Category Sports News

Dakota Ditcheva, a Manchester boxer, claims she is “gutted” that the PFL will not be a fight until next year.

Ditcheva, 26, won the PFL’s 2024 flyweight world title, but the organization has since drastically altered its events, including changing the tournament status.

Ditcheva can only watch from a distance as the PFL’s other flyweights begin this month as Ditcheva competes in the newly launched “PFL Champions Series” in 2025.

Ditcheva told MMA Junkie, “I’m gutted that I haven’t had anything yet.”

“I’m like, Get me anything,” I say. I understand that PFL is difficult.

“They’ve got all the girls in the tournament,” they said. They now need to find someone to put up a good fight with me.

The PFL has informed Ditcheva that she will likely face the tournament winner when she next squares up against the winner in November.

What if the winner emerges from the matchup unharmed? If they are injured, what happens? “Ditcheva said,”

Do they want to fight me when they win the year’s end? “A person who has fought three times.

They might say, “I’m sorry, I’m hurt, or I don’t want to fight this year, I’ll do it in January.” That would take me a year to complete. Something will happen, but it’s testing for sure.

Ditcheva is not the only PFL star to speak out about the scheduling, with Patricio Pitbull, Patricio Pitbull, and other fighters requesting their release from the MMA organization.

Johnny Eblen, the former Bellator middleweight champion, admitted on social media in February that he hadn’t “heard a peep” about any fights.

British boxer Fabian Edwards, who lost to Eblen in his previous outing in October, has called on the PFL to get their best fighters fired.

It’s insane to watch all those guys watch from the sidelines for a year or more. I just hope they can figure out what needs to be done, Edwards said.

According to Millwall captain Shaun Hutchinson, the club has withdrawn Liam Roberts from the player of the year award vote to stop further abuse of the goalkeeper.

Jean-Philippe Mateta, 30, kicking the Eagles striker in the head in the Lions’ FA Cup defeat by Crystal Palace in March, sent Roberts off.

Roberts was given a six-game ban by the Football Association after suffering a severe laceration in Mateta’s ear, which required 25 stitches, and he hasn’t played since.

Roberts, who signed for The Den from Middlesbrough last summer and has made six appearances since, was accused of receiving death threats and abuse online following the challenge.

We want to be open and honest with you about a topic we’ve discussed as a squad in a statement sent to BBC Radio 5 Live as we approach the end-of-season awards ceremony and honor some of the campaign’s outstanding performances.

“You have been a huge help to Liam Roberts and his family during a very difficult time,” you have said.

We also understand that many of you have continued to support him by awarding him the season’s MVP.

With that in mind, the squad is concerned that a placed finish for Robbo could unintentionally bring up many of the negative stories and abuse from other clubs, which we have been working on for a while.

Following the FA Cup match, Robbo and his family endured unending, horrifying online abuse. We witnessed a teammate experience a nightmare, his name was dragged through the headlines, and he and his wife were threatened with death.

We have shared this opinion with the Millwall Supporters’ Club and can’t allow that to happen again.

Scottish Cup semi-final: Hearts v Aberdeen

Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow Date: Saturday 19 April Time: 12:30 BST

“Overall, I would say I am a more complete player,” is the assessment of Kevin Nisbet who has been enjoying a career “reset” at Aberdeen.

Twelve goals from the 28-year-old Scotland striker have helped the Pittodrie club in the league chase for European places, while two of those have come in a Scottish Cup run that continues with Saturday’s semi-final against Hearts at Hampden.

After a frustrating, injury-hit first campaign at Millwall, Nisbet joined the Dons on loan last summer but did not complete 90 minutes in the Premiership until February.

“I probably wasn’t fit enough, due to not playing a lot last season,” Nisbet told BBC Scotland. “It took me a while to get up to speed but I feel sharp now.”

Seven of Nisbet’s goals have come in his past 10 outings, along with five assists.

The former Hibs player credits extra work off the pitch for his upturn in form, admitting that he hasn’t always been as diligent.

“Coming in on days off, doing the gym, looking after myself, stretching a lot, just the kind of things I probably wasn’t doing in the past year if I am brutally honest.

“I started in October and I have just consistently done it. Now I am reaping the rewards.

“I have improved a lot on the defensive side, the tracking back as well and working for the team. It’s probably something I lost in the last few years and I have got that back thanks to the club.

“I feel I am in a place now that is beneficial to me.

“Coming up here was just about a complete reset on myself, getting back to scoring goals and enjoying my football. I have got that smile back on my face when I am playing.”

Nisbet has 11 Scotland caps, the last of which came in June 2023. However, his eye-catching displays in red earned a recall to the national squad earlier this year.

“I had kind of put that to the back of my mind,” he explained. “I had other priorities to get back to and when I started doing that the Scotland squad came.”

With his loan up at the end of the season, and with a year of his Millwall contract still to run, Nisbet is not giving too much thought to what comes next.

“I just tend to stay well clear of it all,” he said. “I have learned from when I was at Hibs, I got too involved in some situations. For me, it is just about head down and taking it game by game and it starts on Saturday.

Reece James’ criticism of his team-mates is “absolutely” the kind of leadership he expects from the Blues captain, according to Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca.

James, 25, criticized Chelsea’s “poor performance” in Thursday’s 2-1 defeat by Legia Warsaw at Stamford Bridge.

Although the Blues managed to reach the Europa Conference League semifinals 4-2 on aggregate, James claimed their performance had shown “disrespect” of the competition.

Maresca remarked, “Absolutely, absolutely, yes,” when asked if James displayed his leadership qualities in his remarks. He is one of the captains and is in charge of that.

Because of the initial outcome, we tried to manage the game improperly, I believe he was correct.

He probably is correct in what he said, he said. He sort of leads us into the changing area.

Maresca earlier this year criticized James for his lack of leadership abilities, claiming that he “expected more” from the England right-back in his captaincy.

Maresca continued, “I complained a little bit about how he led me.”

Chelsea made the final four appearances despite being booed off at Stamford Bridge.

On goal difference, the Blues are sixth in the Premier League, trailing only Manchester City, who is fifth.

Maresca claims he still has “unwavering support” from the board and will continue to uphold his principles despite fanfare murmurs in the fanbase.

We are currently playing in the semi-finals of a European competition. So why do we need to “change something” now? Maresca remarked.

“I don’t have any doubts about what we’re doing, how we’re doing it, and for various reasons,” I believe.

As the England international failed to score against Legia Warsaw, Cole Palmer’s goal drought reached 15 games.

The 22-year-old scored his final goal against Bournemouth on January 14th, ending 2-2.

Without Palmer and Senegal forward Nicolas Jackson, 23, who are both 23 years old, Palmer claims Chelsea can’t finish in the top five this season.

They have already scored goals. They only need to turn a little bit in that particular moment, Palmer said.

In 20 Premier League games, Cole scored 14 goals, so he scored goals. Before the injury, Nicki was the same.

Arne Slot argued that Trent Alexander-Arnold’s future is still “not done” and that keeping his Liverpool team together would be a “big summer” for the club.

Due to the summer expiration of Alexander Arnold’s contract, the Reds have signed captain Virgil van Dijk and leading scorer Mohamed Salah on new two-year deals.

According to Slot, “It’s already a big summer.” Can we hold on to them now that it was a big thing? ‘.

Let’s see what the rest of the summer will bring, and by holding on for two more days, it’s already a big summer.

“I’ve said it for a year, so we’re happy with the team we have,” I said, which is strange. If we can even keep that team, it would already be a big summer.

Let’s see what the future holds, said head coach Slot when asked about Alexander-Arnold’s situation.

Real Madrid, who have endured a troubling week, are looking for the England defender.

After only about five weeks with an ankle injury, Alexander-Arnold might miss Liverpool’s league game against Leicester City on Sunday.

Slot defended his position that he would not discuss players’ contractual arrangements, but the Dutchman praised the 26-year-old’s character and attitude.

As long as things aren’t finished yet and they aren’t, “we don’t talk about this thing [contracts],” said Slot. “That’s why we don’t talk about his situation in public,” he said.

When asked if he thought Alexander-Arnold saw his potential with the Reds, Slot replied, “Trent is recovering from an injury and trained with us yesterday. He shows his commitment whenever he participates in our activities.

He has already put in a lot of effort to be back, and when he is on the field, he demonstrates to me how great a football player he is and how committed he is to helping us achieve our goals this year.

He has put in a lot of effort throughout the entire season, and he is now recovering.

Everyone who has watched football for the past five, six, or seven years knows that Liverpool is an incredible full-back, has played an incredible full-back for this club, and we’ll see what the future holds for the club.

If Liverpool beat Leicester, which is 13 points clear of the Premier League, and second-placed Arsenal lose to Ipswich earlier on Sunday, leaving them with a 20th title.

In Slot’s first season since replacing Jurgen Klopp, who had only signed forward Federico Chiesa for the 2024-2005 campaign, they appear to be champions.

As long as the members of the team are performing as best as they can together, “I think the core,” Slot said.

Van Dijk said he had not “worked with a player like him in terms of leadership,” and that he had committed his future to Liverpool after Salah had done so with his Dutch counterpart.

I’m delighted that both have gotten longer. “Virgil has been a great personality and player for us defensively, offensively, and around the dressing room,” Slot said.

I haven’t worked with a player like him in terms of leadership because of the leader he is in and around the training center. He constantly inspires his team, especially the younger ones, and he shows how professional he is in every training session. At this club, he is having a significant impact.

Van Dijk helped Liverpool win the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, Club World Cup, and EFL Cup twice since signing for £75 million from Southampton in January 2018.

When asked how long the 33-year-old Netherlands international might play at the highest level, Slot believes that remaining uninjured will be a factor in that decision.