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Martial Arts: Ronda Rousey’s effort to reclaim her UFC bantamweight title ended in spectacular failure as champion Amanda Nunes (picture) stopped her after just 48 seconds of the first round of their title fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Friday night. Brazil’s Nunes lit up the former champion from the off, rocking Rousey with a flurry of big punches, her superior boxing never allowing the Californian to close the gap and use her judo skills to take the fight to the floor. Stunned early on, Rousey had no answer to the power of the 28-year-old and referee Herb Dean quickly stepped in to stop the fight as Rousey was stung again and could no longer defend herself.
Cricket: New Zealand opener Martin Guptill will miss the Twenty20 series against Bangladesh with a hamstring injury and will be replaced by in-form batsman Neil Broom, the country’s cricket board said yesterday. Guptill will be sidelined for up to four weeks after he sustained the injury while running between the wickets in the third one-day international against Bangladesh at Saxton Oval in Nelson yesterday.
Basketball, NBA: James Harden recorded his seventh triple-double of the season while Montrezl Harrell scored a career-high 29 points off the bench to fuel the Houston Rockets’ 140-116 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday. Harden finished with 30 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists while Harrell helped finish off the Clippers with 13 fourth-quarter points. Houston led by 25 points midway through the second quarter but needed Harden and Harrell to carry it to victory.
American Football, NFL: Indianapolis Colts linebacker Robert Mathis announced he will retire after today’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, ending 14 years with the organisation. Five-time Pro Bowler Mathis, 35, spent his entire career with the Colts after being selected in the fifth round out of Alabama A&M in 2003. He has 122 career sacks – tied for 18th all-time in the National Football League. “I want to walk away, not limp away,” Mathis said. “Put a cap on a blessed career. Something I would have never imagined that would come to pass.”