American underdog Dustin Poirier yesterday shook up the world of mixed martial arts, beating up the legs of Irish superstar Conor McGregor before knocking him out at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi.
“I’m happy, but I’m not surprised. I put in the work,” Poirier said, after the referee stepped in after 2 minutes, 32 seconds of the second round to save McGregor from further damage, after he was dropped by a fierce combination of punches.
The 32-year-old Poirier was ranked second in the flyweight division going into the fight, but still rated a heavy underdog by bookmakers to beat his fourth-ranked opponent, arguably the most famous fighter the sport has seen.
Photo: Jeff Bottari via USA TODAY
The controversial McGregor, known as “Notorious,” was returning to the octagon for the first time in a year and hoping for a repeat of the pair’s first contest in 2014, which he won by TKO after just 109 seconds.
Poirier, who now has a UFC record of 27-6, used low calf kicks in an effort to put McGregor (22-5) off his usual ferocious stand-up game — and it worked.
“First off I want to say Conor took this result professionally. We’re 1-1 and maybe we’re going to have to do it again,” Poirier said, hinting at the prospect of a trilogy fight. “I’m happy with the place I am in. I’m happy with the face I see in the mirror.”
“The goal was to be technical and to pick my shots, not brawl at all. I had him hurt and I went a little crazy,” he added.
McGregor likes to call himself “Mystic Mac,” and had spent the week leading into the fight predicting he would end it inside 60 seconds.
However, he faced a different Poirier than the one who had looked overmatched when the pair previously met at UFC 178 at the lighter featherweight.
Poirier worked the legs and took McGregor down into a grapple for much of the first round — avoiding a boxing face-off against a man who once shared the ring with Floyd Mayweather Jr and had touted a future fight against Manny Pacquiao.
Poirier then found his range in the second, weakening McGregor’s base with more calf kicks before exploding for the shock finish.
He staggered McGregor with a big overhand left and then dropped him to the canvas with a straight right flush on the Irishman’s nose before referee Herb Dean waved it off.
“The low calf kick was very good, but Dustin is some fighter,” McGregor said. “I’ll dust it off and come back because that’s what I’ll do. I’ll take my licks.”
“I’m gutted. It’s a tough one to swallow. I just want to go back to the hotel and chill with my kids and regroup,” he said.
The second-ranked Poirier is now in prime position to either inherit or fight for the UFC’s lightweight belt, most recently held by the retired, unbeaten Russian Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“I felt like this was the title fight. If Khabib’s not coming back, then I’m the champion,” Poirier said.
The fight was held inside the new Etihad Arena on the “Fight Island” bio-secure sporting hub of Yas Island that the Abu Dhabi government established in July last year.
The three UFC events staged over the past week have been the first to allow fans to sit cageside, with about 2,000 in attendance for the main event.
Doping fears prevented former US Open champion Emma Raducanu from treating insect bites on the eve of the Australian Open, she said, with players increasingly wary about ingesting contaminated substances. The British player was speaking in the wake of high-profile doping cases involving Iga Swiatak and Jannik Sinner. “I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on board, what we use,” the 22-year-old said, recalling an incident on Friday. “I got really badly bitten by, I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess,” she added. The bites “flared up and swelled up really a
The NHL postponed the Los Angeles Kings’ home game against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday with several massive wildfires burning across the greater Los Angeles area. The Kings and Flames were scheduled to play on Wednesday night at the Kings’ downtown arena. The NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers were scheduled to host the Charlotte Hornets in the same arena last night. “Our hearts are with our entire Los Angeles community,” the Kings said in a statement. “We appreciate the hard working first responders who are diligently working to contain the fire and protect our community. We appreciate the league’s support in keeping our
TWO IN A WEEK: Despite an undefeated start to the year playing alongside Jiang Xinyu of China, Wu Fang-hsien is to play the Australian Open with a Russian partner Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien yesterday triumphed at the Hobart International, winning the women’s doubles title at the US$275,094 outdoor hard-court tournament, while McCartney Kessler lifted the trophy in the women’s singles. Fourth-ranked Wu and partner Jiang Xinyu of China took 1 hour, 15 minutes to defeat Romania’s Monica Niculescu and Fanny Stollar of Hungary, 6-1, 7-6 (8/6) at the Hobart International Tennis Centre, their second title in a week. Wu and Jiang on Sunday won the women’s doubles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, beating Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and Sabrina Santamaria of the US. Their winning ways continued in Australia as they stretched
EL CLASSICO: La Liga champions Real Madrid would face Barcelona in the Super Cup final tomorrow. Barca secured their final spot after a 2-0 win over Bilbao on Wednesday Real Madrid would chase a record-equaling 14th Spanish Super Cup title in the final against Barcelona after second-half goals by Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo helped them to a 3-0 win over Mallorca in the semi-finals on Thursday. England midfielder Bellingham broke the deadlock after the hour mark with a low shot into the middle of the goal before Mallorca defender Martin Valjent’s own goal doubled the lead in stoppage time followed by a Rodrygo strike from close range. Spanish champions Real are to play Barcelona for the trophy tomorrow after goals by Gavi and Lamine Yamal earned Barca a 2-0 win over
RSS