Anderson Silva.
Even before he was on the UFC roster, Hall was drawing attention to himself. Back in 2013, while competing on Season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter, he announced his presence with a spinning wheel-kick knockout, one of the most stunning finishes in the 16-year history of the reality TV show.
Hall ended the season as runnerup, dropping the finale to Kelvin Gastelum. But Hall was offered a UFC contract anyway, and once in the big show, he continued to produce highlights. Although there have been had ups and downs along the way, seven of Hall’s last eight victories have come via knockout.
Strickland (23-3) is on a similarly successful trajectory, though quieter and perhaps more in need of an eye-opening performance. The 30-year-old from Corona, California, is a first-time UFC headliner, and he has a matter-of-fact way about him that does not draw a lot of attention. His fights just produce a steady stream of violence. Strickland has lost just twice since 2015, and one of the defeats came against an on-his-way-to-a-championship Kamaru Usman.
Strickland is hitting his stride and poised to make his presence known. The stage is all his. Or is it Hall’s? We’ll find out on Saturday.
The fights are on ESPN and ESPN+, with the main card starting at 9 p.m. ET and the prelims at 6 p.m.
By the numbers
8: Knockouts in the UFC by Hall, tying him with former champion Anderson Silva and Thiago Santos for the most in middleweight history. Hall also is tied for the fifth most KOs among all UFC fighters since his 2013 debut.
4-0: Strickland’s record as a UFC middleweight. He previously was 5-3 as a welterweight and also won one catchweight bout.
51: Percentage of significant strike attempts on which Hall has found his target. That is the sixth-highest striking accuracy among active UFC middleweights (minimum five fights and 350 attempts). Paulo Costa is the leader at 57.3%.
68: Percentage of opponents’ significant strike attempts that Strickland has avoided. It is the fifth-highest defensive rate among active UFC fighters (five fights, 350 attempts). Nasrat Haqparast is No. 1 at 74.5%.
8 of 9: Fights, among his most recent appearances, in which Hall (+175) has been a betting underdog. He is 5-3 as an underdog, including three straight wins. Strickland (-210), meanwhile, is 5-1 as a favorite in the UFC.
“Strickland is a tough draw for anyone,” said Marc Montoya, Factory X MMA coach. “Hall has had his ups and downs. He’s looked good since he moved to Fortis MMA. I think that mentally, he and [Fortis MMA coach Sayif Saud] connect really well. I think he has a new swag about him. He’s always been talented. But Strickland won’t go away. He’ll talk s— to you. You can even hit him and he’ll still come forward, and that’s a tough opponent to deal with.”
Four more things you should know (from ESPN Stats & Info)
1.Rani Yahya, who faces Kyung Ho Kang in the co-main event, has six submissions at bantamweight in the UFC, tied for most in division history. Kang has been submitted just once in 27 career fights, and he has spent 50 minutes and 29 seconds in top position, the most in UFC bantamweight history. Yahya has the division’s second-most time spent on top (41:00).
2.Bryan Barberena lands 5.5 strikes per minute, the fifth-highest rate in UFC welterweight history (minimum five fights). He faces Jason Witt, who has been knocked out in five of his seven losses.
3. The Ultimate Fighter is represented not only by main eventer Uriah Hall, the Season 17 runnerup, but also by TUF 26 winner Nicco Montaño. The first women’s flyweight champion in UFC history, Montaño is now a bantamweight. She faces Wu Yanan in her first fight since a loss to upcoming title challenger Julianna Peña in July 2019.
4. In the opening fight of the card, Orion Cosce makes his UFC debut, following in the footsteps of his brother Louis, who debuted in November 2020. The Cosce brothers join such tandems as the Diazes (Nick and Nate), Nogueiras (Antonio Rodrigo and Antonio Rogerio) and Shevchenkos (Valentina and Antonina) as siblings to both fight in the Octagon.
Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York.
The Sidney Crosby era of Pittsburgh Penguins hockey has been synonymous with success. The Pens missed the playoffs in Sid’s rookie campaign of 2005-06 but have made it every season since, a streak of 16 straight springs with playoff hockey in Western PA. That run has included three Stanley Cups and one loss in the Stanley Cup Final.
Although today’s games are not must-wins for either club, the points have become all too important to squander as the final matchups are played. As it stands now, the Penguins have a 66% chance of making the playoffs, per FiveThirtyEight’s model, compared with 38% for the Panthers.
As we enter the final stretch of the regular season, it’s time to check all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2023 NHL draft lottery.
Note: All times Eastern. All games not on ESPN, ESPN2, TNT or NHL Network are available via NHL Power Play, which is included in an ESPN+ subscription (local blackout restrictions apply).
Points: 90 Regulation wins: 31 Playoff position: WC1 Games left: 8 Points pace: 100 Next game: vs. LA (Saturday) Playoff chances: >99% Tragic number: N/A
Points: 85 Regulation wins: 28 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 6 Points pace: 92 Next game: vs. ANA (Sunday) Playoff chances: 31% Tragic number: 11
Points: 75 Regulation wins: 22 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 7 Points pace: 82 Next game: vs. LA (Sunday) Playoff chances: <1% Tragic number: 2
Points: 57 Regulation wins: 15 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 7 Points pace: 62 Next game: @ ARI (Saturday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Points: 56 Regulation wins: 13 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 7 Points pace: 61 Next game: @ EDM (Saturday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
P — Clinched Presidents’ Trophy; Y — Clinched division; X — Clinched playoff berth; E — Eliminated from playoff contention
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here. Sitting No. 1 on the draft board for this summer is Connor Bedard, who has been lauded as a generational talent.
Major League Baseball says it is investigating a confrontation between Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon and an Athletics fan at Thursday’s season opener in Oakland.
In a 12-second video posted on social media, Rendon grabs the fan by the shirt through the guardrails and accuses the fan of calling him a “b—-.” Rendon continues to challenge the fan as he denies the claim. Rendon then calls the fan a “motherf—er” and takes a swipe, which does not connect, as he lets go of the shirt and proceeds to leave the area.
No video showing what led to the altercation was immediately available.
“We are aware of the video and we are now looking into the matter,” MLB said in a statement.
The Angels said they had no comment on the situation and that Rendon would discuss what happened with reporters before Saturday’s game against Oakland.
Rendon was 0-for-3 in the Angels’ 2-1, Opening Day loss to the Athletics. He missed the majority of 2022 after undergoing right wrist surgery during the season.
Major League Baseball’s new rules didn’t impact scoring significantly in spring training, and oddsmakers began the season without adjusting their numbers on runs scored, while taking a wait-and-see approach to the pitch clock and elimination of the infield shift.
MLB games have averaged 9.1 runs scored over the past five seasons. Last year’s 8.57 runs per game was the lowest since 2015. Spring training games, with the new rules implemented, averaged 10.1 runs, down slightly from last year.
Pitchers have 15 seconds to throw a pitch with the bases empty and 20 seconds with a runner on base. Hitters must be in the batter’s box with eight seconds on the pitch clock. Hitters are allowed one timeout per at-bat to reset the pitch clock. Pitchers are restricted to stepping off the rubber only twice per plate appearance, including for pickoff attempts. The rule resets if a runner advances during the same plate appearance. And larger bases are being used to increase the success rate on steals.
“We don’t really see a direct correlation from the pitch clock to more scoring,” said Randy Blum, who oversees baseball odds for the SuperBook in Las Vegas. “We were not planning on adjusting our totals off that.”
Halvor England, BetMGM’s lead baseball trader, expects the elimination of the traditional shift to increase scoring marginally, but also believes pitchers will have more control over the hitter during an at-bat because of the pitch clock.
“I think it’s going to be a little more offsetting than people realize, almost a wash,” Halvor said. “I don’t anticipate there to be less scoring overall, but on a game-to-game basis, it’s going to be very marginal.”
The bigger bases being used this season, however, are a difference-maker in bookmakers’ and bettors’ eyes. Steals were up notably in success rate and volume — nearly double from last spring training — this year. Bettors expect the trend to continue.
The SuperBook offered a season-long prop on the over/under on most stolen bases by an individual player. Blum said the book opened the total at 50.5, a number that reflected about four to five more stolen bases than if the rule had not been in place. Still, sharp bettors took the over, causing the SuperBook to move the number to 52.5.
“That’s one thing [larger bases] that we did adjust our numbers on based on the rule changes, and it seems to be something that the bettors are taking note of also,” Blum said. “That was not necessarily a prop that in the past would get a lot of attention either way.”
Joe Fortuna, a veteran professional bettor and baseball fan, said he did edge his numbers up on runs scored because of the rule changes and was looking to bet overs early in the season for multiple reasons, including potential pitchers’ fatigue while working with the pitch clock.
“These guys, in April, might be a little bit out of shape, so I don’t know if running 100 mph pitches up there every 15 seconds will make them tire out faster,” Fortuna said. “The different rules all seemed to lean toward hitting to us.”
Fortuna also examined which hitters faced the most infield shifts last season and pointed out left-handed batters like San Diego’s Juan Soto, Texas’ Corey Seager and Kansas City’s Vinnie Pasquantino as ones who could benefit from its elimination.
“The shift is huge to me,” Fortuna said. “We actually bet on Pasquantino to win MVP today at 250-1. He batted .295 last year and faced 93.8% three-man shifts. That was the highest.”
For now, only one day into the season, bettors and bookmakers will be watching closely to see if there are any trends related to the new rule changes, but early on, it’ll be a guessing game.
“There will be some advantage for bettors if they can figure it all out quicker than the market,” Halvor said.