CNN
 — 

Arsenal and Inter Milan progressed to the Champions League semifinals after an action-packed night of soccer on Wednesday.

Arsenal overcame the challenge of Real Madrid while Inter beat Bayern Munich to seal the club’s spots in the next round of the tournament.

The semifinal fixtures are now confirmed, with PSG to face the Londoners and Barcelona taking on the Italian giants with a coveted spot in the final up for grabs.

Arsenal and PSG seek their first-ever Champions League trophy, with the Gunners buoyed by knocking out the reigning Champions League winners.

Arsenal took a three-goal lead to the Santiago Bernabéu ahead of the second leg, but Real Madrid has become known for producing miracles in the Champions League.

The traveling side would have been wary of Madrid’s storied success in the competition, knowing an early goal for either team would be crucial.

Arsenal was gifted with an early chance after being awarded a penalty just 10 minutes into the match. Bukayo Saka stepped up for the Gunners but saw his dinked spot kick saved by Thibaut Courtois.

Less than 15 minutes later, it looked as if Arsenal would be punished for the wasted opportunity. Real Madrid was given a penalty when star striker Kylian Mbappé fell to the floor in the Arsenal box. The decision, however, was overturned following a lengthy VAR check.

The game remained cagey with neither side looking to give up an inch, until in the 65th minute, when Saka made amends for his earlier miss.

After a flowing move from Mikel Arteta’s side, Saka was played through one-on-one by makeshift striker Mikel Merino. Arsenal’s star man remained composed and sat down Courtois in the Madrid goal with a delicately executed chip.

All involved with Arsenal would have breathed a huge sigh of relief after going 4-0 up on aggregate, but this sense of relief was short-lived.

Real Madrid star Vinícius Júnior leveled the score on the night just minutes after the Arsenal opener. The Brazilian was gifted the chance to score into an empty net after a mistake from Arsenal defender William Saliba.

It proved to be too little, too late, however, and to rub salt in the Real Madrid wounds, Gabriel Martinelli raced through on goal in added time and confidently finished past Courtois.

Arsenal ended up winning 2-1 on the night and 5-1 across the two legs to seal its spot in the Champions League semifinal – its first since 2009 – where it faces PSG.

Elsewhere, Inter Milan managed to seal a tight 4-3 aggregate win against Bayern Munich.

The Italian side was leading 2-1 after the first leg and would have felt confident about holding on to its lead at home.

Bayern Munich, however, was keen to upset the odds and leveled the aggregate score when Harry Kane expertly scored from a tight angle early in the second half.

But Inter Milan bounced back, and quickly. Lautaro Martínez scored for Inter just six minutes after Kane’s opener before Benjamin Pavard gave the home side the lead on the night just three minutes after Martínez’s equalizer.

Eric Dier gave Bayern Munich renewed hope when he scored with 15 minutes left in the tie, but the Italian side was able to hold on to its slender lead.

A semifinal tie against Barcelona now waits for Inter Milan.

Barcelona reached the semifinals of the Champions League for the first time in six years, despite being outplayed and comfortably beaten 3-1 by Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday.

Hansi Flick’s side is looking to win a first Champions League title in 10 years – back when Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Neymar famously led the team’s attack.

CNN
 — 

Three people have died following a boating crash during a professional fishing tournament on Wednesday morning, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

The incident happened during Major League Fishing’s Tackle Warehouse Invitational on Lewis Smith Lake near Cullman, Alabama.

CNN affiliate WBMA reports three other individuals were injured in the incident.

ALEA said a two-vessel crash occurred around 7:03 a.m. and said Joey M. Broom, 58, from Altoona, “was fatally injured when the Center Console vessel he was onboard was struck by a Nitro Bass Boat. Broom was pronounced deceased at the scene.”

Later Wednesday, ALEA named two other men aboard the same boat who had been thrown overboard during the crash and drowned. It identified them as John K. Clark, 44, of Cullman and Jeffrey C. Little, 62, of Brandon, Miss.

“The crash occurred near the Miller Flats area of Smith Lake in Cullman County,” ALEA said in a statement to CNN.

The ALEA’s Marine Patrol Division is investigating the crash, the agency said.

“Major League Fishing (MLF) confirms that a serious boating accident occurred this morning on Lewis Smith Lake during Day 2 of the Tackle Warehouse Invitational,” MLF said in a statement.

“Out of respect for those involved, and to ensure the accuracy of all information, no further details will be released at this time,” it said, adding that it was working with law enforcement and emergency officials.

“Our thoughts, prayers and deepest concern are with everyone affected by this tragic incident,” the statement said.

Neither the ALEA nor MLF provided information on the circumstances of the crash or the conditions of those who were injured.

MLF said that competitor Flint Davis was also involved in the crash. Davis issued a short statement on Instagram Wednesday.

“I want to thank everyone for the thoughts and prayers. I ask that you keep me and all of the other affected people and families in your prayers. I’ll let you guys know more when I can,” the angler said.

The MLF has cancelled Thursday’s final day of competition.

Kathy Fennel, MLF Executive Vice President and General Manager, described the accident as heartbreaking in a statement Wednesday.

“Our deepest condolences go out to the families and friends of those affected by this tragedy.”

CNN
 — 

Ibragim Ibragimov’s latest victory over Kenny Mokhonoana kept alive his unbeaten start to professional MMA fighting and his status as one of the most exciting prospects in the sport. But in the hours after the win, the 20-year-old was quick to praise all the help he received in his preparations.

Ibragimov posted a photo on his Instagram of his training staff in Dubai, a group which included two of the greatest MMA fighters ever in Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev.

Perhaps it is no surprise that Ibragimov has had such success – he is 9-0 in his blossoming career with his sights set on the top – when he has such legends in his corner.

Ibragimov is the latest in the production line of mixed martial arts talent to come out of Dagestan, Russia, with Nurmagomedov and Makhachev acting as figureheads and role models for the new generation.

For a region with a population of just over three million – smaller than Los Angeles – it has become renowned for churning out top-level fighting talent, famous for their wrestling abilities and never-say-die attitude.

Ibragimov is part of the most recent generation of Dagestani fighters who are taking over the sport, and he says that for he and compatriots, fighting is a way of life, not just a profession.

“In Dagestan, guys really want to be fighters. In the whole of Europe, there’s not many guys who really want to be fighters,” Ibragimov told CNN Sports. “They just pretended like they are fighters. They want to be like fighters. They want to be like someone.

“But in Dagestan, there’s so many guys that really want to be fighters. Not all (European fighters). I’m not speaking for all of them, but I’d say like 30% or 50% of the guys, they don’t really want to be there. They just go in there for a hype and stuff like that, for Instagram.”

While fighting might be a walk of life for some, it’s more than that for many Dagestanis.

Michael Lyubimov, a famed MMA coach who has worked with many Dagestani fighters including Nurmagomedov, explained that when he often first encounters athletes from the Russian republic upon their arrival in the US, they are already vastly experienced.

Lyubimov – who is general manager of the Jackson Wink MMA Academy in New Mexico, renowned for its production of MMA talent – says that many young Russians take up fighting out of “despair from a young age.”

“Back where they come from, there’s absolutely nothing. A lot of these guys that come here, I mean, they fought since they’re like six years of age,” Lyubimov – who was born in Moscow before moving to the US as a youngster – told CNN.

“By the time they get to the UFC or obtaining these big promotions or come to America, they have over 200 fights and stuff.”

He added: “There’s no other option. There are cauliflower ears everywhere. It’s just who they are. It’s in the culture, engraved in them.”

Lyubimov also highlights the faith of the fighters from the region as a reason for their success, with many of them practicing Muslims. That means they often don’t drink or party and choose instead to focus on their craft.

The combination of those factors breeds a relentlessness in Dagestani fighters, according to Lyubimov. He recounts an athlete once telling him that he “will die in there before anything happens.”

Many fighters from the region will put their bodies through significant hardship to sign with big-money promotions, often waiting until they’ve inked deals before undergoing the necessary treatment to heal their ailments.

Lyubimov highlights to CNN Sports the journey of Ismail Israilov, from neighboring Chechnya, who recently won a fight after dislocating his shoulder in the first round. Before coming to the US, Israilov had been in a truck accident in which he almost lost his hand and, at the age of 24, has over 200 street fights to his name.

When Lyubimov asked Israilov what his upbringing was like back in Russia, the Chechen detailed how he came to have the resilience he now displays in the octagon.

“‘My whole life was like, you have a piece of bread in your backpack, and you drive for like an hour and a half to wrestling practice, and sometimes you can’t make it because it’s so far away or whatever, so we’d just fight on the street and practice on the pavement,’” Lyubimov recounts Israilov saying.

“‘We live in the middle of nowhere in the mountains. You look one way and there’s nothing there, you look the other way and there’s nothing there. All we have left is to fight.’”

During his time as part of Nurmagomedov’s coaching team, Lyubimov spent plenty of hours in the gym with the former UFC great, in both the US and his native Dagestan.

Compared to the current commercial gyms he works in now, the centers in Dagestan are vastly different environments with their hyper-focus on discipline, says Lyubimov.

“In Dagestan, gyms are government funded or recreational where people can come in. A lot of it is somewhat free, to a certain extent, until, of course, they make it to the big level where they start paying coaches and they’re like at a higher level, professional level,” he said.

“But at the beginning level, most of it is free. That’s why if you see Khabib when he walks into the room, or when Abdulmanap (Nurmagomedov’s father) would walk in into the room, all the fighters get up, they line up, they bow down, they’re quiet, they don’t talk, they’re always on time, they don’t talk back to elders, they have absolute major respect.

“If you show disrespect to an elderly person or coach or whoever, your peers will put you in place and you can literally get slapped like by a coach and you will be quiet about it and you stand there and take the criticism and them yelling at you if you’re being a dumbass.”

That rugged upbringing builds character and toughness. For Lyubimov, this sets the perfect platform from which to build a career.

When Lyubimov starts working with Dagestani fighters, it is often a case of refining their skills rather than adding more to their repertoire.

“Obviously America is Mecca for making the name for yourself, right?” he explains. “The lights are much brighter when they hit the American promotions. So, it’s just about teaching the composure, keeping emotions under check, and refining the skills.

“It’s teaching them how to adapt and how to just refine their skills in general, just making better fighters, understand the game better, understand the rules better, understand what to expect better, get them to deal with medicals, with fight preparations, with weight cutting. The diet, the weight cuts, everything because they do it one way over there. They come here, then they have to kind of relearn, or learn new things.”

The golden example of having to adjust to the American system was Nurmagomedov, who arrived in the US as a little-known prospect and blossomed into the biggest name in the sport.

His rise to prominence in the UFC was the jumping-off point for Dagestani dominance across the Western MMA scene.

Between his grappling skills, undefeated record and his customary wearing of Dagestan’s traditional papakha headpiece in the ring, Nurmagomedov became the hottest topic in the UFC despite not getting involved in the war of words which often previews fights or helps build rivalries between competitors.

His popularity grew to a previously unseen level through his rivalry with Conor McGregor, and then he retired a few years later. Lyubimov, who helped train Nurmagomedov during his heyday, said that the fighter understood that he needed to engage in sparring matches to continue to build his profile.

Since retiring in 2020, Nurmagomedov has transitioned into a mentor for the next generation of Dagestani fighters. He has had a hands-on effect on the burgeoning career of Makhachev, who is the No. 1 ranked pound-for-pound fighter at the moment and the current UFC lightweight world champion.

Elsewhere in the UFC, another Dagestani – Magomed Ankalaev – became UFC light heavyweight champion in March, while there are other world champions in MMA competitions around the world from the Russian region.

Before his most recent fight in January, Ibragimov trained with Nurmagomedov and Makhachev in Dubai and says the experience in the gym with two of MMA’s luminaries and his Dagestani “brothers” was formative for his burgeoning career.

“When you train in Khabib’s gym, and then, especially when he’s in there controlling you, there’s no limits,” he told CNN Sports. “It’s like sometimes he doesn’t even set the timer for training. And then we just train non-stop. We just roll nonstop, until he says stop.”

Ibragimov explained that a young Dagestani’s MMA journey is made that much easier because the previous generation has already walked that path and is around to give advice where needed. “They already showed us the road that we have to follow,” he said.

Ibragimov – who moved to Manchester, England, as a youngster and has siblings who are part of the Manchester United academy – has a long journey ahead of him in his MMA career. But in Nurmagomedov, Makhachev and other Dagestani fighters, he’s got the perfect role models showing him the way to the top.