Fans were excited when the UFC announced that former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos and former title challenger Francis Ngannou would finally lock horns at UFC 239. The anticipation peaked when the bout featuring two of the premier sluggers was shifted to the headlining position of Saturday’s UFC Minneapolis from the Target Center. Out of their combined 34 career victories (21 for dos Santos, 13 for Ngannou), 24 of them come by way of knockout with dos Santos stopping 15 of his opponents to Ngannou’s nine. Many expect that the fight won’t be decided by the ringside judges due to their propensity to end fights inside of the distance. But…

England take on Norway in the Women’s World Cup quarter-finals tonight and the huge match will be live on talkSPORT. Phil Neville’s Lionesses battled through a fiery Round of 16 tie against Cameroon on Sunday to reach the last eight. England beat the African nation 3-0 but the game was marred by VAR controversies, allegations of spitting and a host of other ugly scenes. Norway, meanwhile, reached the quarters by beating Australia on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Nice. Click Here: Sports Water Bottles England beat the Norwegians 2-1 in the Round of 16 in the last Women’s World Cup in 2015 with Steph Houghton and Lucy Bronze netting.…

talkSPORT.com rounds up all the latest transfer news and football gossip from Thursday’s papers and online…   Despite contrary reports, Man United remain the only club to have submitted an offer for Ajax wonderkid Matthijs de Ligt. – (FULL STORY) Arsenal have been told to up their £15million offer for Kieran Tierney by Celtic boss Neil Lennon.- (FULL STORY) Motherwell midfielder David Turnbull’s move to Celtic has fallen through after the clubs failed to re-negotiate fresh terms. – FULL STORY Liverpool have made Sepp van den Berg, the teenage centre-back, their first signing of the summer. – FULL STORY Chelsea will sign Mateo Kovacic on a permanent basis before the…

Celtic boss Neil Lennon has demanded Arsenal up their £15million bid for defender Kieran Tierney. The Gunners had their opening offer knocked back by Parkhead chiefs last week, with the Scottish champions demanding £25m. Unai Emery is desperate to add full-back to his squad but is eager for a cheaper deal due to Arsenal’s measly £40m transfer budget. Bhoys boss Lennon has stressed Celtic aren’t looking to sell the 22-year-old, but admitted they will support him whatever the outcome. He said: “Arsenal are aware of what we value the player at. He’s on a long-term contract, he’s an asset and we don’t want to sell him. “It’s going to have to…

England Women have the chance to make their third straight semi-final at a major tournament when they take on Norway at the Women’s World Cup on Thursday night – a match you can listen to LIVE on talkSPORT. The Lionesses reached the semis of Euro 2017 and at the 2015 World Cup and they’re just one win away from grabbing a place in the last four in France. Their latest triumph saw them get a 3-0 victory in a controversial last-16 match against Cameroon. However, England’s form has been patchy and Norway will represent their first big test of the current finals, according to former Lioness Claire Rafferty. To make preparations…

Barcelona sold Ronaldinho and Deco to protect Lionel Messi because the pair regularly turned up to training drunk, Alexander Hleb has claimed. The duo were standout players in the Barca side by the time Messi broke through the to the first team in 2004. But the Brazil and Portugal internationals were sold shortly after Pep Guardiola took charge of the club and oversaw extraordinary success in Catalonia. Ex-Arsenal midfielder Hleb, 38, joined the Blaugrana from the Gunners the same year Guardiola was appointed as Frank Rijkaard’s successor and has cast some light on Ronaldinho and Deco’s antics. “Ronaldinho and Deco came to training drunk,” he told V OKA TV . “That’s why Ronaldinho and…

The season is over, and the NBA Draft is complete. That means the NBA’s 2019 free agency period is in full swing. With a talented group of free agents hitting the market, the landscape of the league could change quickly over the course of just a few days. The decision of Kawhi Leonard alone will have a huge impact on the championship chase over multiple seasons, and there will be plenty of other impact players available beyond the 2019 Finals MVP. Ahead of the summer spending spree, here’s a list of the top 30 free agents teams will be targeting. Get your checkbooks ready … MORE: NBA Draft grades for…

There appears to be at least three teams interested in signing Enes Kanter. The Trail Blazers, Lakers and Celtics are all expected to pursue the 27-year-old center when free agency begins June 30, according to a report from Yahoo Sports, which cites unidentified league sources. Kanter began the season with the Knicks but was released after the trade deadline. He then signed with the Trail Blazers, where he averaged 13.1 points and 8.6 rebounds in 23 games. Kanter was also a reliable scorer in the playoffs for the Trail Blazers, who advanced to the Western Conference finals before falling to the Warriors in four games. Click Here: online rugby store…

Derby County owner Mel Morris believes Leeds United chairman Andrea Radrizzani is ‘still smarting’ in the wake of this year’s ‘spygate’ scandal. The Rams chief has told talkSPORT Radrizzani remains angry with him for apparently snitching on Leeds to the EFL over the actions of manager Marcelo Bielsa and his coaching team. United were fined £200,000 by the league after manager Bielsa admitting sending members of staff to spy on opponents’ training sessions. The scandal, which led to Bielsa revealing the remarkable depth of his tactical analysis of every team in the division, unravelled after a member of Leeds’ staff was spotted ‘in the bushes’ outside Derby’s training ground. The incident,…

England have seen their World Cup quarter-final preparations scuppered by a nasty virus, as manager Phil Neville reveals Lucy Bronze has also struggled with illness alongside Millie Bright. Bronze was forced to pull out of media duties yesterday as she fought off the bug, however she is expected to recover in time for the Norway clash on Thursday. The right-back trained alongside Steph Houghton on Wednesday, with the captain still trying to shake off the horror challenge suffered in the dying moments of England’s fiery 3-0 victory over Cameroon. Bright, the centre-back, was the only player missing from training and she remains a serious doubt for the last-eight tie at…