Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) CEO Dana White said that Russian fighter Arman Tsarukyan will be replaced by Brazilian Renato Moicano in the fight against Islam Makhachev.

The UFC 311 tournament will take place in Los Angeles on the night of January 19. The fight between the current lightweight champion Makhachev and Tsarukyan was supposed to be the main event of the evening. Tsarukyan was forced to withdraw due to a back injury.

Makhachev is 33 years old, he has 26 wins and 1 loss. Tsarukyan is 28 years old, he has 22 wins and 3 losses in MMA. In the UFC, the athlete has had 11 fights, winning 9 of them.

Moikano is 35 years old, he has 20 wins and five losses, one fight ended in a draw.

The tournament broadcast on “Match-Fighter” and Setanta Sports 1 TV channels will begin at 4:00 Ashgabat time.

For maximum convenience of Turkmen fans, a broadcast has been organized on the national Belet-video platform, where you can watch the fights from any device. The main fight of the evening, Makhachev - Moikano, is expected to begin after 8:00 a.m. Ashgabat time.

Jahangir Saidov, who worked as an assistant referee at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, acted as the chief instructor at a pre-season seminar for football referees in Ashgabat. This is reported by the Football Federation of Turkmenistan.

More than 40 referees participated in the training, who will serve the matches of the championship and Cup of Turkmenistan in the new season.

The seminar was held at the Ashgabat multifunctional stadium, where the Uzbek specialist, together with the instructor of the Football Federation of Turkmenistan (FFT) Charymurat Gurbanov, conducted theoretical and practical classes. Special attention was paid to the analysis of controversial game situations and their correct interpretation on the field.

At the end of the training, all participants were certified. At the closing ceremony, FFT Secretary General Serdar Geldiyev stressed the importance of the seminar for the development of refereeing at both the national and international levels.

The FFT Refereeing Department considers this event as part of a strategy to train young referees to work at national championship matches and international tournaments.

Two players from the Turkmenistan national team have gone on tryouts at clubs in the Belarusian Premier League, the “Belarusian Football” publication reports.

Forward Meylis Diniev arrived at Vitebsk, where his compatriot, defender Vepa Jumayev, is already playing.

Midfielder Teymur Charyev is undergoing a tryout at Zhodino's “Torpedo-BelAZ”. The 24-year-old midfielder is known for his performances for the Kyrgyz club “Abdysh-Ata”, with which he twice became the country's champion.

The international Silk Road Rally starts in Irkutsk on July 12, it will pass through the Irkutsk region, the Republic of Buryatia, Mongolia and will end in Gorno-Altaysk.

"In July 2025, one of the stages of the International Silk Road Rally will be held in the Irkutsk region. The grand start of the race will be given in Irkutsk on July 12 ... Every year the organizers update the race route. This year, it is planned to be held in two countries – Russia and Mongolia," the source said.

It is planned that this time sports crews from more than 13 countries of the world will take part in the competition. More than 1,000 people, as well as over 350 vehicles, will be involved in the preparation of the rally and races. The winners will be determined in five categories: trucks, cars, ATVs, motorcycles and ATVs.

For the first time in the history of the competition, the Russian stage will consist of two parts: the first will be held in the Irkutsk region, then the participants will travel through the Republic of Buryatia to Mongolia and return to Russia. They will finish in Gorno-Altaysk on July 22.

The Silk Road Rally Marathon is a globally recognized sporting event of the highest difficulty category. The rally was first held in September 2009 in Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

Kazakhstan has begun preparations for the "Games of the Future", which will be held in Astana in 2026.

In accordance with the instruction of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, a specialized Directorate for the preparation and holding of this tournament has been established. The main task of this directorate is to organize and conduct an international multisport tournament that will combine traditional sports and esports.

It is expected that the "Games of the Future" will attract the attention of the world community and become a significant event for the country's sporting life.

The concept of these games is aimed at developing new formats of competitions where physical activity and digital technologies are combined, creating unique events and competitions.

After a major defeat by Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final, the Real Madrid leadership plans to review the position of head coach Carlo Ancelotti. According to the Spanish edition goal.com A series of high-level meetings will be held next week, where the current situation will be analyzed and the future of the Italian specialist will be determined.

The reason for concern was the result of the match for the Spanish Super Cup, which took place on January 12 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Real Madrid suffered a humiliating defeat from their principal rival, Barcelona, with a score of 2:5.

Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has agreed with Saudi Al-Nasr on a new contract, A Bola reports with reference to Al Khabar.

The new agreement with the Riyadh-based team will last for one more season, until June 2026. He will continue to receive 200 million euros per year, but the amount may increase due to a subscription bonus and commercial income.

Ronaldo will turn 40 on February 5. He has been playing for Al-Nasr since January 2023 and has since played 90 matches for the Saudi team, scoring 81 goals. He has scored 17 goals in 20 games this season.

Ronaldo is a European champion in the Portuguese national team, a five-time winner of the Golden Ball and the best scorer in the history of world football in official matches.

The National Federation of Electronic Sports of Turkmenistan announced the annual tournament “Federation Cup 2025”, which will unite competitions in four popular e-sports disciplines: Dota 2, Counter-Strike 2, PUBG Mobile and Football. The tournament series starts on February 1 and will last until February 10.

Teams in the Dota 2 and Counter-Strike 2 disciplines will be the first to compete for victory - the competition will be held from February 1 to 3.

Next will be a PUBG Mobile tournament, in which 8 of the strongest teams in the country will take part. These matches are scheduled for February 7-9.

The tournament series will conclude with a one-day eFootball tournament scheduled for February 10, where 8 players will compete for victory.

Those wishing to take part in the competition can submit an application on the official website of the federation. Registration of participants will open on January 20 and will last until January 27, 2025.

The young chess elite has determined its champions at the Ashgabat Specialized Chess and Checkers School, where the national championship among boys and girls under 20 was held from January 5 to 10. This tournament is considered the second strongest in terms of participants, as it includes almost all the players of the 2024 men's and women's major leagues.

In the completed tournament in classical chess among boys, Vepaly Khalynyazov, a student of the Turkmen State Institute of Architecture and Civil Engineering, left everyone behind and won, scoring 9 points out of 11 possible. Serdar Bayramov, a high school student from the Lebap velayat, and Amanmukhammet Khommadov, a student of the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Education and Sports, scored 8.5 points each and took 2nd and 3rd places, respectively. Considered the main favorite of the tournament, Khommadov sensationally suffered two defeats in a row at the start, but managed to recover in time and catch up with the leaders.

Vepaly and Amanmuhammet are the winners of the 45th World Chess Olympiad, which was held in Budapest (Hungary), where the men's team of Turkmenistan won a small gold in category B, finishing in 24th place among 188 teams. And Serdar won a silver medal at the Asian Championship among schoolchildren under 17 years old, which was held in Bangkok (Thailand) at the end of 2024.

In the tournament among girls, for the second year in a row, a student of the International University of Oil and Gas Lala Shokhradova has gained the upper hand over her rivals, scoring 9 points out of a possible 11. Another of the Shokhradov sisters, Leyla (Lebap, 18 years old), was half a point behind the leader and took second place, and Gulmira Seyilkhanova (Lebap, 17 years old) closed out the top three with 8 points. Sisters Lala and Leyla Shokhradov are also the winners of the above-mentioned Olympics, where the women's team of Turkmenistan won a small gold in category C, ultimately taking 32nd place among 169 teams in the overall standings. Gulmira's highest achievement is a silver medal at the Asian Championship among schoolgirls under 15 in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) in 2023.

The winners of the championship received the right to represent our country at the World Junior Championship, which will be held in Montenegro from February 23 to March 8, as well as at the Asian Junior Championship, which will be held in Colombo (Sri Lanka).

On January 11 and 12, national championships in the same age category in rapid and blitz will also be held. In total, more than 100 chess players take part in the tournaments, despite the introduction of a minimum rating level restriction by the organizers – 1400.

The winners of the championship will receive valuable prizes provided by sponsors, among which are the insurance company "Resmi Kepil", the chess academy "Küşt Älemi", the stationery store "Globus", the B2B marketplace "ALSAT.com.tm" and the media platform ORIENT.

Barcelona defeated Real Madrid in the final match for the Spanish Football Super Cup, which took place in Saudi Arabia.

The match took place on Sunday and ended with a 5:2 victory for the Catalan team. Rafinha scored twice for the winners (39th and 48th minutes), Lamine Yamal (22), Robert Lewandowski (36, penalty) and Alejandro Balde (45+10) scored one goal each. The Madrid team's goals were scored by Kylian Mbappe (5) and Rodrygo (60).

Barcelona played with a man down from the 57th minute after goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was sent off.

Barcelona won the Spanish Super Cup for the 15th time, breaking its record. Real Madrid has 13 wins, including in the last edition.

On January 10, an online meeting took place between representatives of the Football Federation of Turkmenistan (FFT) and the German Football Union (DFB), the FFT website reports.

During the videoconference, the parties discussed the possibilities of developing cooperation in the field of youth football and coaching education. Particular attention was paid to the prospects for introducing the best practices of German football in Turkmenistan.

It is worth noting that the development of children’s and youth football and the improvement of the coaching education system have been among the priority areas of the FFT’s work since the election of the new chairman of the Federation.

Following the meeting, the parties agreed to continue discussing issues of cooperation.

Tajik referee of the FIFA international category Sukhrob Sattarov has been appointed to serve the matches of the 2025 Asian Cup qualifying tournament in futsal among women's teams, where the national team of Turkmenistan will perform, the website of the Tajik Football Federation reports.

Sattorov will work on the Group C matches, where, in addition to the Turkmen women's national team, teams from Uzbekistan, Australia, the Philippines and Kuwait will perform. All group stage matches will be held in Tashkent from January 11 to January 19.

Turkmenistan women's national team match schedule:

• January 11, 2025 Turkmenistan - Australia (15:00)
• January 15, 2025 Philippines - Turkmenistan (3 p.m.)
• January 17, 2025 Turkmenistan - Kuwait (3 p.m.)
• January 19, 2025 Turkmenistan - Uzbekistan (6 p.m.)