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LAHORE: The confidence radiating from Rizwan Ali is palpable. As he prepares to move into the cage on Sunday at the Pakistan Open MMA Championship, the undefeated lightweight fighter isn’t just predicting a win; rather he is forecasting a swift and decisive conclusion to his bout against Egypt’s Adham “Warrior” Mohamed. “It will, hopefully, be a knockout finish,” Rizwan told Dawn, a prediction backed by the momentum of two back-to-back knockout wins that have solidified his status as one of Pakistan’s top mixed martial artists. Speaking on his upcoming clash, Rizwan framed it as a classic striker versus grappler match-up.…

A new-look Manchester City showed familiar frailties as Tottenham strolled to a 2-0 win at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, while Aston Villa slumped to a 1-0 defeat to Brentford. Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha struck for the Europa League winners just before half-time as Spurs went top of the table, making it a perfect start for Thomas Frank after two league games in charge. City’s run of four consecutive Premier League titles came to a spectacular end last season as they finished a distant third behind Liverpool and Arsenal. A 4-0 thrashing of Wolves on the opening weekend of…

LAHORE: Contestants in action during their fight at the Pakistan Open MMA Championship on Friday. —courtesy ACTIVIT LAHORE: Heavy rain lashed Lahore on Friday but inside the Packages Mall a different storm was brewing as the much-anticipated Pakistan Open MMA Championship exploded into action with punches pouring down in the cage. The quarter-final round of the multi-nation tournament concluded with a series of pumped-up performances, setting the stage for a thrilling semi-final line-up. The three-day event is an official qualifier for the IMMAF World Championships in Georgia later this year, offering fighters a precious chance to earn their place on…

Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday said that any talks on sporting ties with India would be held on equal footing and there would be no more pleading for negotiations. The suspension of bilateral ties between Pakistan and India has now been officially extended beyond cricket to all sports. On Thursday, India’s sports ministry issued a new policy that ends bilateral sporting ties with Pakistan, even on neutral venues. However, no stoppage has been announced for engagement at multilateral tournaments, paving the way for the much-anticipated Asia Cup cricket clash between the two rivals next month. Last month,…

US President Donald Trump announced Friday that the draw for the 2026 World Cup will be held in Washington on December 5 — and then jokingly asked if he could keep the golden trophy for himself. The draw for the 48-team football championship will be held at the Kennedy Center in the US capital, where Trump recently installed himself as chairman in what he called a war on “woke” culture. “It’s the biggest, probably the biggest event in sports,” Trump, flanked by FIFA chief Gianni Infantino, said as he made the announcement in the Oval Office of the White House.…

Alistair Berg | Digitalvision | Getty ImagesWhile you may hope to step out of the workforce sooner rather than later, it’s easier said than done, experts say. On average, surveyed Americans, asked “What age should you be” for retirement, said 58, according to a recent report by Empower, which polled 1,001 adults on June 2.That’s much younger than the current typical retirement age. On average, as of 2024, men retire at age 64 while women retire at age 62, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.More from Personal Finance:Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ makes Roth conversions more complicatedSchool lunch…

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was in buoyant form despite finishing fourth in the 100m at the Brussels Diamond League, saying she was focused on ending her illustrious career in a “magnificent way” at the Tokyo world championships. The 38-year-old Jamaican sprint legend timed 11.17 seconds in Brussels on Friday, just edged off a podium featuring Americans Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Sha’Carri Richardson — the world champion, and Briton Daryll Neita. While Fraser-Pryce — the third-fastest woman of all time in the 100m with 10.60 — has struggled this season to hit the speeds she once did, she was in bullish mood when looking…

LAHORE: The six-member Coaching Affairs Committee formed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) last month to interview and recommend new coaches has seen little involvement from its designated members, with only one actively carrying out the task alongside officials not part of the committee. The committee — announced on July 16 — includes Director High Performance Aqib Javed, Director Domestic Abdullah Khurram Niazi, Director HR and Administration Abdul Faisal Malik, Pakistan men’s head coach Mike Hesson, Head of Coaching Education Shahid Aslam, and GM Academies Imran Abbas. However, sources told Dawn that only Shahid Aslam has been conducting interviews, joined…

DUBAI: Pakistan pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi has expressed confidence in the country’s emerging talent, backing youngsters to step up in the absence of former mainstays Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. Babar and Rizwan, once Pakistan’s revered T20I opening pair, have been sidelined from the format as the team pursues a more aggressive approach under new leadership. The transition follows the appointments of Mike Hesson as Pakistan’s white-ball head coach and Salman Ali Agha as T20I captain earlier this year. Hesson has publicly stated that Babar and Rizwan need to refine their T20I skills to reclaim their spots in the…

LAHORE: On the sidelines of the Pakistan Open MMA Championship on Friday, Omar Ahmed, the president of the Pakistan Mixed Martial Arts Federation, outlined an ambitious vision to establish Mixed Martial Arts as a premier sports property in the country, while detailing the significant systemic hurdles that stand in its way. A former kickboxer, Omar spoke candidly about the challenge of attracting advertisers in a market dominated primarily by the game of cricket. “Our purpose is to create a sport property in Pakistan,” Omar told Dawn. “At the moment, Pakistan Super League [PSL] is the only sports property of Pakistan.…