Dein erstes Forum » and triviaOf the 21 Tests they have played in C

In a year that already has proved to be massive for the UFC, with one major card after another, UFC 205 on Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York looks to be the biggest and most important of them all. In honor of such a marquee event, ESPN.com is providing dedicated previews to all 13 bouts on the card, breaking down whats at stake and projecting who will win, along with quotes and statistics for each fighter.Lightweight championship: Eddie Alvarez (28-4) vs. Conor McGregor (20-3)Odds as of Nov. 11: Alvarez +120; McGregor -140Dana Whites thoughtsWhat Conor McGregor is trying to accomplish, winning two titles within a year of each other, and having fought at 170 pounds in between? Its crazy.Thats what I love about Conor. Most fighters, when they get out of the Octagon, they dont even want to f---ing talk about fighting again. They want time off. They want this and that. That kid limped out of the Octagon after his last fight against Nate Diaz [in August] and said, I want to be on that New York card. Ive never seen anything like it. The closest thing weve ever had to that was [former light heavyweight champion] Chuck Liddell.When Conor said that, I said, Dude, you just came off an absolute five-round war. Im worried about the leg you are limping on. He said, I know my body better than you know my body. Dont worry about my leg. Let my leg be the last thing youre worried about. I mean, what are you gonna do? Thats f---ing awesome.The Diaz fight never made sense, especially the second one. You can only have so many of those wars in your career -- at your own weight class, let alone at 170 -- but thats what makes Conor special.A lot of people have talked about Conor and his wrestling abilities, his ground game. Eddie Alvarez is a very good wrestler, and he has got serious punching power. If Conor beats Eddie, I think the whole, Conor cant fight wrestlers thing needs to end.I think Alvarez is going to approach this fight the same way he approached his fight against Anthony Pettis. Conor is going to have to deal with that pressure from a very well-rounded fighter.Whats at stake?The UFC is under new ownership, but the sport belongs to McGregor.If there were a record for breaking records, McGregor would hold it.His 13-second knockout of Jose Aldo last December is the fastest finish in UFC title fight history. A $3 million disclosed purse at UFC 202 in August is the richest of all time. According to White, UFC 205 will break Madison Square Gardens record gate of $13.5 million, set in 1999 by a heavyweight boxing unification match between Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield. That would mean it would also break the UFCs all-time gate record at UFC 129 in 2011.And, of course, should McGregor win on Nov. 12, he would become the first fighter in UFC history to hold two titles simultaneously.Potential two-weight champion, McGregor said. Superfight. Champion versus champion. First time a champion has gone up. These are historic moments.McGregors version of history conveniently omits BJ Penn, who attempted to hold two belts simultaneously in 2009. Penn was the lightweight champion when he moved up in weight to challenge Georges St-Pierre at UFC 94, but Penn lost via TKO.Still, McGregors point is well taken. Although it might not be the first time two UFC champions have squared off, the circumstances are truly historic. For one, this will mark McGregors third consecutive appearance without defending his 145-pound championship -- which has rubbed many fighters the wrong way and, at times, appeared to have put him at odds with the UFC itself.White has already stated, very clearly, that if McGregor wins, he will immediately have to vacate one of his titles. Whether McGregor truly intends to challenge the promotion on that remains to be seen, but publicly, he has suggested he will.Vacate? I dont know, well see about that, McGregor said. I mean, why not defend them both? I fight every week. I only fought last week. I can defend them both.The Irish superstar is teasing a big announcement immediately after Saturdays title fight. His relationship with the UFC and his attempts to re-write history are interesting -- next year may somehow prove to be even more intriguing.After McGregor, Alvarez plans to make UFC great again.After winning the UFC lightweight championship in July, Alvarez wanted an easy fight. Hes not even shy about saying so.A title run that consisted of Gilbert Melendez, Anthony Pettis and Rafael dos Anjos? Youre absolutely right Alvarez wanted an easy fight. And he says he sees one in McGregor.I came into the UFC [after vacating the Bellator MMA title], and they put me against every single killer in the division, Alvarez said. I didnt know why. I thought it was because I was a foreign champion, from a foreign promotion. But I thought they put me against the murderers row and I survived. I won the world title.I wasnt kidding to the media when I said I thought this style [of] matchup was a good style matchup for me. I thought it would be a lot easier fight than what theyve been feeding me. On top of that, financially it was the best decision. So, I was killing two birds with one stone. I was getting an easier fight, as well as getting more money. So, it was a no-brainer on my end.The Philadelphia native says once he has enjoyed this break of fighting McGregor, his focus will turn back to the real contenders of the division -- something he hinted might be lacking in the current UFC landscape.I will go down as the best lightweight in history, Alvarez said. It will start with him, but then Ill make UFC great again. Ill continue to fight the No. 1 guys who belong here.I sincerely felt I deserved a break, and this will be my break. And then well get back to some real s---. Fighting the No. 1 contenders who fight the best guys and earn their way to a title, not guys with funny accents who can sell tickets.Key statsAlvarez: 28-4 record (3-1 UFC); none of the previous seven lightweight champions lost in their first title defenseAlvarez: 15 of 28 wins by knockoutMcGregor: 20-3 record (8-1 UFC); seeking to become third man to win UFC titles in two divisions (Randy Couture, Penn)McGregor: 17 of 20 wins by knockout (six in UFC, tied for most since 2013)BreakdownMcGregor early. Alvarez late.That grossly oversimplifies things -- and its more of a guideline than a rule -- but theres truth in it. McGregor is one of the most dangerous first-round fighters since ... perhaps ever. Alvarez is perseverant, and his wrestling could take over late.Alvarez will have to persevere through a dangerous opening 10 minutes, though. Theres really nowhere to hide from McGregor on the feet, and Alvarez wont have the reach advantage Nate Diaz enjoyed. That means Alvarezs game plan will likely consist of going forward -- duplicating McGregors pressure and forcing him to be the one who steps back. Alvarez is a smart, determined grappler along the fence, and he has shut down dangerous strikers before.So many have doubted McGregors ability to handle a well-conditioned grappler. The inevitable matchup has been given its own name: The wrestler question. This should get answered one way or another at UFC 205.Prediction:?McGregor by first-round KO.You make the call:Andy Isabella Cardinals Jersey . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. Hakeem Butler Cardinals Jersey . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. 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Etoo gave Jose Mourinhos team a decisive lead from Oscars back pass in the 34th.Match factsAugust 27-31, 2016 Start time 1000 local (0800 GMT)Big PictureThis is South African crickets week to find out what the countrys other two big sports experience all the time. Rugby and football are used to one-off encounters with other countries.Although the cricket teams have spoken about the winner-takes-all fixture in slightly different tones, with New Zealand calling it exciting and South Africa admitting it definitely adds to the pressure of the occasion, they both agreed that more matches would be better. Faf du Plessis explained how a three or four match rubber would allow for a better ebb and flow, and Trent Boult said he wanted to test himself against the best for longer periods of time.They will both have to wait until March next year to meet again. This series will be decided on the next five days. At least, they could not have asked for a better place for the crunch clash.SuperSport Park has laid out a green carpet, with a re-laid outfield that will not pose the same problems as Durbans because it underwent the process much earlier. The pitch underwent almost three weeks of preparation and the groundsman predicts an even, if slower than usual, contest between bat and ball. The Highveld winter, meanwhile, has reached its balmiest stage, the one that would be called summer in many parts of the world.Du Plessis expected the contest to be between two high quality, bowling attacks, who he said left Durban happy, which puts both line-ups under pressure. South Africa did not apply themselves as well as they wanted to in the opener, New Zealand did not get the chance to apply themselves at all. Whoever does it better this time, will take the series.Victory for South Africa will see them climb a place on the Test rankings to No.6 while a win for New Zealand, who will remain at No.5 regardless of the result, will give them a first-ever series triumph over South Africa.Form guide(last five completed matches, most recent first)South Africa: DWLDLNew Zealand: DWWLLIn the spotlightSouth Africas new opener Stephen Cook scored a century on debut at SuperSport Park in January and will want another big performance to cement his place at the top of the order for the rest of the Test summer. Cook played out the first hour of the Durban Test with Dean Elgar before falling to a delivery he was forced to play at from Boult. Cook has a solid technique but will want to get more on the front foot to assert himself on New Zealands attack.Before moving to New Zealand Neil Wagner played his domestic cricket in Pretoria but, like everyone else, he would not have played it in winter. Conditions will be as alien to him as to both camps but his team-mates are still hoping to tap into his knowledge of the ground as they go in search of South African wickets. Wagners short ball could be one of their key weapons, even on a surface that may not have as much bounce and carry as usual.dddddddddddd He showed in Bulawayo that he could still use the strategy with success and will want to show it at his former home ground.Teams newsSouth Africa are considering some changes based on conditions, which du Plessis summed up as a soft and moist. They are toying with the idea of playing an extra seamer or an allrounder, which could bring Wayne Parnell into the team, ahead of either Dane Piedt or JP Duminy. Should Duminy miss out, it would leave South Africa a batsman short; there may not be enough room for Stiaan van Zyl - the only reserve batsman in the squad.South Africa (possible): 1 Dean Elgar, 2 Stephen Cook, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Faf du Plessis (capt), 5 Temba Bavuma, 6 JP Duminy/Wayne Parnell, 7 Quinton de Kock (wk), 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Dane PiedtNew Zealand, on the other hand, are likely to go in with the same team from the Durban Test.New Zealand(possible): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 BJ Watling (wk), 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Doug Bracewell, 9 Neil Wagner, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Trent BoultPitch and conditionsIf you are nervous about the chances of play after what happened in Durban, you can exhale. Although SuperSport Parks outfield, like Kingsmeads was relaid, the work in Centurion took place in April, more than two months before it did in Durban. In the days leading up to the match, the outfield appeared lush, with its new winter grass coating promising to help the ball to the boundary. All the focus on the outfield has taken eyes off the pitch, which is likely to be less lively than a traditional Centurion strip, although du Plessis said he spotted some moisture. Beautiful days are forecast for all five days, with temperatures in the high 20s and cloudless skies.Stats and triviaOf the 21 Tests they have played in Centurion, South Africa have only lost two - one against Australia in February 2014 and the other against England in January 2000. They have played New Zealand twice at the venue, in 2006 and 2007, and won both by big margins of 128 runs, and an innings and 59 runs respectively.Ross Taylor has not been dismissed on New Zealands African safari so far. He has batted in four innings and scored 366 runs in Zimbabwe and South Africa.QuotesThe great thing for us is that weve got a great record here; so we can rely on that and have the confidence of going into a match knowing that we play well on this ground. We trust that.Faf du Plessis is banking on home advantage in the Centurion TestIts not looked at very closely. Its about us playing our cricket, improving and learning.Kane Williamson on the prospect of winning a first-ever series in South Africa ' ' '