Jamaican Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight secured his third win in a row and seventh win in his last eight fights with a unanimous decision victory over Brazilian veteran Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos at UFC 302 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday.
The 33-year-old Brown won two out of three rounds on all three of the judges scorecards to move his overall MMA record to 19-5.
Despite the win, Brown, in the post-fight interview, maintained that he still has work to do to get to where he needs to be to be a top contender.
“Still not happy. We got work to do. Skills pay the bills,” Brown said.
Brown then gave love to his Jamaican fans.
“You know I have to big up Jamaica. I have to big up all my people. We’re here on the biggest stage doing a lot. Big up Spanish Town, Old Harbour, the whole of St. Catherine,” Brown said.
The night could’ve gone much differently for Brown as he fought the final two rounds of the fight with a broken foot.
“I broke the foot close to the big toe knuckle at the instep,” he told SportsMax.tv on Tuesday.
“It happened one minute into the first round,” he added.
When asked about who he wants to fight next, Brown called out number 10 ranked Welterweight, Geoff Neal.
“Come on Geoff Neal, it’s my time. I didn’t get the finish tonight but I’ve got to get to the top 15. I’m on a mission right now. It’s my time and I’ll do whatever it takes,” he said.
“Geoff Neal, you are that guy right now and I need you. Come on let’s do this. You don’t have a fight so let’s go,” he added.
Neal is 2-3 in his last five fights and has an overall record of 15-6 in MMA.
Bradley Jacks is a budding journalist and an avid sports fan. His love of research and sports has led him to SportsMax.tv, a place where those passions work hand in hand to allow him to produce content.
Teams and fixtures confirmed for Super 8 stage at ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024
The groups and fixtures for the Super 8 stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 has been confirmed with both co-hosts West Indies and USA making it through to the second stage that will see the eight teams battle for a place in the semi-finals at the biggest cricket carnival spectacle ever.
Super 8 qualifiers are:
The eight teams will be divided into two groups:
Four of the Super 8 qualifiers have won the World Cup previously, India, England, West Indies and Australia. Super 8 matches will be played across four West Indies venues: Antigua and Barbuda (four matches), Barbados (three matches), Saint Lucia (three matches) and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (two matches).
Each team will play every other team in its group once, with the top two sides in each group qualifying for the semi-finals, to be played in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana on 26 and 27 June, respectively.
The Super Eight stage commences in Antigua on Wednesday 19 June with a clash between USA and South Africa at 10h30. That same evening West Indies take on old rivals, England in Saint Lucia. The two sides have a prolific cricketing history, with the co-hosts ensuring a dominant display at home against England in recent years.
Full Fixtures (Local time)
19 June
USA v South Africa, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua (10h30)
England v West Indies, Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St Lucia (20h30)
20 June
Afghanistan v India, Kensington Oval, Barbados (10h30)
Australia v Bangladesh, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua (20h30)
21 June
England v South Africa, Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St Lucia (10h30)
USA v West Indies, Kensington Oval, Barbados (20h30)
22 June
India v Bangladesh, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua (10h30)
Afghanistan v Australia, Arnos Vale, St Vincent (20h30)
23 June
USA v England, Kensington Oval, Barbados (10h30)
West Indies v South Africa, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua (20h30)
24 June
Australia v India, Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St Lucia (10h30)
Afghanistan v Bangladesh, Arnos Vale, St Vincent (20h30)
Do Jamaica's Reggae Boyz have a shot at Copa America glory?
Jamaica warmed up for the 48th edition of the Copa America with back-to-back tame displays in their World Cup qualifiers. A slender 1-0 home win over Dominican Republic was followed up with an insipid 3-2 triumph in Dominica.
It is back to the drawing board for Jamaica head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson, who will be chasing regional bragging rights when the leading 16 nations from the Caribbean as well as North and South America tackle the marquee tournament.
Although his ultimate goal would be for the Reggae Boyz to lift the crown in Florida on 14 July, Jamaica need to navigate themselves out of the group phases before trying to net the top prize.
The 2024 Copa America, hosted in the US from 20 June to 14 July, will feature 10 CONMEBOL members from South America and six invited countries from the North America and Caribbean CONCACAF region.
All eyes will be on Argentina, the defending champions and FIFA World Cup winners, to make it a hat-trick of trophies.
GROUP A | Argentina, Chile, Peru, Chile
Argentina hardly ever concede goals, kick-off their campaign with a star-stunned squad that includes Angel Di Maria, the legendary Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Montiel, whose spot-kick secured the World Cup final win over France.
Argentina beat both Chile (2-1) and Peru (2-0) in 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Yet Peru, who failed to get a shot on target in their November tie with Messi and his mates, had held Argentina to three draws on the spin before their last encounter.
Chile, the Copa America 2016 champions Chile, have been off colour recently under veteran manager Jorge Fossati, and rely on veterans — like Alexis Sanchez and Eduardo Vargas — to add sparks.
Canada should be better than their results suggest under recently appointed head coach Jesse Marsh, who won two caps for the US. He has a plethora of talents — like Alphonso Davies, Tajon Buchanan and Jonathan David — keen to start matches on Canada’s Copa America
Prediction: 1st Argentina, 2nd Canada, 3rd Chile, 4th Peru
GROUP B | Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, Jamaica
Mexico went two-and-a-half matches without scoring at the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar. They brought in Jaime “Jimmy” Lozano as interim head coach for the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup, and after winning the top prize he was appointed on a permanent basis. Yet he is surprisingly shelving veterans for the Copa America, instead giving emerging talents an opportunity to showcase their silky skills.
This appears to be a hit and miss group with Ecuador, Jamaica and Venezuela all capable of beating understrength Mexico. However, the Mexicans will benefit from vociferous support in the stadiums.
Ecuador and Venezuela ended in a bore scoreless draw last October. Defensively-minded Ecuador have stars Moises Caicedo, Piero Hincapie and Willian Pacho. Venezuela have hit a purple patch by purring through their World Cup qualifiers.
Jamaica still have failed to produce eye-catching displays under former Iceland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson, despite their array of English Premier League stars. The Boyz just grind out results, although tend to make good progress in tournaments mainly thanks to reliable shotstopper Andre Blake.
Prediction: 1st Mexico, 2nd Jamaica, 3rd Venezuela, 4th Ecuador
GROUP C | Uruguay, USA, Bolivia, Panama
Uruguay are a real force to be reckoned with, with stunning victories over Argentina and Brazil last year under head coach Marcelo Bielsa. Uruguay are a terrific blend of future stars and seasoned aces with names like Darwin Nunez, Luis Suarez, Manuel Ugarte and Fede Valverde enough to scare opponents.
The US will be under pressure with high expectations from their fans on home soil. Despite being FIFA’s highest-ranked CONCACAF side, there are flaws with defensive uncertainty and an inability to find the back of the net despite having an array of striking power from the likes of Folarin Balogun, Weston McKennie, Ricardo Pepi, Christian Pulisic and Haji Wright.
Panama, narrowly beaten by Mexico in the Gold Cup final, will kick themselves if they fail to reach the quarter-finals. They are brimming with confidence having hit a rich vein of form.
Bolivia are the weakest South American side, with a dreadful World Cup qualifying campaign. They are unlikely to end their 11-match run of failing to win a Copa America group stage match.
Prediction: 1st Uruguay, 2nd Panama, 3rd USA, 4th Bolivia
GROUP D | Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Costa Rica
Colombia have become a fantastic side since hiring head coach Nestor Lorenzo last year. They arrive at the Copa Amercia as the only South American nation unbeaten in World Cup qualifiers, including a 2-1 win over Brazil last year. Striker Luis Diaz can be lethal, and will be keen to better his tally of four goals at 2021 Copa America.
Five-time World Cup winners Brazil, having tasted three World Cup qualification defeats on the bounce for their worst run since 2001 are arguably no longer the force they once were. After their 1-0 reversal to Argentina last November, their first-ever home World Cup qualifying loss, Dorival Junior was brought in as head coach. Under Junior’s tutelage they beat England and drew with Spain. Hot-shots Vinicius Junior and 17-year-old wonderkid Endrick are aiming to transform Brazil’s fortunes.
Paraguay will be aiming to shoot down Brazil, but need a solid goalscorer. They are pretty solid defensively, and could be sensational if midfield maestro Miguel Almiron and striker Julio Enciso can replicate their silky skills seen in the English Premier League. Costa Rica face an uphill task to navigate their way to the knockout stages, and there will be big boots to fill between the sticks with iconic keeper Keylor Navas recently announcing his international retirement.
Prediction: 1st Colombia, 2nd Brazil, 3rd Paraguay, 4th Costa Rica
“I am so happy”: Smith beaming after completing jumps double at NCAA Championships; excited for Jamaica’s future in jumps
Texas junior Ackelia Smith made history at the recently concluded NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships when she became the first Longhorn to ever sweep the horizontal jumps.
Smith first defended her title in the long-jump event on Thursday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon with a mark of 6.79 meters, becoming the first Texas woman to win back-to-back titles in 18 years.
Two days later, the 22-year-old won the triple-jump title with a season’s best mark of 14.52m.
In an interview with CITIUS MAG after her win in the triple jump, Smith, who is now a three-time NCAA Champion, expressed her joy at winning the double.
“I am so happy that I could come out there and get both of them done for my team and for myself. I was a little mopey about the long jump but I got back to the triple definitely took it out there,” she said.
“When I got to the triple jump I just told myself ‘hey, we’re here to compete.’ I was trying to get a personal best and, even though I did not get that, I was pretty consistent with my jumps,” she added.
In the long jump competition, half of Smith’s six attempts were fouls and her three legal jumps were the winning 6.79m, 5.21m and 6.77m.
She had a much better and more consistent showing in the triple jump, producing four legal jumps that all cleared 14m.
Smith says the key in the triple jump was to embrace the nervousness a bit more.
“I re-evaluated what I did for the long jump and realized that I might’ve been a bit too comfortable so I went out there trying to be more anxious and keep that edge. That’s what pushed me through out there,” she said.
Smith is a part of a golden generation of young Jamaican jumpers and sees a bright future for the island nation in the discipline.
“Growing up I used to hear about Kimberly Williams then after Kimberly came Shanieka (Ricketts). I’ve been looking up to these ladies and it’s been great to see the Jamaican jumps growing, especially the triple because not many people do the triple,” she said.
“It’s good to see actual growth and I’ve seen a lot more Jamaicans competing here at the championships. I think it’s wonderful for the future. Even on the guys side, it definitely looks good for Jamaica in the jumps,” Smith added.
Her next goal is to make it onto Jamaica’s team to the Paris Olympics and, hopefully, find herself on the podium at those Games.
The Jamaican trials are set for June 27-30 at the National Stadium in Kingston.
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