Dmitry Bivol avenged his 2024 loss to Artur Beterbiev, defeating his rival by majority decision for the undisputed light heavyweight championship early Sunday morning at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The rematch was set 133 days after Beterbiev won a narrow majority decision in October, and the second fight was every bit as good as the first. In the end, it was Bivol's activity that won over the judges with scores of 116-112, 115-113 and 114-114.

After spending 36 minutes in the ring together in the first fight, both fighters were familiar with what the other had to offer. It would be Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) who made the first adjustment by standing flat-footed in front of Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs) rather than staying on his toes and moving around the ring. The slight alteration in strategy yielded early results as Bivol was sharp behind the jab and prevented Beterbiev from unloading his power shots.

But Beterbiev, 40, continued to push forward and force Bivol to fight at a hectic pace. Bivol found success putting together combinations with several punches piercing through Beterbiev's guard. Although Bivol was more active, Beterbiev's body punching began to wear on the challenger. Beterbiev placed his foot firmly on the gas in the fifth round and slammed punches into the body and head of Bivol, moving him around the ring with every punch.

Bivol, 34, would steady himself in the seventh round and put combinations behind the jab. A short-left hook in the eighth round forced Beterbiev to reset and think twice about pushing forward. With his punch output diminishing, Bivol would take advantage of his tiring opponent and pelt him with clean combination punching in the center of the ring.

With Bivol looking fresher in the championship rounds, Beterbiev needed to find something to alter the course of the fight. The skill and precision punching of Bivol halted Beterbiev's advances. Unlike the first fight, where Bivol released his grip on the fight, the Russian bit down on his mouthpiece and was busier to close the show.

In a last-ditch effort, Beterbiev stunned Bivol with a right hand late in the 12th round and opened up a cut over his left eye. But Bivol stymied Beterbiev's final salvo by clinching and avoiding further damage.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Chaz Lanier had a season-high 30 points, including eight 3-pointers, and No. 6 Tennessee defeated No. 7 Texas A&M 77-69 on Saturday.

Lanier, a senior transfer from North Florida, went 8-of-13 from beyond the arc and 10-of-18 overall in game that featured 11 lead changes and eight ties. Lanier's eight 3s were the most by a Tennessee player since Jordan McRae in 2013, who made eight in a loss to Georgia, according to ESPN Research.

"Really proud of our guys today where, again, I thought they were very resilient," said Tennessee coach Rick Barnes, who won his 50th career game over an AP Top-10 team, the 11th coach to reach the mark. "We didn't get off to the start we wanted, but again, that happens. But we kept our poise."

Jordan Gainey made a 3-pointer with 3:33 to left to give Tennessee (22-5, 9-5 Southeastern Conference) a 63-59 lead. Zakai Zeigler hit a 3 in front of the Vols' bench on an inbound pass with 21 seconds remaining to seal the victory.

"We've seen him do it," Barnes said. "It seems like the bigger the moment, he thrives on that."

The Aggies (20-7, 9-5) started the game with three consecutive dunks before the Vols finally scored a little more than three minutes into the raucous setting at Reed Arena.

A&M led 17-8 early before the Vols scored the next seven points to climb back in the game.

Wade Taylor IV led the Aggies with 18 points, despite missing all nine of his 3-point attempts.

Takeaways

Texas A&M: The Aggies were coming off a 16-point loss at No. 21 Mississippi State that snapped a five-game winning streak, and they've lost two straight games for the first time since mid-January (at home against Alabama and at Kentucky). A&M, despite failing to collect its first home victory against a top-10 opponent in program history, likely won't be affected much in the NCAA Tournament seedings.

Tennessee: The Volunteers hadn't played since an 81-76 home victory over Vanderbilt a week earlier, and the rested crew appeared to have more energy and spirit from the start against the Aggies.

Key moment

The Aggies led 40-38 with 15:27 remaining when Tennessee's Jahmai Mashack collected an acrobatic, improbable tip-in while trying to grab the rebound off a Gainey missed 3-pointer.

"I thought Jahmai Mashack's two tips were huge," Barnes said. "They were huge and a lot of people wouldn't notice that, but maybe the two biggest plays of the game."

Key stat

Both teams made 90% of their free throws, each hitting 18 of 20.

Up next The Volunteers play at LSU on Tuesday night. The Aggies host Vanderbilt on Wednesday night.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

LOS ANGELES -- The Rams have given quarterback Matthew Stafford's agent permission to speak to other teams about his market value, a source confirmed to ESPN.

The news was first reported by NFL Network. The sides have been discussing a reworked contract with the goal of reaching a new agreement, a source told ESPN.

After the Rams won Super Bowl LVI, the team and Stafford agreed to a contract extension in March 2022. Stafford has two seasons left on the extension, with $4 million guaranteed in 2025 and none in 2026.

Last offseason, Stafford and the Rams agreed to a reworked contract, an adjustment that took until the day Los Angeles reported to training camp. Rams coach Sean McVay said after the season that he hoped the team and Stafford, 37, would have clarity on the situation "sooner than later."

"I'm sure proud of the body of work and really proud of the way that he's played," McVay said during his end-of-season news conference. "I think the coolest thing you can say about Matthew is he shines the brightest on the biggest stages. When you look at the seven playoff games that he's played in since he's been a Ram, he certainly gives you a chance every time you step out on the field, and for that I'm sure appreciative."

After spending his first 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions, the Rams traded for Stafford before the 2021 season then won the Super Bowl in their first season together.

In 16 games last season, Stafford completed 65.8% of his passes for 3,762 yards with 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Jabari Smith Jr., back after missing 22 games with a broken left hand, had 15 points to help the Houston Rockets win 121-115 in overtime Friday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Smith, normally a starter, entered the game off the bench early in the first quarter. He played 38 minutes and also had nine rebounds, two assists and a block.

Coach Ime Udoka said Smith's bench role was due in part to the possibility of not having some players Saturday night in Utah as the Rockets play back-to-back games.

"It was just a little bit of everything," Udoka said before the game. "Easing him back into it a little bit, not really conditioning wise, but we will see how he looks in this game and then everything is kind of open moving forward."

Smith broke a metacarpal bone in the hand during the team's shootaround Jan. 3. The Rockets went 12-10 with Smith out.

Amen Thompson started 20 of the 22 games during Smith's absence and was selected the Western Conference Defensive Player of the Month in January.

Smith started every game this season before the injury, averaging 11.9 points and 6.5 rebounds.

Fred VanVleet missed his eighth straight game Friday with a strained right ankle.

Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert missed his second straight game with lower back spasms. But Mike Conley returned after missing four games with a sprained right index finger. He had five points and five assists in 24 minutes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

CLEVELAND -- The Cavaliers' latest blowout victory included an unexpected bump.

Center Jarrett Allen hurt his right hand at some point in the first half of Cleveland's 142-105 rout of the New York Knicks on Friday night, an injury that could leave the NBA's top team without one of its key players.

Allen is expected to undergo an MRI on Saturday, an off day for the team. The Cavs, who improved to a league-best 46-10 with their most-lopsided win ever over New York, host the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.

Allen played just a few minutes in the second half before the Cavs announced he would not return.

"X-rays were negative, so that's good," coach Kenny Atkinson said. "I do think he's going to get an MRI tomorrow. He came up to me during the game. He goes, 'It's really bothering me. I'm not going to be able to finish.' But good X-rays were negative."

Allen was reluctant to discuss his injury when he was approached in the locker room following the game. The affable Allen, who did not have a wrap on his hand, did offer that he may have gotten hurt while trying to block a shot in the first quarter.

"He's fine," chimed in All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, who scored 27 points in 26 minutes.

Allen's injury comes just as the East-leading Cavs were getting back to full strength. Forward Dean Wade returned against the Knicks after missing several weeks with a bone bruise in his knee, and forward Isaac Okoro came back Thursday after being sidelined since Jan. 16 with a shoulder strain.

The 26-year-old Allen is a threat on both ends of the floor for Cleveland. He suffered a serious rib injury in the second round of the playoffs last season and was unable to play in the Eastern Conference semifinals against Boston, which eliminated the Cavs in five games.

The Cavs have had their share of injuries this season, but nothing major to any of their top players.

They did get another scare in the first half when All-Star guard Darius Garland hit his face on the floor after taking an awkward fall in the lane. Garland was driving to the basket when he got fouled in the air by Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns.

Moments earlier, Garland took a blow to the face while guarding New York guard Jalen Brunson, who was called for an offensive foul. After his fall, Garland, who missed significant time last season with a broken jaw, laid on the court while being attended to by a trainer for several minutes.

He remained in the game and split a pair of free throws. Garland finished with nine points. The 25-year-old was not seen in the locker room following the game.

WASHINGTON -- Kyle Kuzma's return to Washington led to a confusing moment with a couple of former teammates.

"One time in the first quarter, it might have been Alex [Sarr], he might have blocked a shot. Bilal [Coulibaly] came over to dap him up," Kuzma said. "Then I dapped up Bilal, just by instinct. It was weird."

Kuzma returned to Washington as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks and scored 19 points in their 104-101 victory over Sarr, Coulibaly and the Wizards on Friday night. Kuzma was traded from Washington to Milwaukee earlier this month, with Khris Middleton going to the Wizards in the deal.

Middleton missed a last-second 3-pointer that would have tied the score in his Wizards debut.

"Definitely a lot going on these last couple weeks," Middleton said. "It's a little strange and coincidental how this is my first game here with the Wizards -- against the Bucks."

Kuzma's departure from Washington was so recent he said the return this week gave him a chance to sleep in his own bed. He spent 3 seasons with the Wizards and looks back fondly on his tenure with them.

"I wouldn't trade this experience and being here and being a Wizard for anything," Kuzma said. "I think it was a great time for me, a time of growth, a time of figuring out who I am as a person."

Still, with Washington in the middle of a substantial rebuild, it wasn't a shock that he was traded, and he was ready.

"I think the writing was on the wall in a sense here. Not saying that was a good or a bad thing. I think everything in life really has an expiration date," Kuzma said. "It was my time to go, beneficial to all parties involved."

Kuzma hasn't been with Milwaukee for long, but the Bucks already need him to perform. Bobby Portis Jr. is unavailable because of a drug suspension, and Damian Lillard (hamstring) missed Friday's game. Giannis Antetokounmpo was in foul trouble throughout and fouled out after playing only 19 minutes.

"It was an odd game," Kuzma said. "I don't think I've ever seen Giannis have six fouls in 18 minutes. Don't know what that was about. Obviously, we're down bodies."

Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points, Evan Mobley added 21, and the Cleveland Cavaliers bullied the New York Knicks from the start Friday night, winning 142-105 in a matchup of two of the Eastern Conference's top teams.

Only the Cavaliers looked elite, winning their sixth straight and improving the NBA's best record to 46-10. Cleveland has won 14 games by 20-plus points, matching its most in a season in franchise history. The Cavaliers also topped 140 points for the fourth time in 2024-25, their most in franchise history.

Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson, when asked, said he didn't view it as a statement win, however.

"No, no, no. I think we played well, I thought we were focused, but I wouldn't call it a statement win," Atkinson said. "They're obviously a really good team, we were at home, but I think we got good feedback on what could work if you play this team in the playoffs. That's probably the most important thing."

The 37-point loss was the Knicks' largest under coach Tom Thibodeau and tied for the third largest in Thibodeau's head coaching career.

"Right from the start," Thibodeau said of where things went wrong. "We had the first couple minutes where ... we're up, I think, five and then missed a couple of lobs, and then if you jog back, there's going to be a problem. And then we got hit quick and didn't protect the basket, and they got a lot of confidence early from that and then it snowballed from there."

Jalen Brunson scored 26 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 23 for the Knicks, who beat the Chicago Bulls in overtime Thursday in their first game back from the All-Star break.

New York (37-19) couldn't use a back-to-back set as an excuse as Cleveland won in Brooklyn a night earlier. Friday marked Cleveland's second-largest win this season; the Cavaliers beat the Dallas Mavericks by 43 points Feb. 2.

"Just can't give in, and that's the biggest thing," Thibodeau said. "You can't allow anything to break you. You got to have the mental toughness to get through things. And so there's got to be a lot more resolve, particularly on the road against the team that is this good, you know?"

Cleveland got a scare in the first half when All-Star guard Darius Garland hit his head on the floor while taking an awkward fall. Garland, who missed significant time last season due to a broken jaw, stayed in the game.

The Cavaliers played most of the second half without center Jarrett Allen, who injured his right hand. X-rays were negative.

New York was without versatile swingman Josh Hart, who missed his second straight game because of a sore right knee. But the Knicks saw the return of OG Anunoby, who played for the first time since Feb. 1 after dealing with a toe injury.

Anunoby played 27 minutes, finishing with 5 points, 1 steal and 2 turnovers. He is one of three players with 100 3-pointers, 60 steals and 40 blocks this season.

"It's about what I thought it would be," Thibodeau said of Anunoby's return to action. "There was some good minutes early. ... There's some rust he's got to work through, but I thought he had good energy."

Mitchell went on a tear late in the first half, dropping a trio of 3-pointers in the final 1:43 as Cleveland opened a 27-point halftime lead. Mitchell loves facing the Knicks: He came in averaging 30.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists in his previous nine regular-season games against New York.

"I don't have any stats to back this up, but it seems like Don does not like to have two bad shooting nights in a row, and when he does shoot bad, you're pretty sure that A) he's going to come out firing and B) he's probably going to make a lot of them," Atkinson said. "That's the competitor he is, and I felt he had a little more oomph today -- a little more juice.

"It's part of what we talked about before with having lost to this team in the playoffs and wanting to prove yourself."

The Knicks fell to 0-6 this season against the Cavaliers, Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder, the only teams with better records than New York.

It's a big weekend for both teams as the Knicks are in Boston on Sunday and the Cavaliers host the top-scoring Memphis Grizzlies that night.

"That's part of this league, and you got to have the toughness to get through those things," Thibodeau said of the quick turnaround. "That's what the schedule says, just be ready to play."

ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Basketball Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki admitted that he, like most everyone else, was shocked that the Dallas Mavericks sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in a blockbuster trade earlier this month.

"I think I was as shocked and surprised as anyone was. ... I really couldn't believe it," Nowitzki told 96.7 The Ticket in Dallas on Friday of his reaction to learning of the trade.

Nowitzki also shared his thoughts while texting with Doncic shortly after the deal.

"Of course I felt a little disappointed and sad for him, you know. I think he obviously didn't see this coming," Nowitzki said. "So he invited me to come out to his first game in L.A., and I felt like I had to support him.

"I think he was -- I mean it was reported that -- he was pretty down and disappointed in how it went down, and so I wanted to be there for him, I wanted to be there for his family. ... I'm sure he wanted to finish his career like I did."

Doncic, 25, began his NBA career in 2018-19, which coincidentally was Nowitzki's final season of his 21-year career with the Mavericks.

Nowitzki, 46, was the NBA MVP in 2006-07 and a 14-time All-Star. He averaged 20.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists across 1,522 games with Dallas.

ALTUS, Okla. -- Eddie Fisher, the right-hander whose 15-year major league career included an All-Star selection for the Chicago White Sox and a World Series title with Baltimore, has died. He was 88.

The Lowell-Tims Funeral Home & Crematory in Altus says Fisher died Monday after a brief illness.

Born July 16, 1936, in Shreveport, Louisiana, Fisher made his big league debut in 1959 for the San Francisco Giants. He later played for the White Sox and Orioles, as well as Cleveland, California and St. Louis.

Primarily a reliever over the course of his career, Fisher was an All-Star in 1965, when he went 15-7 with a 2.40 ERA and made what was then an American League record of 82 appearances. He was with the Orioles the following year when they won the World Series.

TAMPA, Fla. -- New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner on Friday emphasized that he has not ordered his front office to drop the team's player payroll below the highest competitive balance tax threshold of $301 million this season.

Steinbrenner, however, questioned whether fielding a payroll in that range is prudent.

"Does having a huge payroll really increase my chances that much of winning the championship?" Steinbrenner said. "I'm not sure there's a strong correlation there. Having said that, we're the New York Yankees, we know what our fans expect. We're always going to be one of the highest in payroll. That's not going to change. And it certainly didn't change this year."

In the wild-card era (since 1995), 21 of the 30 teams to win the World Series ranked in the top 10 in Opening Day payroll. However, just three teams since 2009, the year the Yankees claimed their last championship, have won the World Series ranked in the top three in payroll: The 2018 Boston Red Sox (first in the majors), 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers (second) and 2024 Dodgers (third).

This year, Steinbrenner said the Yankees, one of the most valuable franchises in professional sports, are currently projected to have a CBT payroll between $307 million and $308 million after a busy winter that included losing Juan Soto in free agency but adding Max Fried, Devin Williams, Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt. Cot's Contracts, which tracks baseball salaries and payrolls, estimates the number to be $304.7 million, ranking fourth in the majors behind the Dodgers, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies.

The Yankees have ranked in the top three in payroll in 16 of the 17 seasons since Steinbrenner became chairman and controlling owner of the franchise in 2008. The exception was 2018, when the team finished seventh.

The team was one of the nine levied tax penalties last season -- the Yankees paid $62.5 million as one of four clubs taxed at a base rate of 50% for exceeding the lowest threshold in three or more straight years -- and one of four levied the stiffest penalties for surpassing the highest threshold. As a result, their first-round pick in the 2025 draft dropped 10 slots.

This season, any dollar spent over $301 million will come with a 60% surcharge.

"I would say no," Steinbrenner said when asked whether dropping below the highest threshold is a priority. "The threshold is not the concern to me."

The Yankees, however, have tried to trade right-hander Marcus Stroman to shed salary and perhaps allocate the money elsewhere, according to sources. Stroman is due to make $18.5 million this season, but he isn't projected to break camp in the team's starting rotation.

The two-time All-Star started the Yankees' first Grapefruit League game of the year Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays, tossing a scoreless inning a week after missing the first two days of workouts and emphasizing he would not pitch out of the bullpen this season. He maintained his stance Friday.

"I haven't thought about it, to be honest," Stroman said after departing the Yankees' 4-0 win. "I know who I am as a pitcher. I'm a very confident pitcher. I don't think you'd want someone in your starting rotation that would be like, 'Hey, I'm going to go to the bullpen.' That's not someone you'd want."

Steinbrenner also reiterated that he would consider supporting a salary cap for the next collective bargaining agreement if a floor is also implemented "so that clubs that I feel aren't spending enough on payroll to improve their team would have to spend more."

The current CBA is set to expire after the 2026 season.