Off the Wire

MIXED MARTIAL ARTS

Burns routs Woodley

Gilbert Burns dominated former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley to win a unanimous decision Saturday night in the mixed martial arts promotion’s return to Las Vegas. Brazilian heavyweight Augusto Sakai employed some unpunished gamesmanship to eke out a split-decision victory over Bulgaria’s Blagoy Ivanov in the penultimate bout of the UFC’s first show in its hometown since the coronavirus pandemic began. The event was held without fans at the UFC Apex, a gym with broadcast facilities on the promotion’s corporate campus. The UFC used minimal personnel to stage the fight, and the promotion said everyone involved was subject to strict health and safety protocols. Burns (19-3) dominated on his feet and on the ground, finishing his first main-event bout with his sixth consecutive victory since July 2018. The Florida-based Brazilian soundly defeated one of the most accomplished welterweights in UFC history and made his case for a shot at champion Kamaru Usman in the crowded 170-pound division. The judges all gave all five rounds to Burns, scoring it 50-45, 50-44 and 50-44. Burns came out with furious energy against Woodley, dropping the ex-champ in the opening seconds and gaining full mount. A gaping cut opened in Woodley’s left eyebrow in the opening minutes, and Burns again overcame Woodley’s famously strong takedown defense to drop Woodley again in the second round. Sakai (15-1-1) remained unbeaten in the UFC with his fourth consecutive victory when two judges favored him 29-28 after a lively bout with Ivanov (18-4), who was up 30-27 on the third judge’s card. Sakai escaped punishment from referee Jason Herzog in the third round when he blatantly grabbed the chain-link wall of the cage while attempting to avoid a takedown attempt.

TRACK & FIELD

3-time gold-medal winner dies

Bobby Joe Morrow, the Texas sprinter who won three gold medals in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics while a student at Abilene Christian University, died Saturday. He was 84. Morrow’s family said he died of natural causes at home in San Benito, Texas. Morrow won the 100 and 200 meters in Melbourne, Australia, and anchored the United States’ champion 400 relay team, matching the world record of 20.6 seconds in the 200 and helping the relay squad set a world record (39.6). Earlier in 1956, he successfully defended his AAU 100-yard title and swept the sprints for Abilene Christian at the national college championships. He was honored as Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated, and won the AAU’s James E. Sullivan Award the following year. Morrow spent most of his life in the Rio Grande Valley along the Gulf of Mexico near the Mexican border. He was born in Harlingen and grew up in San Benito. He starred in track and field and football at San Benito High School, where the football stadium is named Bobby Morrow Stadium.

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