LAS VEGAS Levan Chokheli met the media Saturday after his win over Leon Shahbazyan at UFCFight Night 279.Chokheli (15-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) came right after Shahbazyan (12-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) on the prelims atthe Meta APEX inLas Vegas. He landed an early leg kick that hurt Shahbazyan, then a combo, then body shots to put him away. The quick finish came with former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili working his corner.Chokheli's finish came in just 23 seconds in his UFC debut. The Bellator vet was a 4-1 betting favorite against Shahbazyan, the older brother of longtime UFC fighter Edmen Shahbazyan, in their welterweight fight. And maybe the 23 seconds wasn't planned, but the delivery method sure was, he said."I was working on this combination the last couple weeks. That's what I was doing. You saw my knockout, right? This calf kick, 1-2 and overhand to the body that's what I was working for," Chokheli told MMA Junkie and other reporters athis post-fight news conference." I'm Georgian. My wrestling is good, but I would rather stay on the feet and throw my hands. But in the future, the welterweight division is the toughest one. There are a lot of good jiu-jitsu guys and good wrestlers. When I face them, it will be time to show you my wrestling skills and my jiu-jitsu skills. But today was today. What I did was the game plan nothing else."WASTING NO TIME Levan Chokheli only needed 23 seconds to get the RD1 finish![ #UFCVegas119 | LIVE NOW on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/lE0Ab1LBil UFC (@ufc) June 20, 2026With his first UFC win under his belt, and with virtually no damage taken,Chokheli said he'll be looking for a fast return. He also wants a fast rise up the rankings at welterweight.Chokheli, who has 80 percent of his wins by knockout, fought seven times under the Bellator banner. And though the first nine wins ov his career were first-round knockouts, including seven in less than a minute, they obviously weren't against the level of competition he'll face in the UFC. But that's why he thinks his Bellator fights will play a factor."I think it gave me an advantage(in my UFC debut) because I was fighting there with monsters, former UFC fighters (like Sabah Homasi and Lorenz Larkin)," Chokheli said. "Now I'm 29 years old and I have a lot of fights behind me. I think now I'm getting into my prime. I don't need more experience. I'm almost 30 years old."I need fights. I don't need fights to keep my record up or build me up. I need tough fights now to get a title fight as soon as possible."Check out Chokheli's post-fight interview in the video above.This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Levan Chokheli: Bellator experience, 23-second UFC KO mean I'm title-ready

The USMNT has clinched a spot in the World Cup knockouts, so should the team rotate in its final Group D match or stay consistent?

The Josh Fraser freight train is rolling.

Sports fans were left divided by a plan that would split the Winter Olympics between a major American City and a tiny mountain village some five hours away by car.

Christian Pulisic returned to training with his U.S. teammates on Monday after missing their most recent match of the World Cup with a calf injury.Pulisic participated in warmups and ball drills during the 15 minutes of practice open to the media in Orange County. The team gave no formal update on the status of the AC Milan midfielder, who has been limited to one dynamic half of play in the unbeaten Americans' home World Cup.Pulisic didn't play in the Americans' 2-0 victory over Australia in Seattle last Friday. He played the first half of their tournament-opening victory over Paraguay, catalyzing two of the U.S. team's three goals in the first half of a historic 4-1 win before coming off at halftime with stiffness from the injury incurred the previous week in training.Pulisic trained apart from his teammates during the workouts between the first two games, so his return to the full squad was obviously encouraging. He had been limited to gym workouts, resistance training and light ball work during his absence.Its a tough situation when youre going through a small, little knock, U.S. teammate Alex Zendejas said Monday. Its an important tournament where obviously everyone wants to be able to get out there 100%, but (we dont) talk about the injury or talk about the moment (Pulisic) is going through. (We) talk about other stuff, try to get his mind off of it. Just be there for him.The U.S. finishes group play on Thursday night at SoFi Stadium against Turkey in a meaningless game for the group-winning Americans and the already-eliminated Turks.The Americans' first knockout match is on July 1 in Santa Clara, California.U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino still didnt have his entire roster on the field at Great Park. Midfielder Cristian Roldan missed practice with a strained muscle.___AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/FIFA-World-Cup

Christian Pulisic returned to training with his U.S. teammates on Monday after missing their most recent match of the World Cup with a calf injury.Pulisic participated in warmups and ball drills during the 15 minutes of practice open to the media in Orange County. The team gave no formal update on the status of the AC Milan midfielder, who has been limited to one dynamic half of play in the unbeaten Americans' home World Cup.Pulisic didn't play in the Americans' 2-0 victory over Australia in Seattle last Friday. He played the first half of their tournament-opening victory over Paraguay, catalyzing two of the U.S. team's three goals in the first half of a historic 4-1 win before coming off at halftime with stiffness from the injury incurred the previous week in training.Pulisic trained apart from his teammates during the workouts between the first two games, so his return to the full squad was obviously encouraging. He had been limited to gym workouts, resistance training and light ball work during his absence.Its a tough situation when youre going through a small, little knock, U.S. teammate Alex Zendejas said Monday. Its an important tournament where obviously everyone wants to be able to get out there 100%, but (we dont) talk about the injury or talk about the moment (Pulisic) is going through. (We) talk about other stuff, try to get his mind off of it. Just be there for him.The U.S. finishes group play on Thursday night at SoFi Stadium against Turkey in a meaningless game for the group-winning Americans and the already-eliminated Turks.The Americans' first knockout match is on July 1 in Santa Clara, California.U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino still didnt have his entire roster on the field at Great Park. Midfielder Cristian Roldan missed practice with a strained muscle.___AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/FIFA-World-Cup

England players have welcomed Anthony Barry's brutally honest approach after the assistant coach publicly criticised their display against Croatia during the World Cup opener.Barry raised eyebrows by admitting England's first-half performance in Dallas had been "complicated and confused" while speaking in a half-time television interview, despite the Three Lions eventually recovering to record a 4-2 victory.Far from being offended by the comments, members of Thomas Tuchel's squad insist they want Barry to continue speaking candidly if it helps England end their long wait for major tournament glory.Manchester City youngster Nico O'Reilly was the latest player to praise Barry's forthright style, arguing that dressing rooms benefit from clear messages rather than vague encouragement.TRENDINGStoriesVideosYour Say"Anthony's very honest, straight to the point, and then I think that's the best way to be," O'Reilly said."You need it. If you're not doing something right, or you're not doing so well, having someone there to tell you it's the right thing to do."The 21-year-old's comments mirror those made by Dan Burn, who admitted he had not watched Barry's interview but spoke glowingly about the impact the coach has had throughout his career.Burn first encountered Barry during their time together at Wigan and believes it was obvious from an early stage that he was destined for the top."I've not seen the half-time thing yet, but I have heard about it," Burn said."I was with Baz at Wigan and I thought that was one of his first coaching jobs."You knew back then there was something special about the way he went about it when he was taking drills."You really wanted to make whatever he was doing work because of the energy he put into it."LATEST SPORTS NEWS:Roy Keane hits out at England players after Thomas Tuchel comments at World CupLionel Messi becomes World Cup's all-time leading goalscorer after netting in Argentina and Austria matchAaron Ramsey poised to land first managerial job with EFL clubBarry has enjoyed a rapid rise through coaching, working with several elite clubs and national teams before joining Tuchel's England set-up.Burn believes his journey is testament to his demanding standards and refusal to allow players to coast through training sessions."I think you've seen his work from the very bottom to being in different national teams and Champions League teams," he continued."I'm really happy for him. He's another member of staff who really sets the standard. He doesn't let you go through the motions. He has high standards of what he demands from us. It's the very best. You've got to be on your toes."I think you've got to have that sort of honesty. There are no grey areas with Baz and the manager."I feel like the one thing that I really do like about them is that they just say it how it is. They're not going to beat around the bush. They're going to really just tell you how it is."I feel like that's all you want as a player. You just want that honesty to know where you stand."England travelled to Boston on Monday ahead of their second Group L fixture against Ghana, with O'Reilly expected to retain his place at left-back.However, the versatile youngster believes his long-term future lies elsewhere on the pitch."I think in the future I will be back in midfield," he said."With my profile, everything fits there and maybe as a box-to-box midfielder. But I've been enjoying left-back and it has got me here now to a World Cup."When playing at left back I have been playing in the middle for most of it anyway so it's not like I am playing as a traditional left back. Even with England, I am still coming inside and allowed to drift in and drift out wide so it is a bit more relaxed."Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter

Watch all the angles of Lionel Messi's record-breaking opening goal against Austria in Argentina's 2-0 victory.

Frankreich wird gegen den Irak von einem Unwetter gebremst, die internationale Presse feiert Lionel Messi. Alles rund um die WM 2026 im Liveblog.[mehr]

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