You don’t want to be the person standing at the coffee machine Monday morning without a way to enter the conversation. I know you probably had a lot to get done this weekend and didn’t have time to keep up with all that happened in the world of sports. 
Lucky for you, my responsibilities aren’t quite as numerous as yours, so I stayed on the couch to provide you with a detailed update on what you missed. 
Here are the highlights from a fantastic weekend in sports. 
UFC 262
There’s nothing like a Saturday night event in the octagon, and the UFC didn’t disappoint. 
There were five fights on the main card and Shane Burgos (-134) vs Edson Barboza (+108) kicked off the evening with a bang. In the third round, Barboza hit Burgos with a right hook, knocking Burgos wobbly for a second until he stumbled backwards onto the mat before being TKO’d. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
WOW BARBOZA FREEZES Shane Burgos mortal Kombat style 😳<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UFC262?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UFC262</a> <a href="https://t.co/JdbQEWhpkm">pic.twitter.com/JdbQEWhpkm</a>
&mdash; RAW MMA NEWS (@rawmmanews) <a href="https://twitter.com/rawmmanews/status/1393756698309955585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
The main event of the evening featured Charles Oliveira (-134) vs Michael Chandler (+110). Chandler looked like he had Oliveira in the first round, landing a flurry of punches, but Oliveira somehow found a way to survive.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
CHANDLER HAS OLIVEIRA HURT 😱 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UFC262?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UFC262</a> <a href="https://t.co/6eRPSYZ7Wc">pic.twitter.com/6eRPSYZ7Wc</a>
&mdash; ESPN MMA (@espnmma) <a href="https://twitter.com/espnmma/status/1393788111193260032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Just moments into the second round though, Oliveira made his move, knocking out Chandler with his own onslaught of punches. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Charles Oliveira Defeats Michael Chandler Via KO To Become The New UFC Lightweight Champion 🏆<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UFC262?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UFC262</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CharlesOliveira?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CharlesOliveira</a> <a href="https://t.co/WzMifSZH30">pic.twitter.com/WzMifSZH30</a>
&mdash; Serretiant (@Serretiant) <a href="https://twitter.com/Serretiant/status/1393881947567443973?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
The Preakness
The conversation around the Preakness at Pimlico Race Course should have been around the race itself, but after Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit tested positive for performance enhancing drugs, the focus was understandably elsewhere. 
After passing a series of drug tests, Medina Spirit was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/after-the-kentucky-derby-winner-was-caught-cheating-what-happens-to-all-the-gambling-winnings">allowed</a> to race in the Preakness, but faded down the stretch as little-known Rombauer claimed an upset victory. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rombauer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Rombauer</a> wins the 146th Preakness Stakes!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Preakness146?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Preakness146</a> <a href="https://t.co/PTz4dLwInQ">pic.twitter.com/PTz4dLwInQ</a>
&mdash; Preakness Stakes (@PreaknessStakes) <a href="https://twitter.com/PreaknessStakes/status/1393702127810252803?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
NBA
The NBA regular season has finally come to a close, and the playoffs are just around the corner. 
Entering the weekend, most of the playoff seeding was undecided, and with the new play-in tournament, the end of the regular season was far more interesting than normal. 
The Golden State Warriors defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 113-101 to secure the eighth seed in the play-in tournament and will face the LA Lakers with the winner going into the playoffs as the seventh seed. 
The New York Knicks locked up the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference with their 96-92 victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday, earning their first playoff <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31457090/new-york-knicks-clinch-no-4-seed-set-series-vs-atlanta-hawks">appearance</a> since the 2012-2013 season. 
The Utah Jazz will be the one seed in the Western Conference after a 121-99 win over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday. Utah awaits their opponent as they’ll be matched up with the eighth seed, which will be decided via the play-in tournament starting on Tuesday. 
NHL
Is there anything better than playoff hockey? In case you were wondering … the answer is no. 
The 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs kicked off on Saturday with the first Washington Capitals taking game one of a seven game series with the Boston Bruins in a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory. 
Elsewhere, the New York Islanders beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in OT, the Tampa Bay Lighting took game one over the Florida Panthers 5-4, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Vegas Golden Knights 1-0 in OT. 
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to sports@dailywire.com.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

UFC 262: Charles Oliveira v Michael Chandler

Here’s What You Need To Know From A Wild Weekend Of Sports

Sports

You don’t want to be the person standing at the coffee machine Monday morning without a way to enter the conversation. I know you probably had a lot to

description

noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1

robots

https://editorial.dailywire.com/news/heres-what-you-need-to-know-from-a-wild-weekend-of-sports-2/

twitter:card

https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/05/GettyImages-1318250747.jpg

twitter:image

The UFC may be one of the last sports leagues to stay out of politics, but their athletes aren’t afraid to share their beliefs.
On Saturday night, UFC 262 took place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The main event featured the lightweight title fight between Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler. Oliveira, after nearly succumbing to a brutal onslaught from Chandler in the first round, scored a KO victory early in the second round. 
While the main event certainly lived up to its billing, it was the comments by Beneil Dariush after his lightweight victory that stole the show. 
After Dariush dominated Tony Ferguson in the co-main event, scoring a unanimous decision from the judges, the victorious fighter was interviewed by Joe Rogan to get his thoughts on the win. Dariush took the moment to speak out in support of victims of communism around the world. 
“First things first, I want to thank my Lord and savior Jesus Christ, that’s number one,” <a href="https://twitter.com/arielhelwani/status/1393782926685376512">Dariush</a> told Rogan, and the millions of fans watching. “Number two, I want to dedicate this fight to all the people who’ve been hurt by Marxists ideologies. There are millions of you.” 
“It’s just a fight, I know it’s not much, but I want you to know that I love you. I understand the pain … I don’t completely understand, but I love you. I understand your pain.” 
<iframe title="UFC 262: Beneil Dariush Octagon Interview" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yDDcJi7sarc?start=28&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Dariush, now a U.S. citizen, was born in Iran, living in a small village until the age of nine before moving to the United States. According to interviews, he has not returned to his native country since the age of 17 due to concerns over a mandatory military service requirement for all males over the age of 18.
He is a devout Christian and routinely discusses his faith on social media. 
It’s the second time in as many UFC events where an athlete took the opportunity to speak out on the evils of communism. Rose Namajunas, of Lithuanian-American heritage, made waves on social media before her April 24 victory over Chinese champion Zhang Weili. Namajunas said that part of her motivation for beating Zhang was her opposition to communism, as <a href="https://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/31254452/rose-namajunas-stands-communism-comments-ufc-261-opponent-zhang-weili">reported</a> by ESPN before the fight: 
<blockquote>Namajunas’ family is from Lithuania, and she said she has drawn inspiration from the documentary, “The Other Dream Team.” The film focuses on the 1992 Lithuanian men’s national basketball team, which entered the Barcelona Olympics as an independent country after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Namajunas recently told a Lithuanian outlet that the movie is a reminder that “it’s better dead than red,” an anti-communist expression coined during the Cold War. She also said Zhang is “red” and that freedom is a “huge motivating factor” for why she fights.</blockquote>
“I have a lot to fight for in this fight,” Namajunas <a href="https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2021/4/11/22378255/rose-namajunas-zhang-weili-better-dead-than-red-ufc-261-lithuania-ussr-china-represents-mma-news">explained</a>. “And what she (Weili) represents, you know, I was just, I was just trying to remind myself of all the — my background and everywhere that I come from and my family and everything like that.”
“If you’re confused about any of my opinions, you can watch the documentary and you could get a good idea as to what my family had to go through, the reason I’m in the United States today, the reason that I do mixed martial arts, all of that stuff,” Namajunas told <a href="https://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/31254452/rose-namajunas-stands-communism-comments-ufc-261-opponent-zhang-weili">ESPN’s Ariel Helwani</a>. “I’d probably have a really different life if it wasn’t for everything in that documentary, how Lithuanians had to struggle with communism oppression.” 
Namajunas later emphasized that she did not have any personal animosity toward Zhang, saying that all of her opponents are “red.” 
The UFC has famously stayed away from politics, as many other sports leagues have embraced it. 
“It’s like we live in this world right now where nobody’s allowed to have their own opinion,” President of the UFC Dana White said on The Daily Wire&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/candace">Candace</a>. “These are all grown men and women that fight for us. They all have their own beliefs, their own politics or whatever it is. They can say whatever they want to say, to a point. I mean, there’s some times that some things cross the line, but at the end of the day, too, this is the fight business. Guess what? They say really mean things to each other.”
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to sports@dailywire.com.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

UFC 262: Oliveira v Chandler

UFC Star Dedicates Win To Victims Of Communism: ‘This Fight Is For All The People Who’ve Been Hurt By Marxists Ideologies’

The UFC may be one of the last sports leagues to stay out of politics, but their athletes aren’t afraid to share their beliefs. On Saturday night, UFC 262

https://editorial.dailywire.com/news/ufc-star-dedicates-win-to-victims-of-communism-this-fight-is-for-all-the-people-whove-been-hurt-by-marxists-ideologies/

https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/05/GettyImages-1318242675.jpg

Menu

Sports

Here’s What You Need To Know From A Wild Weekend Of Sports

UFC Star Dedicates Win To Victims Of Communism: ‘This Fight Is For All The People Who’ve Been Hurt By Marxists Ideologies’

Don't miss a beat of our coverage.