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At UFC Fight Night, Holm lost a split decision.

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An MMA bout is extremely difficult to evaluate because there are so many variables to consider and only a few minutes to do so.

Two of the three official judges decided that Ketlen Vieira’s counter right hands outweighed Holly Holm’s dominance in the clinch, giving Brazil’s Vieira a victory by split decision in the five-round bantamweight main event of a UFC Fight Night card at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday night.

Holm’s (14-6) loss was a costly one, as a victory may have meant a shot at the UFC bantamweight title later this year. On the other hand, Vieira is a strong contender for the title shot (13-2).

Holm voiced her doubts about the decision later on, calmly but clearly disappointed.

In her own words, “I feel like I won all the rest of the rounds after giving (Vieira) round 2.”

“I always feel like I can do more, be more perfect. But I really feel like I won the fight. I don’t feel like it was a question.”

Most people, it seemed, were on the same page.

Rounds one, three, four, and five on Verdict, a real-time scoring site, were favored by Holm. Contributors to the verdict scored the bout 48.47-46.5 in favor of Holm. In the history of Verdict, it was “one of the greatest final score differences where the opposing boxer was handed a decision.”

It was decided by seven of nine MMA reporters that Holm would win the fight 48-47 on mmadecisions.com. That’s how many goals Vieira had.

Of course, the decision was not opposed by everyone.

Damon Martin of mmafighting.com tweeted, “Very close fight, but no real problem with that call,” he wrote. Throughout the game, I thought (Vieira) had the more devastating blows. “Damage is always more critical than control time,” Holm said.

40-year-old Holm claimed she wasn’t ready to think about the future yet.

She said, “I felt I won the fight, but now I have to figure out what’s going to happen.” As a rule of thumb, “one step forward, one step back.”

Post-fight statistics showed that Holm had the advantage in total and significant strikes as well as a big advantage in clinch control. The only thing Vieira had going for her were her blows to the head.

Holm won by a 48-47 decision from referee Sal D’Amato, who awarded the fight to the Albuquerque southpaw in the first, third, and fifth rounds.

However, it was Vieira’s performance in round three that made the difference in the outcome of the fight. D’Amato won the first two rounds, but the judges Michael Bell and Derek Cleary gave Vieira the win in the third round, praising the Brazilian’s strikes over Holm’s clinch control.

Holm’s body strength hasn’t been harmed by a 19 1/2-month sabbatical or Father Time, as she proved from the start.

Vieira made the tactical error of taking Holm to the fence in a clinch early in round one. Reversing course, Holm managed to keep Vieira under control for the remainder of their match.

Holm confessed only after the second round that she thought Vieira had won it, and that was because it was her finest round.

Vieira came dangerously near to securing a guillotine choke twice after thwarting an ill-conceived takedown attempt by Holm. Holm, now red-faced, appeared to be on the verge of submission the second time around. She was able to get out of the situation.

Holm again spent a significant amount of time in the clinch during the decisive third round. Holm took some strong shots as the battle moved to the middle of the ring, a problem that has dogged her in four of her six UFC defeats. Vieira retaliated with with strong knees to the body while she had her back to the fence. Possibly influenced by multiple Vieira strikes landed in the final 30 seconds of the round, judges Bell and Cleary preferred Vieira’s punches over Holm’s clinches.

The final two rounds were split evenly between the boxers, with all three judges awarding Vieira a victory in the fourth and Holm a victory in the fifth.

Holm’s chances of winning were nil after doing the math on two separate scorecards.

isthatporkstake; we wonder what kind of pork those judges were thinking, cause like “On Verdict” the site that allows viewers to score the fight, we scored it too for Holly.

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Vanessa Bryant awarded $16M in trial over crash site photos

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A Los Angeles jury has awarded $31 million to plaintiffs Vanessa Bryant and Chris Chester.

After deliberating for several hours on Wednesday, the jury reached their conclusion, concluding that the LASD and LAFD had indeed shared images of the deceased loved ones of Bryant and Chris.

For her agony and suffering, the jury awarded Vanessa $10 million from the LASD ($2.5 million now and $7.5 million in the future) and awarded Chris $9 million.

However, the LAFD has been ordered to pay each of the victims $6 million to compensate for their past and future suffering.

The verdict was handed down on Kobe Bryant Day (also known as Mamba Day) in tribute to the late Los Angeles Lakers great, who wore jersey numbers 8 and 24.

After the attorneys for Los Angeles County delivered their emotional closing arguments, the trial was called off only hours later.

Since it began on August 10, the trial has revealed disturbing new information concerning the aftermath of the January 2020 helicopter tragedy that claimed the lives of NBA superstar Gianna Bryant, then 13 years old, and seven others.

After finding that personnel of the department had shared photographs of the victims’ remains, Vanessa and Chris Chester, who tragically lost his wife Sarah and their 13-year-old daughter Payton in the crash, sued Los Angeles County for emotional pain and mental suffering. Kobe and Gianna were two of eight people in the helicopter when it crashed on the way to a youth basketball game.

As far as Chris and Vanessa are concerned, at least 28 LASD-owned devices and more than a dozen rescuers made public images of the victims’ bodies.

One of the first witnesses to testify in the lengthy trial was former bartender Victor Gutierrez. On Thursday, Gutierrez said that during his bartending shift on January 26, 2020, sheriff’s deputy trainee Joey Cruz approached him and asked if he wanted to view a photo of the victim’s bodies.

Ralph Mendez Jr., another customer of the club, testified to the jury about his experience there, saying he saw the incident unfold and reported it to the police.

The 40-year-old widow testified that on the morning of the disaster she went to the Lost Hills Sheriff Station to urge Sheriff Alex Villanueva to keep the paparazzi away from the site of the crash in Calabasas. “Please lock this place down if you can’t bring my babies back.” She remembered telling Villanueva at the police station, as Vanessa put it.

Just three days later, on February 27, 2020, a piece in the Los Angeles Times revealed claims of photo sharing among first responders. During her testimony, the grieving mother stated, “I trusted them not to do these things,” adding that she was furious with the sheriff’s and fire department’s lack of communication.

 The body of Kobe Bryant was found the day of the accident, while that of Gianna, a his daughter and basketball player for the Mamba Sports Academy who aspired to play in the WNBA, was discovered in a gully the following day.

A wave of sorrow washed over the courtroom as Vanessa accused individuals who had taken photos of Gianna’s body of “taking advantage that her daddy wasn’t there to protect her.”

She revealed that he had been located at a morgue.

As for Vanessa, she described the day she found out about Kobe and Gianna’s murders, claiming that she knew something was wrong when the family’s secretary, Kate, kept knocking on the door around 11:30 a.m.

Chris testified that after his texts to Payton and Sarah went unanswered, he learned of the crash while driving to the Lost Hills sheriff’s station.

He believed Payton and Sarah were still alive but injured, as he recounted, “plenty of things were going through my thoughts, but I assumed I was headed to a hospital.” He noted that the station was unusually silent and that he was “beginning to get an eerie vibe.”

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Michael Blackson criticized Brittney Griner joke.

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Known for his edgy perspectives on contemporary culture, comedian Michael Blackson took some heat for a joke about pro hooper Brittney Griner, who is currently serving time in a Russian prison.

Griner, a player for the Phoenix Suns of the WNBA, was found guilty and given a nine-year prison sentence for carrying vape pens that contained cannabidiol (often known as “cannabis oil”). In February of 2022, she was stopped and held at the airport. Griner has been condemned to hard time in a penal colony despite ongoing diplomatic efforts for a prisoner swap to liberate her.

Blackson’s initial attempt at humor was meant to lighten the mood.

Blackson claims he is unfazed by the fury of fan backlash since he has such a solid rapport with the Olympic gold medallist.

Another commenter on Twitter referred to Blackson as a “f—in pig.”

Between him and Lil Duvall, can we cancel all of these dumb social media ‘comedians’?,” a third individual questioned.

After the onslaught of criticism reached a boiling point, Blackson responded on Twitter by telling his followers to calm down.

Much like legendary laugh producer Dave Chappelle, Blackson defiantly announced that he refuses to be censored just because some fans’ sensibilities were rankled by his quirky humor.

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Brittney Griner’s team begins an appeal against her 9-year drug smuggling sentence.

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An appeal has been filed challenging the Russian court’s verdict sentencing WNBA star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison for smuggling drugs into Russia, Griner’s lawyer says days after the Russian government confirmed for the first time discussions about a potential prisoner swap involving a convicted Russian arms dealer.

Concerns have been made that Griner is being exploited as a political pawn in Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, despite the fact that the US State Department insists she has been illegally jailed. In an effort to return her home safely, US officials have proposed a prisoner swap.

Russian Foreign Ministry North American Department Director Alexander Darchiev told Russian state media TASS on Saturday that the name of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout has come up in bilateral negotiations between Moscow and Washington over a prisoner swap involving Griner and American Paul Whelan.

paraphrases Darchiev he said “This extremely delicate subject involving the exchange of convicted Russian and American nationals is being considered through the channels established by our respective presidents. There is talk about these people. The Russian side has been pressing for Viktor Bout’s freedom for quite some time. From the premise of “do no harm,” it’s best to let experts handle the specifics.

“We continue to encourage Russia to free unjust detainees Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan,” a US State Department official said on Monday. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated, “There was a major plan on the table weeks ago to expedite their release.”

“We will not go into detail of what we presented to the Russians,” the official continued.

For espionage-related reasons, Russia has been holding Whelan since 2018. Griner’s appeal might take anything from a few weeks to a couple of months. Maria Blagovolina, a partner of Rybalkin Gortsunyan Dyakin & Partners and Griner’s attorney.

According to Alexander Boykov of the Moscow Legal Center, who represents Griner, the appeal of the verdict and any subsequent prisoner swap negotiations take place separately.

“It should not affect them. This is a part of legal process. Prisoner talks come through diplomatic channels. Since the appeal could be withdrawn any time before the actual hearing, there’s no reason for Russian government to wait,” he said.

According to those familiar with the situation, the US Justice Department fought against the trade of Bout throughout months of internal conversations among US agencies. Justice Department officials, however, came to realize that a Bout trade would be supported by the White House and the State Department, including Vice President Joe Biden, according to many credible sources.

The Russian government has regularly brought up Bout as a possible deal for several Americans. Bout’s lawyer has expressed “confidence” that the trade will take place.

Griner, 31 at the time, was stopped in February for transporting cannabis oil in vape cartridges. Two-time U.S. Olympic basketball gold champion pleads guilty to drug charges, saying she hurriedly packed the medications by mistake.

Judge Anna Sotnikova of the city court in Khimki issued Griner’s nine-year term and punishment of almost $16,400 on August 4. She explained that the court took into account Griner’s partial acknowledgment of guilt, remorse for the deed, health, and humanitarian works.

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