Sports
Israel Adesanya Suffers First UFC Career Loss
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria-born New Zealand professional mixed martial artist, Israel Adesanya, suffered his first career defeat when he lost to Jan Blachowicz in the early hours of Sunday.
The defeat of Adesanya by the Polish fighter sees him retaining the light heavyweight title.
The Last Stylebender, as Adesanya is popularly called, suffered his first career loss in Ultimate Fight Club (UFC) at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, USA.
The Polish fighter defeated Adesanya via a unanimous decision of 49-46, 49-45, 49-45.
After a tight opening three rounds, Blachowicz took over in the fourth and fifth as big takedowns in each championship round saw the 38-year-old control things on the ground.
The 31-year-old Nigerian-Kiwi, who entered the fight with a 20-0 record that features 15 knockouts, now has 20-1.
Adesanya’s eight-fight win streak came to an end against Blachowicz, who first took the 205-pound belt in 2020 after stopping Dominick Reyes.
ROUND 1: Calm and composed start from both the fighters here. Adesanya just makes it look too easy. Doesn’t he? A very close first round comes to an end. Blachowicz was the one pushing Adesanya to a corner at the beginning but the challenger connected with a few decent hits towards the end.
ROUND 2: A couple of nice jabs early on from Blachowicz. And they connected pretty sweet. Adesanya goes down to the floor. But he gets up immediately. Advantage to the defending champ from minutes five to ten. Unintentional low blow from Izzy and referee Herb Dean brings in a brief pause.
ROUND 3: What a start to the round! Blachowicz connects with clean jabs first. He went for the takedown but Adesanya countered and took advantage from there. The challenger then hit some good shots of his own. Blachowicz looked dazed for a while but he came back with a couple of late punches to close out the round.
This has been a fight loaded with kicks so far. We could see a string of jabs but the legs have majorly done the talking. Guess it’s a round each right now.
ROUND 4: Think Izzy has two rounds to Blachowicz’s one. The champ has to be aggressive now. And there’s a takedown from Blachowicz. The Light Heavyweight champion is doing everything he can to stay on top of Adesanya. Almost four minutes now. Good domination from Blachowicz. He wore down the middleweight titleholder right at the centre of the Octagon for close to 250 seconds.
ROUND 5: One final round today! They’ve gone tit for tat so far. Another crucial takedown from Blachowicz at the half-way mark. Think the Polish champ will see this round off in a similar manner. Izzy has somehow managed his way out of serious damage here. Blachowicz isn’t able to turn Izzy the other way round.
In the other co-main event, Amanda Nunes (21-4) easily defended her featherweight crown by defeating Megan Anderson (11-5).
Aljamain Sterling (20-3) won the bantamweight title after Petr Yan (15-2) lost by disqualification.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
On Saturday, July 18, 2026, Team Drogba Global Africa claimed its first E1 victory in Monaco, moving to sixth on the table with 59 points.
It defeated Team Brady, which came second over the week, though it leads the championship with 119 points, nine points more than the second on the log, Westbrook Racing by Visit Angola.
Kiwi Micah Wilkinson and his Spanish teammate Tara Pacheco combined to put together a memorable performance and secure a long-awaited first visit to the top step.
Drogba’s best result of the season so far had been seventh in Lake Como, but something clicked in the Principality, and the victory has moved them up to sixth overall.
Home heroes Team Monaco had set the fastest time in qualifying and were leading the way, but they made a wrong turn on the course, which consigned them to join Westbrook in the Place Race. Will Smith’s team took a damage-limiting victory, leaving them in seventh at the end of the day.
But the Finals were both dominated by Drogba. In Final 1, with Tara Pacheco at the wheel, they finished just ahead of Emma Kimiläinen’s Brady E1 RaceBird. The battle resumed in Final 2 and, on this occasion, Micah held off Sam Coleman. Timmy Hansen came through to finish third for Miami to secure their first podium in 13 races.
Micah Wilkinson was also rewarded with PIF Pilot of the Day for his performance in Final 2.
Hosted at the world-renowned Yacht Club de Monaco, the Championship’s third visit to the Principality once again transformed Port Hercule into one of the world’s most spectacular sporting venues.
E1 now heads to its first foray in Southern Africa for the E1 Luanda GP 2026, Angola, on September 12 to 13.
“Huge congratulations to everyone at Team Drogba on securing a remarkably assured maiden victory here in Monaco. We leave with a new Championship leader in Team Brady, with Will Smith’s team in close contention.
“The Principality once again delivered an extraordinary weekend of thrilling on-water action to reinforce our belief that E1 is creating a new chapter in global motorsport. We now head to Angola, Africa, for the next round as the Championship battle intensifies,” the chief executive of E1, Mr Jamie Copas, said.
By Dipo Olowookere
Spain put one past Argentina to clinch their second FIFA World Cup trophy in New Jersey, USA, on Sunday night.
Ferran Torres put the only goal of the match in the back of the South American’s net in the 106th minute after both teams could not settle scores in normal time.
The Argentines, led by Lionel Scaloni, were reduced to 10 men in added time of the second half after Enzo Fernández got his second yellow card for a tackle on Spain’s Pau Cubarsí.
Lionel Messi could not inspire his team to victory in the final watched by the President of the United States, Mr Donald Trump, as the Europeans dominated the match, with Argentina not having a shot on or off target before the extra time.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup champions only managed to show signs of pressing after the winners of the 2010 edition in South Africa scored a minute after the resumption of the second half of the extra 30 minutes.
The win by Luis de la Fuente’s men left Lionel Messi teary after the match. This could be his last World Cup as he turned 39 this year.
The next FIFA World Cup in 2030 goes to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. This year’s edition was hosted by the trio of the USA, Canada, and Mexico. The Mundial kicked off on June 20, 2026, and ended on July 19, 2026, with 48 teams participating, more than the usual 32 teams of the previous editions.
On July 23, Nigeria’s main grassroots tournament kicks off: players from the top 100 teams across five divisions of Lagos will compete for the championship title, a generous prize pool, the prestige of their home communities, and their dream of signing their first contract with a professional club.
1xCup has helped many talented players make a name for themselves. Thanks to their standout performances at the tournament, more than 30 footballers have earned spots on professional teams in Nigeria, Bulgaria, Norway, Albania, North Macedonia, and many other countries.
1xCup top success stories
From their debuts in the NPFL and second-tier European leagues to call-ups to the Nigeria national team, the stories of 1xCup graduate players could easily serve as the script for a new Hollywood sports drama. Defensive midfielder Adeoye Aderemi Jacob was named one of the top breakout stars of the 1xCup 2025. His dedication and energy helped the Naths Boys reach the tournament’s final four and caught the attention of Ikorodu City scouts. Adeoye Aderemi Jacob quickly adapted to the professional level and even earned a call-up to the Nigeria national team for friendly matches against Zimbabwe and Jamaica as part of their preparations for the.
Several 1xCup graduates have built successful careers in Europe. Martins Idowu plays in Serbia, Peter Ahisu in Bulgaria, and Okere Ebube in North Macedonia. Lawani Clinton, Bada Moses, and Raheem Ibrahim Ogede have continued their football careers with professional clubs in Nigeria. Meanwhile, Nwana Okechukwu and Kayode Akinyemi are representing their homeland in the Egyptian and Beninese leagues.
The 1xCup 2026 will continue this mission. Starting with the knockout stage, scouts from professional clubs will be in attendance at the tournament’s matches. This means that every participant will have a chance to prove themselves, get noticed by experts, and perhaps write a new chapter in their football history.
1xCup 2026 is open to everyone
Nigeria’s most prestigious grassroots tournament has helped football talent shine and demonstrated that our country is capable of organizing large-scale sports events. The list of participants in the qualification was made publicly available, and every fan can follow the match results and the standings on the official 1xCup Instagram page.
The tournament’s matches are drawing huge interest from viewers, so the organizers have expanded their media coverage. The 1xCup Podcast is set to launch very soon, featuring well-known figures from Nigeria’s football community who will discuss the main storylines and standout players of the fourth season, as well as share exclusive insights with fans.
Watch from the front row as the next generation of football stars is born, and follow the action from the grassroots tournament on the official 1xcup.ng website or on the project’s Instagram page.
