List of All Articles with Tag 'per'

Nate Diaz has said he knows the ‘secret’ to Jake Paul’s success as a boxer, while warning the YouTube star: ‘I’m in on it, too.’ UFC icon Diaz, 38, will make his professional boxing debut on Saturday, facing Paul in Dallas, Texas. The bout will mark Diaz’s first fight since leaving the UFC in September, when he submitted Tony Ferguson. Meanwhile, 26-year-old Paul last fought in February, suffering his first loss as he was beaten on points by Tommy Fury. Prior to that result, American Paul was unbeaten with wins over ex-UFC champions Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley, as well as mixed martial arts star Ben Askren. Paul knocked out Askren, beat Woodley on points then via knockout in a rematch, before defeating Silva via decision. Addressing his compatriot’s boxing career ahead of their fight this weekend, Diaz said on Wednesday (2 August): “The thing about him is, he knows that MMA fighters can’t box and they’re in over their heads trying to box, because he went in there and worked a bunch over in training and in fights. “MMA fighters don’t know this, but the only thing about that is: I’m in on the same secret, and I’ve been in on that since I was 15. I’m not your average wrestler, MMA fighter. “I didn’t wrestle. When these guys he fought were in the wrestling room at five, six, seven, 10, 15 years old, I was boxing the whole neighbourhood, boxing every pro I could find. I was boxing the highest level I could find, my whole career.” As a mixed martial artist, Diaz is best known for his jiu-jitsu skills, although his volume striking and cardio also characterised his UFC run. In contrast, Woodley and Askren were predominantly wrestlers, although Silva is seen by many as the greatest striker in MMA history. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Jake Paul vs Nate Diaz live stream: How to watch fight online and on TV this weekend The hidden side of Jake Paul Amanda Serrano announces surprise return to MMA with PFL

By Vladyslav Smilianets ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION, Ukraine When they found the bodies of Russian troops at an abandoned position,

Fans who attend concerts of their favourite artists often try to get their attention by bringing a sign, and some even use the opportunity to shoot their shot... And that's exactly what happened when an audience member informed singer Kelly Clarkson just how much her girlfriend loves her - so much so that the American Idol winner is her hall pass. During Clarkson's Chemistry Las Vegas residency performance at Planet Hollywood’s Bakkt Theater on July 28, the Stronger singer noticed the woman's sign. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter, It read: “My girlfriend gave me a hall pass for you." Flattered by the compliment, Clarkson had a hilarious response: “If I was into chicks, I’d take up the offer. I just, unfortunately, like d****." Clips of the exchange have since circulated on social media. Clarkson has been performing songs from her new album Chemistry released back in June as well as covering hit songs such as "As It Was," by Harry Styles. During her performance covering Gayle's "abcdefu," Clarkson appeared to personalise the lyrics which people believe to be shading her ex Brandon Blackstock after their divorce. “F*** you, and your dad, and the fact that you got half/ and my broken heart, turn that s*** into art/ F*** you, and your view from the valley I bought too/ Everybody but your dogs, you can all f*** off,” Clarkson sang. Meanwhile, Clarkson has also spoken out about the recent rise of fans throwing objects at artists while on stage, telling the audience: “If you’re gonna throw s***, throw diamonds.” Elsewhere, Kelly Clarkson’s 2019 life advice to Taylor Swift goes viral again, and Anne Hathaway beats Kelly Clarkson in a signing contest using her own song. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Manchester City are closing in on a £77.5 million (€90m) deal for RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol. Leipzig were said to be holding out for a fee of 100m euros (£86m) for the Croatia international. But City have broken through and are now closing in on the transfer, with Gvardiol expected to have a medical later this week. Gvardiol would add competition on the left side of City’s defence, having helped Croatia reach the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup and then the final of the Nations League, where they were beaten by Spain. Midfielder Mateo Kovacic is so far City’s only summer signing, with the Croatian having moved from Chelsea during June. City saw captain Ilkay Gundogan leave for Barcelona on a free transfer and Riyad Mahrez last week completed a switch to Saudi Arabia club Al-Ahli in a £30m deal. The Premier League champions will take on Arsenal in the FA Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday. Read More Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus to miss start of season after knee surgery All the talking points ahead of new Premier League season On this day in 2020: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leads Arsenal to FA Cup glory

There is a strange twist of fate about the fact it was a trip to New York that saw Mark Bonner recharge after another rollercoaster season with Cambridge. If events last September had gone differently, Bonner would have called Rotherham’s New York Stadium home but after he turned down their approach, the 37-year-old embarked on the latest dramatic chapter in his story with boyhood club Cambridge. Seven points from safety ahead of an April Fools’ Day trip to Port Vale, no one was laughing but the U’s won five of their last nine League One matches to pull off a great escape despite having one of the lowest budgets in the division. So, ahead of his fifth season in charge of Cambridge, would League One’s longest-serving head coach accept a drama-free upcoming campaign? Bonner told the PA news agency: “We don’t want it to be dull! We want drama because that is what it is all about. We want our support base to keep growing and people to keep engaging with the club. We’ve done a great job with that over the last three-and-a-half years. “We have created some unbelievable moments and we want to try create that again this season. We certainly want a smooth and successful season, but I don’t want it to be a dull one, that’s for sure.” Whether it is Bonner or the Cambridge way, they don’t do straightforward. Bonner first coached at the club in 2002 and 18 years later – after nine seasons in non-league – he took over the first-team on an interim basis with relegation out of the English Football League a possibility. Four straight wins allayed those fears and he was handed the job permanently in March 2020, but within a week the coronavirus outbreak had turned into a pandemic and he waited six months to take charge of his first official match. No one is human if they say they have no doubts because that is a natural thing when it is going against you, but we had good players and brilliant togetherness and spirit within the team Mark Bonner What followed was drama of the best kind with promotion secured on the final day after a 3-0 win over Grimsby with supporters gathered outside the Abbey Stadium to celebrate due to it being the behind-closed-doors era. More than 6,000 turned up to watch Cambridge host rivals Oxford in their first match back in the third tier since 2002 and the U’s finished in 14th along with producing an FA Cup giant-killing with a 1-0 win at Eddie Howe’s Newcastle. Last season produced more challenges and despite good performances, a run of one win in 15 league matches saw Bonner’s men destined for relegation. Cambridge bucked the trend to keep faith with their manager, who responded with 13 points from 24 before a final-day victory over Forest Green, coupled with Morecambe and MK Dons’ failure to win, secured survival in the most dramatic of circumstances. “If you could write how you stay up, if that is what you’re fighting for, you would do it like that,” Bonner reflected. “The game itself was fairly comfortable. Atmosphere first half was amazing, all four sides of the stadium full of Cambridge fans, unbelievable support. But second half no one is singing or watching our game, they are watching their phones seeing what is happening elsewhere. That includes the whole of our dugout. “It is completely out of your hands and a horrible situation to be in. Our game finished and there was a long time left in one of the other games, but once that finished and it went for us, it was a nice moment of relief. “It was the end of a cycle because a lot of our players moved on, but the majority of them played their part in an incredible era in our club’s history and I think their story deserved to end like that.” Bonner’s own journey with Cambridge shows no sign of stopping soon. The former U’s season-ticket holder admitted doubts crept in last season, but he retained belief in the squad and repaid the backing of owner Paul Barry and sporting director Ben Strang. And the trio alongside other key local figures involved at Cambridge are keen to build a lasting legacy, with the Abbey Stadium bought back while work has started on a new training base alongside desires to become a top-half team. “No one is human if they say they have no doubts because that’s a natural thing when it is going against you, but we had good players and brilliant togetherness and spirit within the team,” Bonner insisted. “So, that (belief) was shook but never broken. The wheels would have fallen off quite a few other clubs in the sense of not being able to recover from those results or just huge change, managerial changes, staff changes, you see all that every season at clubs. “But the stability we’ve built and togetherness we’ve built just shone through in that period. “I would like to hope we get some respect for setting a bit of a different precedent and if more clubs were like that, maybe the ability to build something over time would become more common. “There is a perception in football that one person is responsible for everything, one person builds a team, but we’re a bit different. “Three seasons at this level for the first time in decades, most successful team we’ve had for decades, that is not a fluke firstly but it is also not down to one person, it is down to a whole host of people. We have a lot of Cambridge people driving the club and hopefully that pays off for us. “It has certainly been really unique and a big contributor to us in the last three years, but we want it to be that way for another three years. We know how tough that is but that’s the motivation we have all got.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Boss John Eustace accepts success will take time at Birmingham 2026 Rugby League World Cup to be hosted in southern hemisphere Marcus Stewart thinks former clubs Sunderland and Ipswich can push for promotion

A parliamentary vote to select Thailand’s new prime minister expected on Friday was delayed again after a court put off a decision in a case involving the progressive party that won May's election, adding to growing uncertainty about when a new government can take office. The Constitutional Court on Thursday said it needs more time to deliberate on whether to accept a petition from the state ombudsman on whether it was constitutional for Parliament to bar Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat, the surprise election winner, from being nominated as a prime ministerial candidate a second time. The progressive Move Forward Party finished in first place in the May election and assembled an eight-party coalition with 312 seats in the 500-member lower house. But Parliament has struggled to confirm a new prime minister, which requires a majority vote together with the conservative 250-member appointed Senate. Pita’s initial bid last month fell short by more than 50 votes, largely because only 13 senators backed him. He was barred from a second try the following week when Parliament voted that he could not submit his name again. Many senators, who were appointed by a previous military government, said they would not vote for Pita because of his party’s call to reform a law that makes it illegal to defame Thailand’s royal family. Critics say the law, which carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison, has been abused as a political weapon. The Senate’s members see themselves as guardians of conservative royalist values which hold the monarchy to be sacrosanct. Move Forward, whose agenda appealed greatly to younger voters, also seeks to reduce the influence of the military, which has staged more than a dozen coups since Thailand became a constitutional monarchy in 1932, and big business monopolies. After Pita was barred from a second bid, several complaints were submitted to the state ombudsman asserting that the action violated the constitution. The complainants include private citizens and lawmakers from Pita’s party. When the case was filed to the court last week, Parliament postponed the vote but rescheduled it days later, although the court had yet to make a decision. The court said in a statement Thursday that it will meet again on Aug. 16 to decide whether to accept the petition. If accepted, the court could order the vote to be postponed until it issues a ruling. House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha said the vote for a prime minister would be delayed pending the court's decision. He said Parliament will still convene on Friday to debate a Move Forward petition seeking an amendment of the military-enacted constitution to eliminate the Senate’s de facto ability to veto a prime minister candidate. Regardless of the court ruling, Pita's chances of being nominated again appear nil. Move Forward faces several legal challenges which its supporters see as dirty tricks deployed by its political opponents to cling to power. One of the cases, which accuses Pita of violating the constitution by running for office while allegedly holding shares in a media company, resulted in him being suspended from Parliament last month while Parliament was debating his second nomination. In the latest major blow, Pheu Thai, the second biggest party in the eight-party coalition, which took over the lead role in forming a government after Move Forward's two attempts, said Wednesday that Move Forward has been excluded because its platform to reform the royal defamation law made it impossible to rally enough support from other parties and the Senate. Chonlanan Srikaew, Pheu Thai's leader, said the party does not support Move Forward’s call to amend the law and will form a coalition with new partners and nominate its candidate, real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin, as prime minister. Pheu Thai is the latest in a string of parties affiliated with ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a billionaire populist who was ousted in a 2006 military coup. His daughter has announced that he plans to return on Aug. 10 following years of self-imposed exile to escape a prison term in several criminal cases which he has decried as politically motivated. The party’s plan to unveil its new coalition partners on Thursday was also postponed following the court’s announcement. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Pope Francis urges students in Portugal to fight economic injustice and protect the environment Adidas brings in $437 million from selling Yeezy shoes that will benefit anti-hate groups Israel's Supreme Court hears case against a law protecting Netanyahu from being removed from office

Pope Francis is challenging university students to make the world a more just and inclusive place

Adidas has brought in $437 million from the first release of Yeezy sneakers left over after breaking ties with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West

NFL great Tom Brady has become a minority owner of English second-tier soccer team Birmingham and wants to bring a winning mentality to an underperforming club

Donald Trump is scheduled to appear in court today to be formally arraigned on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election, in what marks his third – and potentially most serious – criminal case. The former president was indicted on four charges by a grand jury hearing evidence in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation in efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the January 6 Capitol riot. The indictment also described six unnamed co-conspirators, now believed to be identified. Mr Trump has been ordered to make an initial appearance in federal court in Washington DC on Thursday, while the case has been assigned to US district judge Tanya Chutkan, a Barack Obama-appointee. Mr Trump has railed against the indictment and is calling for the “fake” case to be moved from Washington DC. In a late-night Truth Social rant on Wednesday, the former president fumed that it is “IMPOSSIBLE to get a fair trial” in the capital and demanded it be relocated to “the politically unbiased nearby State of West Virginia”. This is Mr Trump’s third criminal indictment and his second federal indictment. Read Trump’s indictment from the January 6 grand jury in full Read More When is Donald Trump’s arraignment? Should Trump go to jail? The 2024 election could become a referendum on that question Trump supporters falsely claim special counsel seeking death penalty in indictment over 2020 election Former prosecutor explains why Donald Trump was the main focus of the January 6 indictment

Undisputed featherweight champion Amanda Serrano will return to mixed martial arts, she announced on Wednesday (2 July). Serrano defends her titles in a rematch with Heather Hardy on Saturday, on the undercard of Jake Paul’s boxing match with UFC icon Nate Diaz, and the Puerto Rican will then look ahead to an MMA bout. Serrano, 34, is 2-0-1 in MMA and last fought in 2021, and her next contest in the sport will take place in the Professional Fighters League (PFL). A date for that fight will be confirmed in due course, the promotion said. Serrano is promoted by YouTube star Paul, who has gone 6-1 as a professional boxer and also signed an MMA deal with the PFL this year. “I may be known for boxing, but I’ve always loved and trained in MMA and jiu-jitsu, knowing those skills would only add to my ability when going against any opponent,” Serrano said. “The League’s commitment to gender equality, providing equal opportunities and recognition of female fighters, is also a driving force behind my decision.” Serrano’s MMA debut in 2018 ended as a draw, with her second outing – the same year – going her way as she won by submission. Serrano also won her last fight, in June 2021, via submission. In her previous boxing match with Hardy, whom Serrano faces on Saturday, the Puerto Rican won via unanimous decision. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Jake Paul vs Nate Diaz live stream: How to watch fight online and on TV this weekend The hidden side of Jake Paul Conor Benn may face extra hurdle to fight, Eddie Hearn and British Boxing Board reveal

In an interview with BBC Hardtalk, the former PM says only a free and fair vote can save Pakistan.