bolstered by a raucous hometown crowd -- kept Houstons l

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Brazilian heavyweight Fabricio Werdum earned a UFC heavyweight title shot after dominating Travis Browne en route to a one-sided decision win in the headliner of Saturdays UFC on Fox event. Browne came out aggressively to open the fight, launching massive right hands that caught nothing but air. Showing little respect for his opponent, Browne threw blow after blow, but could never land clean. Meanwhile, Werdum (18-5-1) showed that hes more than just a submission wizard, flashing crisp striking of his own and busting up Brownes nose late in the fight. The early aggression cost Browne (15-2-1) as the fight wore on, and he visibly tired over the final three rounds. Meanwhile, Werdum racked up points until the final bell while staying cautious of walking into any of Brownes desperation counter punches. In the end, Werdum was awarded the fight with scores of 49-46, 50-45 and 50-45. Hell next challenge UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez in a bout thats expected to take place in November in Mexico. "This was the best fight of my career," Werdum said after the win. "I trained so hard for this one. I worked hard on every part of my game -- boxing, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, everything. I knew how good Travis was, and I wanted to show everyone that Im ready for the title shot. "Im looking forward to fighting Cain Velasquez. That championship means everything in this sport, and Im excited to have the opportunity to show that I can win the title." In the nights co-feature, womens bantamweight contender Miesha Tate (14-5) overcame a slow start to battle back for a unanimous-decision win over Liz Carmouche (9-5). It was Carmouche who set the tone early, quickly moving forward and looking to strike before taking the fight to the floor. But once there, she struggled to mount any real offence. Tate capitalized in the later rounds by flashing her own grappling skills, repeatedly working herself into a dominant position and looking for potential submission opportunities. Tate nearly finished the fight in the third round with a deep rear-naked choke attempt, but Carmouche showed a ton of heart in fighting through the hold. Still, Tate controlled the majority of the final two rounds and was rewarded with the judges nod, 29-28 on all three cards. "It was very tough fight," said Tate. "We both have such a strong fighting spirit, and I knew neither one of us would quit. It took me a little bit to get going and then finally, in the third round, I really got my energy up and was able to do what I do best." In a lightweight matchup that was expected to thrill, Donald Cerrone (23-6) and Edson Barboza (13-2) delivered on their promise to stand and bang. However, it was Cerrone who walked away a winner by submission. The two went toe-to-toe from the opening bell, firing off powerful punches and kicks in the pocket. It was Barboza who looked to have the speed advantage early, and he was comfortable in the exchanges. But just as he started to settle into a rhythm, Cerrone floored him with a stiff jab. When Barboza dropped to the floor, Cerrone immediately rushed to his opponents back and locked in a rear-naked choke. Unable to escape the hold, Barboza was forced to tap out at the 3:15 mark of the opening round. "I definitely wish I couldve gotten that win without taking so much damage from him at first," said Cerrone. "The shots he hit me with finally woke me up and I kind of snapped out of it. But I was finally able to hit him with some good shots, and that last one sent him down." In the nights first main-card matchup, Cuban-born wrestler Yoel Romero turned in the most complete performance of his career, earning a decision win over Brad Tavares. Romero, a former Olympic wrestling silver medallist, showed plenty of grappling prowess, but he also demonstrated powerful striking throughout the 15-minute affair. Tavares, who carried a five-fight winning streak into the matchup, proved a formidable foe, answering back on the feet and constantly working himself free from his opponents grasp even after suffering a sizable cut in the second frame. But the volume of Romeros offence was simply too great, and he was awarded the win with three scores of 30-27. "God helped me with this win tonight," said Romero. "Everything I do is possible because of him." Joey Wendle Rays Jersey . Bibeau, Torontos sixth-round pick at No. 172 overall in last years draft, was named the outstanding goaltender of the 2014 MasterCard Memorial Cup. Wholesale Rays Jerseys . -- Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu will be the Dodgers starting pitchers in their two-game season-opening series in Australia against the Arizona Diamondbacks. https://www.cheapraysonline.com/1666i-tommy-pham-jersey-rays.html . New York (16-9-8) took over first place in the Eastern Conference and has the best record in the league with one game remaining. Houstons five-game unbeaten streak was snapped, and the Dynamo (13-11-9) are sixth in the East with one game remaining. Ji-man Choi Rays Jersey . Ryu (8-3) allowed a run and three hits in six innings and struck out six in his 13th start. In his first 13 starts last season -- his first in the major leagues -- the left-hander was 8-5 with a 2.85 ERA. This was the ninth time this year that Ryu has allowed fewer than three earned runs, and he is 7-0 in those games. Daniel Robertson Rays Jersey . Cory Batey and Brandon Vandenburg were each convicted on four charges of aggravated rape, one of attempted aggravated rape and two for aggravated sexual battery. Vandenburg was also found guilty of tampering with evidence as well as an unlawful photography charge.PORTLAND, Ore. -- James Harden snapped out of his slump. Omer Asik stopped LaMarcus Aldridge. But it was rookie Troy Daniels who made all the difference for the Houston Rockets. Daniels, who spent time in the D-League this season and didnt make his pro debut until March 5, hit a 3-pointer with 11.9 seconds left to lift the Rockets a 121-116 overtime victory over the Trail Blazers on Friday night and narrow Portlands first-round playoff advantage to 2-1. Harden finished with a career playoff-best 37 points and Dwight Howard added 24 points and 14 rebounds for the Rockets. Aldridge had more than 40 points in each of Portlands victories in the first two games in Houston. But Asik did a good job of shutting him down in Game 3, holding the All-Star forward to 23 points. The Blazers were led by Damian Lillard with 30 points. Portland trailed by as many as 11 points in the final quarter but Nicolas Batum hit a 3-pointer with 41 seconds left to tie the game at 110. Harden missed a half-court shot at the buzzer to send the game to overtime. Lillards layup gave Portland a 116-112 lead with 3:08 left in the extra period. Jeremy Lin hit a jumper from the top of the key before Hardens fadeaway tie it with 1:51 to go. Aldridge missed a jumper over Howard but Lin missed a 3-pointer on the other end before Daniels nailed his 3-pointer. Daniels finished with nine points in the game, all 3s. Before the game, coach Kevin McHale told Daniels to "be ready," the undrafted signee out of Virginia Commonwealth said. "He competes," McHale said. "He dives on the floor for balls. Hes a tough kid." Batum missed a 3 with 4.9 seconds left and Harden made free throws for the final margin. Only three teams have come back to win after losing the first two games of a seven-game series at home: The last was the 2004-05 Mavericks, who came back against the Rockets. Houston is 0-7 overall when falling behind 0-2 in the first round since the 1983-84 expansion. Game 4 is scheduled for Sunday at the Moda Center. "We havent done anything yet," McHale said. "Weve won one game. But it feels a lot better than losing." The Blazers hadnt opened a playoff series 2-0 since 1977, when they got the early jump on the Lakers en route to the Western Conference title. Portland wwent on to beat Philadelphia for its lone NBA championship.dddddddddddd McHale, who acknowledged before the game that his team was frustrated, tinkered with the lineup and started Asik in place of Terrence Jones. Asik did a good job in keeping Aldridge out of the paint and the Rockets responded by coming out with intensity. "The came out and played as they should down two games," Aldridge said. Patrick Beverleys 3-pointer gave the Rockets and early 19-13 lead before Harden finished off the first quarter with a 3-pointer to put Houston up 35-24. Harden and Beverley each finished the first quarter with 11 points. Harden was the leagues top shooting guard in the regular season, but he was 14 of 47 from the field in his opening two playoff games for his worst two-game stretch of the season. Lillards 3-pointer tied it at 38, but Mo Williams and Robin Lopez each hit baskets to put Portland in front and cap a 16-point run. Lillard led all scorers with 16 points at the half and the Blazers had a 55-54 edge. Harden and Chandler Parsons made consecutive 3-pointers to give the Rockets a 71-65 lead midway through the third period. But Portland -- bolstered by a raucous hometown crowd -- kept Houstons lead in single digits until Hardens 3-pointer made it 90-80 with 10:18 to go in the game. Hardens jumper gave the Rockets a 100-91 lead with 6:21 left, but Lilliard made free throws that closed Portland to within 103-98 before a falling-down jumper and a foul shot to make it 103-101 with 4:05 left. Lillard scored on a layup to put Portland in front 107-106 with 1:59 left. After Harden made four straight free throws, Batum made the 3-pointer to tie it. "I thought we had some good looks down the stretch,Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "Lin Harden and Daniels made their shots. And we didnt." NOTES: Houstons Terrence Jones went to Portlands Jefferson High School, leading the team to three straight Class 5A championships before playing for Kentucky. ... Among the fans in the crowd for the Blazers first home playoff game since 2011 were Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who grew up in Portland. ... The Blazers have made at least eight 3-pointers in the in three straight post-season games for the first time in franchise history. ' ' '