Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • D031

ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2017 D7 BY GEOFF GRAMMER JOURNAL STAFF WRITER fighting for the UFC flyweight title against arguably the best pound-for-pound mixed martial artist in the world tonight, and not much of the fight community is giving him much of a shot. lived all over New Mexico, but even in his home state, not many have heard of him. Of those who have, odds are good also in the camp of doubters that 24-year-old Ray Borg has a shot tonight in Las Vegas, in the UFC 216 co- main event against MMA legend Demetrious Johnson in the record-setting 11th consecutive title defense. And that is all exactly how Borg likes it. sure overlooking said Borg, who broke into the UFC training at FIT-NHB and now trains at Jackson-Wink Academy.

sure taking me lightly. OK. My whole career has been based off you guys just know who Ray Borg Who Ray Tazmexican Borg is very much remains a work in progress. But where come from is all over the Land of Enchantment. Born in Tucson only because that was where his mother was when she went into labor, Borg has been Mr.

New Mexico ever since. He rattled off the places he remembers living in New Mexico as Bayard, Silver City, Tucumcari, Hurley, Lordsburg and Albuquerque and added his mother and other family members are from Alamogordo. Borg (11-2, 5-2 in UFC, where he is ranked as the No. 3 flyweight) says been in the fight game since the age of 13. His shot at Johnson (26-2-1) was supposed to be a month ago before Borg got sick and was ruled unfit to fight the day before UFC 215.

The extra month, he and his coaches believe, has been a blessing. Not only is Borg healthy now, but made strides they seen leading up to the original fight date. actually coach Greg Jackson said. looking better now than he did And fighting against Johnson, the extra training camp time was much needed. very few holes in Jackson said.

be able to exploit the ones that we see, but actually a very well-rounded fighter. a reason been champion for so While many of fights been particularly competitive, his run-ins with New have been some of his most competitive bouts. Johnson, dubbed in the fight game became UFC champion and began his current run of dominance at 125 pounds by winning the title in 2012 against Las Cruces High graduate Joseph Benavidez in a split decision, beating him again in 2013. Johnson beat John Dodson twice by five- round decisions in 2013 and again in 2015. Before his title run, Johnson also once beat Damacio Page in 2010 in a World Extreme Cagefighting fight.

Dodson, who has logged more minutes (50) in the cage against Johnson than any competitor, believes he won their 2013 fight and, now as Jackson-Wink teammate, has been an integral part of training camp not just in sparring, but offering unique insight and even some mimicking of Johnson in the octagon. Dodson said with his usual ear-to-ear grin when asked if he had been playing the role of Johnson during training camp. means been slow moving, methodical and move backwards a Truth is, Jackson said value in camp been as much about mimicking nobody who fights like Jackson said as it has been about trying to get accustomed to speed to be able to handle dealing with John Jackson said, just so good for everybody. If I was getting ready for a fight, want to train with him just because so fast. If you can avoid that punches, you can avoid Dodson feels he knows what Borg is up against better than anyone.

And he has all the confidence in the world his young teammate is about to make history. think looking over Ray as a stepping stone to another title another notch on his Dodson said. Ray is going out there for something much more than that. He wants to be able to show the world that he is the OTHER FIGHTS: fight is on the pay-per-view portion of UFC 216 card, which starts at 8 p.m. The prelims, which start at 6 p.m.

on FX, feature two other Jackson-Wink trained fighters: Tom Duquen snoy, fighting Cody Stamann, and Lando Vannata, who fights Bobby Green. ASSOCIATED PRESS DALLAS James Neal scored twice in the third period Friday night, rallying the Vegas Golden Knights to a 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars in the debut of the first major pro sports franchise in Las Vegas. The expansion team was playing five days after the shooting that killed 58 people in Las Vegas, and the Dallas players honored the desert city by forming a line next to their Vegas counterparts before the national anthem. LIGHTNING 5, PANTHERS 3: In Tampa, Steven Stamkos set up the go-ahead goal in his return from a right knee injury as Tampa Bay beat Florida. Stamkos missed the final 65 games last season with a torn meniscus in the knee.

He sent a pass from the left circle through the slot to Vladislav Namestnikov, who put Tampa Bay up 3-2 from near the post 59 seconds into the final period. BLUE JACKETS 5, ISLANDERS 0: In Columbus, Ohio, Pierre-Luc Dubois scored in his NHL debut and Sergei Bobrovsky made 29 saves for Columbus. Rookie Sonny Milano scored 1:07 into the game, and the 19-year-old Dubois made it 5-0 midway through the second period. BY RONALD BLUM ASSOCIATED PRESS ORLANDO, Fla. Teenage star Christian Pulisic scored with a brilliant touch to complete a field- length attack just eight minutes in, then split the defense with a pass that set up Jozy Altidore for the first of the two goals and put the United States back on track for next World Cup with a 4-0 rout of Panama on Friday night.

The U.S., with 12 points, moved two points ahead of Panama into third place the last automatic berth in the North and Central American and Caribbean region. Honduras has nine points going into its match today at Costa Rica, which is second with 15. Goal difference means the Americans put themselves in great shape to reach an eighth straight World Cup, almost certainly with a win Tuesday at Trinidad and Tobago and likely with a draw if Honduras fails to win today. The U.S. is plus-five to minus-two for Panama and minus-seven for Honduras.

The fourth-place team advances to a playoff next month against Australia or Syria. Golden Knights top Stars to win debut game Pulisic has team back on track for World Cup NHL U.S. SOCCER JOURNAL STAFF WRITER A three-game road trip that took them from one coast to another, the New Mexico soccer team comes home and embraces a chance to make a move in the Conference USA standings. The Lobos (6-3-1, 1-1-1 Conference USA) seek their third straight win tonight at 7 when they host Florida Atlantic (1-7-0, 1-3-0). In fifth place among nine C-USA teams, UNM gets its turn against two teams struggling in league play, including UAB next week.

3-0 win in Los Angeles vs. Loyola Marymount was coach Jeremy 300th in a career that has spanned 25 seasons. Overall he is 300-136-47 in 25 years, 20576 -37 in his 16th campaign with UNM. The visiting Owls have just six goals in eight matches, with losses in the last four. Their only win, however, was 2-1 in overtime over South Carolina, a team that drew 2-2 with UNM on Sept.

22. Wednesday vs. LMU, the Lobos erupted after a scoreless first half, with all three of their goals coming in a 20-minute span of the second half. In their last six outings, the Lobos have scored only one first-half goal, but 10 after intermission. The Lobos also are making the grade in the classroom.

A team grade-point average of 3.36 for 20-16-17 earned UNM the United Soccer Coaches College Team Academy Award. SOCCER: Claire Lynch was in the right place at the right time, punching in a deflection off the goal post in the 53rd minute, and host New Mexico (9-4, 4-1) held on for a 1-0 Mountain West Conference victory over Fresno State (6-5-2, 1-3-1) on Friday. The Lobos have six wins in their last seven games and have taken over the league lead heading into 1 p.m. home match against San Jose State. In Las Cruces, New Mexico State opened WAC play with a 2-2 draw against CSU Bakersfield (5-7-1).

Aileen Galicia scored both goals for the Aggies 6-6-2). GOLF: In Highlands Ranch, New Mexico shares the lead with Denver in the 14-team field, both shooting 5-under par 283 in first round of the Ron Moore Intercollegiate. Lobo Ingrid Gutierrez shot a 6-under 66 for a one-stroke lead. VOLLEYBALL: UNM is back in Mountain West Conference action today at 1 p.m. at San Jose State, and the Lobos hope for a better result than they got Thursday.

Nevada (5-12, 3-2) beat UNM (10-7, 2-3) 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-18). It was first loss to the Wolf Pack in 10 matches. Lauren Twitty had 19 kills on a career- high 71 attempts. However, she hit .085, with 13 errors. New Mexico State plays at Utah Valley today at 1 p.m.

The Aggies are circling back from Seattle, where they defeated the Seattle Redhawks 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-21) on Thursday. UNM soccer looks to stay hot Lynch, Lobo women shut out Fresno State OLYMPIC SPORTS Today soccer Fla. Atlantic at UNM, 7 p.m. ROBERTO E. Ray Borg, left, spars with Jackson-Wink teammate John Dodson ahead of his fight tonight for the UFC flyweight title.

Borg faces Demetrious Johnson in the UFC 216 co-main event. Borg aiming to make history against Johnson New Mexican fights for UFC title tonight MMA Today UFC 216 Las Vegas, Pay-per view main card 8 p.m. Demetrious Johnson vs. Ray Borg (co-main event, flyweight championship) llll fallsale 4418cenTralSe easyentranceoffWashington BeTheFirstToKnow TM doWnloadTHeneWronPeTerSon aPPonyoUrSMarTPHoneorTableT oneofTHelarGeSTSelecTionS ofHandGUnSaTGreaTPriceS USEDREMINGTON1100SHOTGUNS 1372860-03 7available 7available USEDRUGERLC9PISTOLS 1 4 CCIBlazer22LR 50RoundBox 5BoxLimitPerCustomer BlackHills45ACP 20RoundBox 5BoxLimitPerCustomer 45ACPAmmunition.