UFC 249 happened this past Saturday on May 8. More sports return this weekend. A NASCAR race happens on Sunday. Major horse racing tracks Santa Anita Park and Churchill Downs scheduled late in the week openings. Sounds like a great time to restart our Weekly Sports Recap!
Weekly Sports Recap & Update – May 11th Edition
Gaethje knocks out Ferguson at UFC 249
UFC 249’s gigantic fight card didn’t disappoint. The bouts took place at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
Pent up demand led Dana White to schedule a couple of championship bouts. In the first, Henry Cejudo knocked out legend Dominick Cruz in the second round with a knee. Cejudo then decided to retire.
Cruz hadn’t fought since 2016. He hung with Henry throughout the entirety of the first round. That’s a good sign Dominick may soon return to the Octagon.
In the main event, Justin Gaethje made himself look like a seer. After Dana announced that he’d replace Khabib in a championship fight against Tony Ferguson, Justin said he’d make Tony’s life hell.
Gaethje did exactly that. In the fifth round, Justin knocked out Ferguson via a punch to the eye. The punch broke Ferguson’s orbital bone. A similar injury detached boxing hall-of-famer Sugar Ray Leonard’s retina and forced him to take years away from the ring.
Sugar Ray came back. Will Ferguson?
On Saturday night, chalk bettors high-fived themselves in every bout except for Gaethje-Ferguson and Oleinik-Werdum. Check out the results..
- Spann beat Alvey via split-decision
- Mitchell over Rosa via unanimous decision
- Luque R3 TKO versus Price
- Esparza beat Waterson via split-decision
- Oleinik beat Werdum via split-decision
- Pettis over Cerrone via unanimous decision
- Hardy over De Castro via unanimous decision
- Kattar R2 TKO/KO against Stephens
- Ngannou R1 TKO/KO over Rozenstruik
- Cejudo R2 KO/TKO versus Cruz
- Gathje R5 KO/TKO against Ferguson
This week, UFC has a couple of other promotions at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Texeira happens on May 13. Another UFC Fight Night happens on Saturday, May 16.
Alistair Overeem battles Walt Harris in the main event on Saturday.
Make sure to check odds on MyBookie for both Ultimate Fighting Championship events. Then, make sure to watch the fights.
The more demand fans show for brave organizations like UFC, the quicker leagues like the NBA, NHL, and MLB get off the bench.
NASCAR readies for Darlington
NASCAR is back May 17 at Darlington. The raceway in South Carolina will host NASCAR’s first return to racing. No fans will be in attendance.
We must start somewhere, though. The top motor sports league in the U.S. returning to action is a big deal. Odds are up in the MyBookie Sportsbook.
Kevin Harvick is the favorite followed by Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, and Joey Logano.
Bundesliga soccer returns on May 16 and Premier League News
On May 16, Bundesliga returns. Like NASCAR, the German soccer league won’t play in front of fans.
But that’s not a problem. Soccer fans throughout the world will watch the return to the pitch. Odds are up on MyBookie. Check out Bundesliga odds for a couple of the more popular team’s matches.
May 16
- Schalke 04 +457 / Borussia Dortmund -192
May 17
- FC Bayern Munich -526 / FC Union Berlin +1127
Also, the Premier League just announced they will restart their season on June 1. That’s huge news. With the EPL and Bundesliga back in action, it’s only a matter of time before the return of La Liga and Italian Serie A.
Churchill Downs opens on Saturday, May 16 and Santa Anita opens May 15
The Twin Spires, home of the Kentucky Derby, is a go for May 16. Churchill changed Derby Day dates from May 2 to September 5. Racing will still be great during the Twin Spires truncated meet.
Santa Anita will open May 15. Although the L.A. County Supervisor hasn’t provided The Great Race Place with the go ahead, Golden Gate in Northern California opens on May 14.
Los Alamitos in Orange County never closed their doors. There’s no reason for the L.A. County Supervisor to continue with Santa Anita’s shut down.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver discusses possible harsh realities
In an online meeting with players, Adam Silver talked reality. Silver told players that 40% of the NBA’s revenue comes from game nights in arenas.
Even if the National Basketball Association returns to play, the league will take a massive revenue hit. Without fans attending games, future seasons could look much different from an income standpoint.
As far as this season is concerned, Silver stated that the league hopes to return in a couple of cities. Those cities are Las Vegas and Orlando. Both vacation spots provide space that allows the league to run games and house players and staff.
Also, it makes sense from a health perspective. Just two locations cuts down on traveling while Florida and Nevada are a couple of the least hard hit states based on cases per 1 million.
Not all happy about NHL Draft before the Stanley Cup
Some don’t want the NHL Draft to happen before the Stanley Cup. But since the draft is scheduled for June 26-June 27, having it after the Stanley Cup may not be feasible.
No news on when the National Hockey League may return to action. Since the pandemic started, the NHL has been the most positive of the three affected sports leagues, though.
We should continue to have hope that hockey resumes in the summer.
MLB players want full salaries prorated before starting season
Players have told Major League Baseball representatives that if or when MLB starts play, they want teams to pay them their full, prorated, salaries.
That probably won’t affect Major League Baseball’s plans. MLB has worked with players throughout this situation and because there’s a chance baseball could play an entire 162 games season, why wouldn’t they pay the full salaries?
MLB may have a plan in place as soon as Tuesday, May 12. That’s good news for all sports fans.