SPORTS SHORTS 35: DUSTIN POIRIER SHOCKS CONOR MCGREGOR, AS PACQUIAO CONGRATULATES THE WINNER AND SAYS ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 25 Jan 2021
Dustin Poirier avenged his first loss to Conor McGregor and grabbed the biggest win of his career so far. The UFC lightweight contender astonished McGregor, age 32 years of Crumlin, Dublin, Ireland, beating him via TKO after destroying him with a battery of punches at 2:32 of the second round Saturday night in the main event of UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
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Poirier impaired McGregor on the right leg with powerful kicks to his calf. When McGregor's leg was injured, Poirier rained on him a barrage of tough blows. The finishing blast was a scooping right hand that dropped McGregor to the floor. Poirier followed this up with several strikes on McGregor while lying on the canvas, prompting referee Herb Dean to stop it, declaring the first knockout loss of McGregor's 13-year career. McGregor and Poirier had fought before, with McGregor winning a featherweight match by first-round TKO at UFC 178 in September 27, 2014.
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"It's heartbreaking, it's hard to take, highest highs and the lowest lows. My leg is completely dead - even though I felt like I was checking them I was badly compromised. It is like an American football in my suit at the minute," said McGregor as quoted by The Sun. "Dustin had a hell of a fight. I felt alright in the second round, felt better than him in the clinch but too little too late - my leg was compromised and I didn't adjust. Fair play to Dustin, I am happy for him. I am happy to compete in these challenging times. I don't know where I am at the minute. He fought a hell of a fight but what can you do, I am happy for him."
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Dustin Poirier, age 32 of Lafayette, Louisiana, United States is a former interim UFC lightweight champion. Poirier, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Florida, has been competing professionally since 2009, and holds victories over known MMA fighters such as Max Holloway (2 times), Eddie Alvarez, Justin Gaethje, Anthony Pettis, Dan Hooker, and Conor McGregor. As of December 22, 2020, he is No. 2 in the UFC lightweight rankings and No. 7 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings. His MMA record includes 27 wins, 13 by KOs, 6 losses and 1 no contest.
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Manny Pacquiao congratulates Poirier fo the win. "Beautiful thing about the fight game, anything can happen!" Manny Pacquiao posted on Twitter after the fight. "Congrats to @DustinPoirier Huge win!" he added. His multi-million dollar fight with McGregor is now in peril. Despite the defeat, however, McGregor said that he remains interested in giving another crack at boxing. "I'm open. Let's see what happens," McGregor said during the post-fight press conference. But he clarified, "I always want to focus on my MMA career."
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With the McGregor loss, talks on WBC interim lightweight champion Ryan Garcia emerging as the next Pacquiao foe hugged the headlines. This after a report by Mike Coppinger of The Athletic surfaced that there are already negotiations between Pacquiao's camp and that of Garcia. The Twitter post says: "Sources tell @TheAthletic there are talks regarding a potential bout between Ryan Garcia and Manny Pacquiao. Preliminary discussions at this stage. Pacquiao, 42, hasn’t competed since victory over Keith Thurman in July 2019. He remains a champion at 147 pounds. Garcia at 135 — Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) January 24, 2021."
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Floyd Mayweather also reacts to the McGregor KO defeat at the hands of Poirier. "The world knows Con Artist McLoser can steal everything from me and be loved but I’m hated. That just lets you all know that racism still exists,” Mayweather wrote on his Instagram account. "Conor cannot even win in his own sport, but talking about coming back to boxing to fight Pacquiao. Nobody wants to see that, it’s like my leftovers eating leftovers.”
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Dana White doubts Conor McGregor's future after the UFC CEO questioned whether the former two-weight champion still had the "hunger" to compete anymore. "When he was a young kid he was hungry, now he has got everything he ever wanted so I don't know, it goes this way or that way," said White as quoted by Daily Mail. McGregor has earned huge money including a mega-purse after fighting Floyd Mayweather in 2017. He was into several business ventures including a whiskey business and a fashion range and owns a collection of luxury watches and super cars.
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Stephen Curry passed Hall of Famer Reggie Miller for second place on the NBA’s all-time 3-pointers list in the third quarter Saturday night in Salt Lake City when the Utah Jazz beat the Golden State Warriors, 127-108. Miller made 2,560 3-pointers over 1,389 games in his 18-year NBA career. Curry passed him in his 715th career game, coming early in his 12th NBA season. Ray Allen holds the top spot with 2,973 career 3-point conversions.
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The Brooklyn Nets edged the undermanned Miami Heat, 128-124, at Barclays Center, New York to give Big 3 first win together in action. After their defense weakened which caused their consecutive losses in Cleveland, Bam Adebayo scored a career-high 41 points. Kyrie Irving scored 28 points, Kevin Durant had a team-high 31 points, and James Harden had 12 with 11 assists and seven boards. The Heat played without Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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