Anderson Silva face-planted Tito Ortiz with a big knockout in the opening round of their fight on Saturday night in Florida.

The 46-year-old UFC superstars had swapped the Octagon for the boxing ring but their clash was short-lived when Silva connected with two punches which wiped Ortiz out.

Ortiz had pressurised Silva, backed him into the corner and appeared to be in control, ready to let loose his own punches.

But Silva, with little space to manoeuvre, caught Ortiz with a flush right hook which immediately hurt him badly.

He followed it up with a left hand which crashed Ortiz to the canvas face-first.

The comprehensive defeat compounded a miserable boxing debut for Ortiz who had missed weight at the weigh-in and was forced to pay a fine directly to Silva for the fight to go ahead.

Silva’s late-career rejuvenation inside the ring continues – he beat 60-fight veteran Julio Cesar Chavez Jr earlier this year.

As well as his glittering UFC accomplishments, Silva debuted as a boxer with a knockout loss in 1998 then won a second fight in 2006 before returning to the sport this year.

Sports Boxing schedule

September 25
Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk – IBF, WBA, WBO heavyweight titles
Lawrence Okolie vs Dilan Prasovic – WBO cruiserweight title

October 2
Chris Eubank Jr vs Sven Elbir
David Avanesyan vs Liam Taylor – European welterweight title
Richard Riakpohre vs Krzysztof Twardowski
Mikael Lawal vs Steven Ward

October 16
Savannah Marshall vs Lolita Muzeya – WBO middleweight title
Hughie Fury vs Christian Hammer

October 24
Jamel Herring vs Shakur Stevenson – WBO super-featherweight title

November 6
BOXXER tournament

December 18
Josh Taylor vs Jack Catterall – undisputed super-lightweight title

World 10,000m bronze medallist Agnes Jebet Tirop on Sunday sprinted to a stunning 10km women-only world record finish at the Road to Records in Germany.

Tirop chipped 28 seconds off the women-only 10km world record after cutting the tape in 30:01 in a race that had a strong field.

The outright women’s 10km world record is held by Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei, who set it at the Birell Prague Grand Prix in 2017.

It was also a clean podium sweep for Kenyan road racers in the competition held at the Adidas headquarters in Herzogenaurach.

Former 5000m African champion Sheila Chepkirui and Family Bank half marathon champion Nancy Jelagat took the second and third positions in 30:17 and 30:50.

In a pure display of class, 25-year-old Tirop passed the 9km mark in 27:07, a world record pace covering the remaining kilometre in a 2:54 stellar sprint.

Tirop and Chepkirui broke away from the leading pack, which also comprised compatriot Jelagat, just before the 5km mark. Tirop then outran Chipkirui at the 6km as she kept a strong momentum to the finish.

“I am so happy to break the world record. The pace was tough but I felt my body was responding well,” Tirop said.

Standard

Paris city of France will host the 17th edition of Paralympic Games scheduled for 2024.

The curtain fell on the 16th Paralympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on 5 September, in Tokyo Japan.

The Governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike passed the Paralympic flag to International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons, who then passed it to the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo. The orange Paralympic flame turned purple — the colour of WeThe15.

The entire Stadium was alight with the glow of a sunset, which went smaller and smaller, fading into the Cauldron. The Paralympic Flame was extinguished like the setting sun.

“These Games helped fulfill the dreams of many here in Tokyo and fuelled the ambitions of many more watching at home,” said Parsons.

“The Paralympic Movement has a message for you: Tokyo ga daisuki desu, We love you Tokyo; Nihon ga daisuki desu, we love you Japan! Immense gratitude to all the people that delivered these Games.”

And finally, the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games came to a close. The spirit of the Games will be carried now in the 2024 Games.

The just concluded Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics show how Japan made the world sit back and take notice of their organisational capabilities and more importantly, their will and determination to keep their promise, made eight years ago, of delivering a mega event.