Sports Briefs: UFC shot a possibility for “Fearless” Fighter
Khashakyan can be contender on Tuesday
Alfred “Fearless” Khashakyan could be knocking on the door of the Ultimate Fighting Championship once again.
Live on UFC Fight Pass Tuesday night, the Glendale kickboxer turned burgeoning mixed-martial-arts product will face Sean O’Malley in a three-round bantamweight tilt on Dana White’s “Tuesday Night Contender Series: Week Two” from The Ultimate Fighter Gym in Las Vegas. The card begins at 5 p.m. PDT.
Airing live on the UFC’s streaming service, the Tuesday Night Contender Series that bares the UFC president’s name is running for eight straight summer weeks, with Tuesday’s card the second showing.
As a showcase for fighters ready and hoping to break into the UFC, two of the five victors on the first episode were signed to UFC contracts.
Khashakyan (8-3), a 28-year-old who trains out of the Glendale Fighting Club, is coming off arguably his greatest career victory as he defeated UFC veteran Chris Beal via technical knockout in December of last year. The win followed a loss to Ricardo Lucas Ramos via submission on Aug. 5, 2016. That defeat came on a New England Fighting show in which White was present, filming his “Looking for a Fight” show that also produces new UFC fighters. Thus, Khashakyan is getting another big opportunity.
Standing in the way of that opportunity is O’Malley (6-0), a 22-year-old out of Montana whose latest victory was a spectacular wheel kick first-round KO of David Nuzzo at Legacy Fighting Alliance 11 on May 5.
All of Khashakyan’s eight wins have come via knockout, while O’Malley owns four wins via striking stoppage, so the bout is bound to be an exciting one.
Khashakyan’s tilt is slated to be the fourth on the five-bout card. The featured bout will see light heavyweights Angel DeAnda (18-5) and Daniel Spohn (15-5) square off, while Thanh Le (6-1) will face Lazar Stojadinovic (12-5) in a featherweight fight, welterweight Sidney Outlaw (7-3) will have a showdown with Michael Cora (4-1) and Casey Kenney (6-0-1) and CJ Hamilton (11-4) are set to toe the line in flyweight action.
Elite Basketball Camp set
The third annual Elite Basketball Camp, conducted by Glendale High boys’ basketball coach Ib Belou, will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday at Glendale High’s gymnasium, 1440 E. Broadway, Glendale.
The event is geared for boys and girls, ages 6-14.
For more information, contact Belou at coachbelou@gmail.com.
St. Francis Soccer Camp
The St. Francis Summer Soccer Camp, led by St. Francis Coach Glen Appels, will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 24-28 at St. Francis High’s soccer field, 200 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada.
The camp is designed for boys and girls, ages 6-18, and will cover a variety of skills, film sessions and more.
The cost is $180 per person and includes a T-shirt and water bottle.
For more information, contact Appels at gappels@sfhs.net or call (818) 790-0325.