The UFC’s latest marquee event takes place this weekend, with UFC 273 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. Here we look at some of the must-watch bouts early Sunday in the UAE.
Alexander Volkanovski (c) v Chan Sung Jung (featherweight)
The featherweight champion was initially slated for a third clash with No 1 contender Max Holloway, but the former belt-holder’s withdrawal through injury has provided “The Korean Zombie” a golden opportunity.
Volkanovski, though, has not been beaten in his past 20 professional fights (he has a solitary loss in 24 bouts as a pro) and starred in his last octagon appearance by defeating Brian Ortega via unanimous decision at UFC 266 in September. Highlighted by his remarkable escape from submission, it marked the Australian’s second successful title defence after coming through his rematch with Holloway in Abu Dhabi in 2020.
Chan, meanwhile, has been a little iffy of late, losing three of his past seven in the UFC, although he remains one of the division’s most exciting talents. However, Volkanovski is firmly on the fast track to greatest-of-all-time status at featherweight. Rest assured, this one will entertain.
Aljamain Sterling (c) v Petr Yan (bantamweight)
Finally, a rematch way too long in the making will actually play out. Bad blood has more than bubbled in the 13 months since the controversy of the first match-up, when Sterling captured Yan’s bantamweight crown at UFC 259 after the Russian was disqualified for an illegal knee.
It represented the first time a UFC champion had been crowned via a DQ. Since, Sterling has been sidelined through injury, while in the meantime Yan became interim champion - he scored a superb unanimous decision win against Cory Sandhagen last October in Abu Dhabi. Yan’s defeat to Sterling remains his only loss in his past 12 pro bouts, with many expecting him to exact revenge against the American this weekend in relatively straightforward fashion.
Sterling, though, is an extremely skilled grappler who has understandably been affronted by the criticism that’s come his way following the manner of his coronation in March last year. Still, Yan feels still the man to beat at 135lbs.
Gilbert Burns v Khamzat Chimaev (welterweight)
Taking nothing away from the two championship bouts at UFC 273, this may well sit as the most eagerly anticipated contest of the entire event. And that's chiefly because Chimaev has quickly become one of the most popular athletes in mixed martial arts.
The Chechen-born Swede, unbeaten in 10 as a pro, has raced to four wins from four in the promotion since debuting at UFC 251 in Abu Dhabi in July 2020, with each victory coming in emphatic fashion. His most recent, against China’s Li Jingliang in October in the UAE capital, helped hoist the Chimaev hype train to levels perhaps not seen since Conor McGregor made the sport his own.
That said, Burns is without doubt his greatest challenge to date. The Brazilian is currently ranked the No 2 challenger at welterweight and rebounded well from last year’s title defeat to champion Kamaru Usman by dominating Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson at UFC 264 in July. Has Chimaev at last met his match?
Ian Garry v Darian Weeks (welterweight)
Speaking of McGregor and hugely touted prospects, McGarry looks set to take the next step on what he – rather publicly – considers his road to superstardom. The Irishman, who readily cites his lofty compatriot as a role model, delivered on his UFC bow at UFC 268 in November by knocking out Jordan Williams in the opening round. It lifted Garry’s pro record to a blemish-free eight wins from eight.
“The Future” certainly talks a good game, and thus far through a career highlighted by championship gold in UK promotion Cage Warriors, has more than backed up the bravado. Victory against Weeks in Jacksonville will hardly catapult him to the upper echelons of the welterweight division – the American lost on UFC debut in December - but one thing is for certain: Garry will be intent on stealing the headlines on a stacked pay-per-view bill. For many, his sophomore showing needs to be even more stylish than his big bow five months ago.
Januzaj's club record
Manchester United 50 appearances, 5 goals
Borussia Dortmund (loan) 6 appearances, 0 goals
Sunderland (loan) 25 appearances, 0 goals
The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
if you go
The flights
Flydubai offers three daily direct flights to Sarajevo and, from June, a daily flight from Thessaloniki from Dubai. A return flight costs from Dhs1,905 including taxes.
The trip
The Travel Scientists are the organisers of the Balkan Ride and several other rallies around the world. The 2018 running of this particular adventure will take place from August 3-11, once again starting in Sarajevo and ending a week later in Thessaloniki. If you’re driving your own vehicle, then entry start from €880 (Dhs 3,900) per person including all accommodation along the route. Contact the Travel Scientists if you wish to hire one of their vehicles.
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
Last 10 NBA champions
2017: Golden State bt Cleveland 4-1
2016: Cleveland bt Golden State 4-3
2015: Golden State bt Cleveland 4-2
2014: San Antonio bt Miami 4-1
2013: Miami bt San Antonio 4-3
2012: Miami bt Oklahoma City 4-1
2011: Dallas bt Miami 4-2
2010: Los Angeles Lakers bt Boston 4-3
2009: Los Angeles Lakers bt Orlando 4-1
2008: Boston bt Los Angeles Lakers 4-2
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
MATCH INFO
Sheffield United 3
Fleck 19, Mousset 52, McBurnie 90
Manchester United 3
Williams 72, Greenwood 77, Rashford 79
Major matches on Manic Monday
Andy Murray (GBR) v Benoit Paire (FRA)
Grigor Dimitrov (BGR) v Roger Federer (SUI)
Rafael Nadal (ESP) v Gilles Muller (LUX)
Adrian Mannarino (FRA) Novak Djokovic (SRB)
23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees
Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.
