Two UFC bouts announced
The first Ultimate Fighting Championship card at Fiserv Forum on Dec. 15 is taking shape.
UFC announced two of the undercard bouts Sunday, including one with a local connection.
Erik “New Breed” Koch, who trains with Milwaukee’s Duke Roufus, will take on Dwight Grant in a welterweight matchup. Jared “Flash” Gordon will fight Joaquim “Neto BJJ” Silva in a lightweight bout.
The featured bout will be announced at a later date.
Milwaukee has not hosted a UFC event since 2013. The city has been a strong training ground for mixed martial arts with Roufus’ Roufusport MMA Academy. Milwaukee natives Anthony Pettis and Rose Namajunas both have been UFC champions.
AUTO RACING
Justin Haley took the lead in the playoff opener after Noah Gragson and Todd Gilliland collided on the final turn in the NASCAR Truck Series Chevrolet Silverado 250 on Sunday in Bowmanville, Ontario.
Gragson attempted to pass Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate Gilliland on the inside and both spun out. Haley slipped past them on the inside for his second victory of the season and his career. He also earned an automatic spot in the second round of the playoffs.
Formula One: Sebastian Vettel made a crucial early overtaking move on Lewis Hamilton to win the crash-marred Belgian Grand Prix.
Vettel made his move moments after Fernando Alonso’s McLaren flew through the air and landed on top of Charles Leclerc’s Sauber. Leclerc, unharmed, was likely spared a head injury by the protective halo device surrounding the cockpit area of F1 cars. The incident brought out the safety car.
Vettel finished about 12 seconds clear of Hamilton, with Red Bull driver Max Verstappen an impressive third after starting seventh.
IndyCar: Will Power took a splash of fuel, allowing him to go wide open to the checkered flag of the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 late Saturday in Madison, Ill.
Power had regained the race lead with eight laps to go, and his job the rest of the way was to hold off Alexander Rossi, who had conserved fuel for about 70 laps to give him a chance.
Rossi wound up second, just ahead of series leader Scott Dixon.
BASEBALL
It only took one pitch for Mana Lau Kong to deliver Hawaii its first Little League World Series title in a decade.
Kong homered to center field on the first pitch his team saw Sunday, and Ka’olu Holt pitched a complete game to lead Hawaii to a 3-0 victory over South Korea in the championship game in South Williamsport, Pa.
It’s the first Little League World Series title for Hawaii since 2008.
BASKETBALL
Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart was named as the WNBA MVP after a season in which she finished second in scoring and led Seattle to the best record in the league.
Stewart finished with 372 total points in the voting, easily outpacing Dallas’ Liz Cambage, who finished second with 231.
TENNIS
Luksika Kumkhum of Thailand pulled out of the U.S. Open, a day before she was scheduled to face Sofia Kinen of the United States in a first-round match.
The official reason offered by the U.S. Tennis Association in a brief statement about the withdrawal was “travel difficulties.”
The 93rd-ranked Kumkhum has been competing at the Asian Games in Indonesia, finishing with the silver medal in mixed doubles Saturday.
SOCCER
Freshman Lukas Sunesson tallied twice to lead the Marquette men’s team to a 3-1 victory over Valparaiso in its season opener at Valley Fields.
MU senior goalkeeper Luis Barraza recorded two saves en route to his 10th career victory.
UW-Milwaukee men 4, Western Illinois 0: Alex Sykes, Josh Kaye and Sean Holmes scored in the second half as the Panthers rolled past the Leathernecks in their season opener in Macomb, Ill.
Vuk Latinovich scored in the first half for the Panthers.