Alvarez upset by Nasyukhin in One Championship debut

Russian Timofey Nasyukhin upset American Eddie Alvarez with a first-round technical knockout in the mixed martial arts One Championship on Sunday at Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo's premier sumo venue.

Nasyukhin floored Alvarez with a right hand to the side of the head with 55 seconds left in the opening round of the lightweight bout, which was Alvarez's debut with One Championship.

Nasyukhin kicked high early and put a two-punch combination together when Alvarez attempted to pressure him backward. He sent the former UFC 155-pound title holder down with a right hand two minutes in.

Mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters Aung La N Sang of Myanmar, right, and Japan's Ken Hasegawa fight during their middleweight world championship of One Championship bout in Tokyo, Sunday, March 31, 2019. (AP PhotoKoji Sasahara)

With a minute left, Nasyukhin again stunned Alvarez who went down on a knee and his opponent was relentless until the referee stepped in.

"This has been the case most of my career, people have underestimated me," the 28-year-old Nasyukhin said. "I knew that he was a better opponent than me and he's an MMA legend but I used that as motivation."

The 35-year-old Alvarez, who hadn't fought since July 2018, was unavailable for comment after the bout as he was taken to a nearby hospital.

Mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters Demetrious Johnson, left, of the United States and Japan's Yuya Wakamatsu fight during their flyweight world grand prix quarterfinal of One Championship bout in Tokyo, Sunday, March 31, 2019. (AP PhotoKoji Sasahara)

American Demetrious Johnson, also making his One Championship debut, won his flyweight bout when he got Japan's Yuya Wakamatsu in a choke hold at 2 minutes, 40-seconds of the second round.

"Yuya is a tough opponent," Johnson said. "Being my first fight in Japan, I knew I was going to face some adversity. I wanted to challenge him and when you challenge someone, you leave yourself open to getting hit but it was a great fight."

Johnson and Alvarez are two former UFC champions who moved to the Singapore-based One Championship this year.

Mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters Demetrious Johnson of the United States celebrates after defeating Japan's Yuya Wakamatsu during their flyweight world grand prix quarterfinal of One Championship bout in Tokyo, Sunday, March 31, 2019. (AP PhotoKoji Sasahara)

One has staged shows across Asia from Myanmar to China over the past seven years, but waited to take its shot at the martial arts-loving fan base in Japan, where several major MMA organizations have risen and fallen over the years. One also plans to debut in Vietnam and South Korea later in 2019.

Also, Aung La N Sang retained his middleweight title with a second-round TKO of challenger Ken Hasegawa.

With 30 seconds left, La N Sang landed a massive right hand. Hasegawa immediately fell to the canvas and La N Sang moved in to get the finish.

Mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters Russia's Timofey Nastyukhin ,left and Eddie Alvarez of the Unites States fight during their lightweight world grand prix quarterfinal of One Championship bout in Tokyo, Sunday, March 31, 2019. (AP PhotoKoji Sasahara)

Jing Nan Xiong defeated Angela Lee to keep her strawweight title.

Xiong survived a series of submission attempts in the fourth round then countered in the final frame with body kicks and got the TKO stoppage at the 1:37 mark of the fifth round.

Challenger Shinya Aoki gave the sellout crowd of 11,000 a thrill when he won his lightweight bout over Eduard Folayang with a choke hold in the first round.

Mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters China's Xiong Jingnan, right, and Angela Lee of Singapore fight during One Championship bout in Tokyo, Sunday, March 31, 2019. (AP PhotoKoji Sasahara)

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Mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters China's Xiong Jingnan, right, and Angela Lee of Singapore fight during One Championship bout in Tokyo, Sunday, March 31, 2019. (AP PhotoKoji Sasahara)

Mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters China's Xiong Jingnan, left, and Angela Lee of Singapore fight during One Championship bout in Tokyo, Sunday, March 31, 2019. (AP PhotoKoji Sasahara)

Mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters Aung La N Sang of Myanmar, left, and Japan's Ken Hasegawa fight during their middleweight world championship of One Championship bout in Tokyo, Sunday, March 31, 2019. (AP PhotoKoji Sasahara)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's president on Tuesday ruled out allowing U.S. strikes against cartels on Mexican soil, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was willing to do whatever it takes to stop drugs entering the U.S.

“It’s not going to happen,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said.

“He (Trump) has suggested it on various occasions or he has said, ‘we offer you a United States military intervention in Mexico, whatever you need to fight the criminal groups,’” she said. “But I have told him on every occasion that we can collaborate, that they can help us with information they have, but that we operate in our territory, that we do not accept any intervention by a foreign government.”

Sheinbaum said she had said this to Trump and to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on previous occasions and that they have understood.

“Would I want strikes in Mexico to stop drugs? OK with me, whatever we have to do to stop drugs,” Trump said Monday, adding that he’s “not happy with Mexico.”

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico shared a video on X later Monday that included previous comments from Rubio saying that the U.S. would not take unilateral action in Mexico.

Meanwhile, Mexican and U.S. diplomats were trying to sort out Tuesday what may have been an actual U.S. incursion.

On Monday, men arrived in a boat at a beach in northeast Mexico and installed some signs signaling land that the U.S. Department of Defense considered restricted.

Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said late Monday that the country’s navy had removed the signs, which appeared to be on Mexican territory. And on Tuesday, Sheinbaum said that the International Boundary and Water Commission, a binational agency that determines the border between the two countries, was getting involved.

The signs, driven into the sand near where the Rio Grande empties into the Gulf of Mexico, caused a stir when witnesses said men in a boat arrived at the local beach known as Playa Bagdad and erected them.

The signs read in English and Spanish, “Warning: Restricted Area” and went on to explain that it was Department of Defense property and had been declared restricted by “the commander.” It said there could be no unauthorized access, photography or drawings of the area.

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico shared a comment from the Pentagon Tuesday about the incident, confirming that contractors putting up signs to mark the “National Defense Area III” had placed signs at the mouth of the Rio Grande.

“Changes in water depth and topography altered the perception of the international boundary’s location," the statement said. "Government of Mexico personnel removed 6 signs based on their perception of the international boundary’s location.”

The Pentagon said the contractors would "coordinate with appropriate agencies to avoid confusion in the future.”

Mexico had contacted its consulate in Brownsville, Texas and then the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. Eventually, it was determined that contractors working for some U.S. government entity had placed the signs, Sheinbaum said.

“But the river changes its course, it breaks loose and according to the treaty you have to clearly demarcate the national border,” Sheinbaum said during her daily press briefing.

The area is close to SpaceX Starbase, which sits adjacent to Boca Chica Beach on the Texas side of the Rio Grande.

The facility and launch site for the SpaceX rocket program is under contract with the Department of Defense and NASA, which hopes to send astronauts back to the moon and someday to Mars.

In June, Sheinbaum said the government was looking into contamination from the SpaceX facility after pieces of metal, plastic and rocket pieces were reportedly found on the Mexican side of the border following the explosion of a rocket during a test.

The area also carries the added sensitivity of Trump's order to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, which Mexico has also rejected.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum present a new security strategy against violence for Michoacan state, at the National Palace, in Mexico City, Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Claudia Rosel)