Luke Littler insists he is “just a lad doing what he does best” after Nathan Aspinall called him a celebrity rather than a darts player.
Littler has transcended the sport following his explosion onto the scene at the World Championship over Christmas.
The 17-year-old has been a guest on the Jonathan Ross Show, Comic Relief and appeared on a podcast with social media stars The Sidemen.
However, that has not been a distraction as he has proved himself to be already one of the best players in the world, having won titles at the Bahrain Masters, PDC Players Championship, Belgian Open and making it back-to-back nightly Premier League wins at his Manchester homecoming on Thursday.
“Maybe look at my following, I might be classed as a celebrity,” he said. “But I’m just a lad doing what he does best.
“Am I? I don’t know. I’m just a dart player. I just get on with it, whatever comes my way.
“I just have to get on with it. Whether I say things and don’t back it up. But at the minute I’m saying things and do back it up.”
Asked what his favourite celebrity booking has been so far, he said: “Probably meeting up with The Sidemen. I’ve been watching them since the opening packs on Fifa 13 and 14.
“Just to chat with them and chill out when I’ve got a day off.
“It’s always good just to step away from the darting world, even if it’s just a day at home.
“At the minute everything is going well. I’ve not been planning to win anything, just let my darts do the talking.”
Littler beat his stablemate and friend Aspinall on the way to glory at the AO Arena on Thursday night.
It was Aspinall, who has been mentoring Littler on the mental side of the game, who said that Littler is more than a just a darts player.
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But ‘The Asp’ says Littler still has plenty to learn from those who do not claim the spotlight in the same way.
“He is a fantastic talent. What he’s done for the sport. Forget about his darts ability because it’s not about his darts,” he said.
“He’s not a darts player, he’s a celebrity. I’m a darts player, he’s a celebrity. That’s the difference.
“But what’s he doing, because he’s a celebrity, he’s projecting darts to a whole new level.
“I did a day of media on Tuesday at the BBC, BBC have never cared about darts. All of a sudden me and Luke Littler are in there for five hours doing media, they want us.
“That isn’t because of me or (Michael) Van Gerwen, that’s because of Luke Littler. So you’ve got to give credit where credit is due.
“He is helping us boys out as much as himself. But darts-wise, he’s great but he hasn’t got what we’ve got at the moment.
“He’s got to learn from us. I don’t learn from him, he learns from me.”
Edwards, Muhammad successfully make weight ahead of UFC Welterweight Championship clash at UFC 304 in Manchester
The UFC 304 main event between Jamaican-born British UFC Welterweight champion Leon Edwards and number two ranked Belal Muhammad is now official after both men successfully weighed in at the Welterweight title fight limit of 170 pounds on Friday morning.
Edwards weighed in at 170 pounds while Muhammad came in one pound under at 169 pounds ahead of their rematch at the Co-op Live in Manchester, England on Saturday.
Their first fight back in March 2021 ended in a no contest after Edwards accidentally poked Muhammad in the eye, leaving him temporarily unable to see clearly.
On Saturday, Edwards will be looking to defend his Welterweight crown for the third time since winning it at UFC 278 in August 2022 while Muhammad will be looking for his sixth win in a row and first hold on a UFC title.
Friday’s weigh-ins went about as well as one can go as no fighter on the main card or prelims missed weight.
The rest of the main card is as follows:
Interim champion Tom Aspinall (251 lbs) vs Curtis Blaydes (256 lbs) for the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship
King Green (154.5 lbs) vs Paddy Pimblett (156 lbs) at lightweight
Christian Leroy Duncan (185 lbs) vs Gregory Rodrigues (185 lbs) at middleweight
Arnold Allen (145 lbs) vs Giga Chikadze (146 lbs) at featherweight
Edwards predicts knockout win over Muhammad in UFC 304 main event- “He’s another guy that’s in my way”
Jamaican-born British UFC Welterweight Champion Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards is predicting a knockout victory over opponent, number 2 ranked Belal Muhammad, in the main event at UFC 304 in Manchester this Saturday.
Edwards (22-3) enters Saturday’s fight coming off four wins in a row since a no contest against Muhammad in their first fight in March 2021 while Muhammad (23-3) has won five straight since that fight.
The 32-year-old southpaw was asked by MyProtein in a pre-fight interview how he plans to get the victory over Muhammad this weekend.
“Knock him out,” was his simple answer.
“I feel like, for this fight, I want to go out there and get a finish. We’ve fought before. I’ve felt his range and distance. I feel like I’m just the better overall mixed martial artist and I’ll prove that come Saturday night,” Edwards added.
If his prediction of a knockout comes true, it would be the fourth knockout for Edwards in 18 UFC fights.
His last win of that method was his famous head kick knockout win over former champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 in August 2022 to win the Welterweight title.
“I’m number one. I’m the best and that’s all it is. He’s another guy that’s in my way for me to get to where I want to get to and that’s it,” he said.
As far as his preparation goes, Edwards said a lot of hard work was put in to prepare for this upcoming fight.
“Camp’s been good. A lot of hard work. The team pushed me hard this camp and I’m feeling good for it,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to headlining my second homecoming show back in the UK,” he added.
Nathan Aspinall claims second Premier League victory in Rotterdam
Nathan Aspinall earned his second Premier League darts victory this season with a 6-4 victory against Michael Smith in the Night 12 final in Rotterdam.
Smith beat Gerwyn Price in the semi-finals to reach Thursday’s showpiece against the Asp, who pulled off an amazing comeback to beat Luke Humphries 6-4.
Aspinall took the first two legs in the final and although Smith started to grow into the match the Asp remained in control to take a two-leg lead.
Bully Boy capitalised on outer ring misses to pull a leg back before Aspinall responded to lead 5-3.
Smith continued to fight back and hit a stunning 170 checkout the following leg, but after missing three match darts the Asp eventually wrapped up victory with double eight.
The result means that Aspinall climbs into third in the table and believes his 140s helped him throughout the final.
He told Sky Sports: “Everyone knows me and Smithy are really good mates, we’re actually going on holiday next week together- so it might be a bit awkward!
“I came from behind against Luke and I’m thinking ‘don’t ruin this opportunity, you’ve been given a good chance here’ and I thought I played well.
“I thought I controlled the final, I didn’t play amazing, but my 140s were fantastic in that final and I know if I’m scoring well there’s not many people can beat me.”
Arguably Aspinall’s highlight of night 12 came against Humphries in their semi-final meeting.
Humphries spoiled Michael van Gerwen’s Rotterdam homecoming with a 6-5 victory, fending off a late comeback from the Dutchman to meet Aspinall in the final four.
“Cool Hand Luke” got off to a quick start with a two-leg lead, but the Asp began to creep back into contention, taking advantage of Humphries’ misfortune on the outer ring to come from 4-1 down to draw 4-4.
Finishing with a 97.18 average, Aspinall hit double 20 to secure his spot in the final.
Reflecting on that victory, the Asp added: “I’ve got a reputation of being behind, digging deep and winning games.
“What I always say is my opponent might be 4-0 up, but I know I’m better than you in my head.
“So if you can win four legs, I can win four legs and that is always what I try and tell people.
“Luke’s 4-1 up there, he wasn’t playing great, I saw him go and I’m thinking ‘yeah you’re the world champion, but if I play my game I’m as good as you’.
“That’s what I keep telling myself throughout the game and that was a big win against Luke tonight.”
After reaching the last three successive Premier League finals, Luke Littler was knocked out in the first quarter-final of the evening following a 6-3 defeat to Smith.
Smith met Price in the semi-finals after the Iceman claimed a 6-3 win over Rob Cross and he subsequently took Smith all the way in their final four meeting to force a deciding leg.
Bully Boy then hit a 74 checkout to squeeze into his fourth final of the campaign and he sits fifth in the standings.
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