Tag: UFC 257

Dana White says Khabib Nurmagomedov return not likely

Dana White says Khabib Nurmagomedov return not likely

Dana White says Khabib Nurmagomedov return not likely

Khabib Nurmagomedov rubs it in after Conor McGregor’s UFC 257 knockout loss

Conor McGregor had a response for Khabib, too.

There is no love lost between [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] and [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag]. That’s been well documented.

Even after McGregor (22-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC) suffered the first knockout loss of his professional MMA career to Dustin Poirier in the UFC 257 main event, Nurmagomedov (29-0 MMA, 13-0 UFC) seemingly took a shot at the Irishman on Twitter.

Nurmagomedov indicated McGregor, who wasn’t outright named in the tweet, didn’t stay true to himself or take things seriously enough to deserve a victory.

“This is what happened, when you change your team, leave the sparring partners, who made you a champion and sparring with little kids, far away from reality,” Nurmagomedov wrote.

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Nurmagomedov’s tweet got a reaction from McGregor during the UFC 257 post-event news conference.

“My team has been the team since Day 1. I have not changed anything. It is what it is. Respect the athletes,” McGregor said. “That’s the character of the man, for sure, behind the mask. Whatever, what’s he want to do? Does he want to come back or no? … If he wants to have his disrespectful comments, come back and let’s go again, my man. I’m here for it. That’s fighting talk.”

McGregor, 32, was finished with punches by Poirier in Round 2. The loss was only his third inside the UFC cage. All of his previous career losses came by submission.

Nurmagomedov, 32, who remains the UFC lightweight champion, retired in the cage after a successful title defense last October at UFC 254. However, since that time, UFC president Dana White expressed his confidence Nurmagomedov would return for one more fight – to attempt accumulating a 30-0 record.

UFC 257 took place Saturday at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The main card streamed on ESPN pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

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Jake Paul revels in Conor McGregor’s knockout loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 257

YouTube star Jake Paul reacted the way you’d expect after Conor McGregor was finished by Dustin Poirier in their rematch at UFC 257.

You knew this was coming.

In the lead up to UFC 257, YouTube star-turned-professional-boxer Jake Paul tried for weeks to grab the attention of [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag], taking personal shots at his fiancee, all in the hopes of securing a fight.

It didn’t work.

So on Saturday night, after McGregor lost by second-round TKO to Dustin Poirier in their rematch, Paul took to social media with a reaction that should come as no surprise (via Twitter).

In his attempt to lure McGregor into a boxing match, Paul claimed his representatives had sent McGregor a $50 million offer to fight in the ring.

McGregor’s return at UFC 257 was his first fight in more than a year. Prior to losing to Poirier, McGregor stopped Donald Cerrone in a welterweight fight last January at UFC 246.

After Saturday night’s loss, McGregor chalked up the result to inactivity. He’s had just three MMA fights since late 2016, with a  2017 boxing match against Floyd Mayweather squeezed in.

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UFC 257 bonuses: Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier lead ‘Performance’ parade

Four fantastic performances at UFC 257 got the bonus cash they deserved.

A memorable first UFC pay-per-view event of 2021 is in the books, and with it comes four post-fight bonus winners.

Post-fight bonuses come either one of two ways: A “Fight of the Night” and two “Performance of the Night” awards, or four “Performance of the Night” honors.

Saturday was one of the latter nights, and four competitors will go home with an extra $50,000 in their pockets: the lightweight winners at the top of the card, [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] and [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag], and two more main carders in [autotag]Makhmud Muradov[/autotag] and [autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag].

UFC 257 took place Saturday at Etihad Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

Without further ado then, here is a look at all four bonus winners:

Khabib Nurmagomedov took a shot at Conor McGregor after his loss at UFC 257

Khabib Nurmagomedov had a message for Conor McGregor.

UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov is retired from fighting but that didn’t stop him from taking a shot at Conor McGregor moments after McGregor was knocked out in the second round by Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 on Saturday night in Abu Dhabi.

Nurmagomedov stunned the fighting world when he retired after beating Justin Gaethje in October to raise his record to a perfect 29-0.

He of course defeated McGregor back in 2018 and then took part in a huge brawl after following the fight that led to both fighters being suspended for a long time.

Nurmagomedov, who has repeatedly said that McGregor doesn’t deserve a rematch, ripped Conor after Saturday night’s loss, saying:

This is what happened, when you change your team, leave the sparring partners who made you a champion and sparring with little kids, far away from reality.

Khabib is likely going to stay retired but it looks like he’s also going to enjoy watching McGregor struggle.

UFC 257: A ‘gutted’ Conor McGregor had a classy post-fight message after loss

Conor McGregor had high praise for Dustin Poirier.

Conor McGregor seemed to be in control early in his fight against Dustin Poirier on Saturday night but then suddenly he wasn’t and suddenly he was on the mat looking dazed and confused after being knocked out in the second round at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi.

Poirier finished the fight in brilliant fashion with a flurry of punches that gave him a beautiful win over McGregor, who won the first fight between these two fighters back in 2014.

After the fight McGregor spoke to Jon Anik in the Octagon and explained how he needs more fights to get more comfortable in fights. He also said a number of times that Poirier was the better fighter on the night and that he was “gutted” with the loss:

What’s next for McGregor now? It’s tough to say as this lost will be a costly one for him.

But he did handled the defeat with class.

UFC 257: Fighters and fans were in awe of Dustin Poirier’s KO of Conor McGregor

WOW.

Dustin Poirier had a ton of confidence going into Saturday night’s main event against Conor McGregor at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi and midway through the second round it paid off when he knocked out McGregor with a flurry of stunning punches.

Poirier, who was knocked out by McGregor in their first fight in 2014, seemed to have lost the first round on Saturday night but then he left no doubts about it in the second round.

McGregor was stunned as he fell to the ground, especially after he was in control early.

But Poirier got the win and is now in control of the lightweight division.

Here’s what it looked like after the KO:

Fighters and fans loved it:

UFC 257 results: Dustin Poirier stuns Conor McGregor with ferocious second-round TKO

Conor McGregor started fast, but Dustin Poirier rallied for a sensational finish at UFC 257.

[autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] is the first fighter to finish [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] with strikes.

After McGregor, the former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion, dominated most of the first round of their UFC 257 main event on Saturday night, Poirier (27-6 MMA, 19-5 UFC) picked up the pace and then ended things in the blink of an eye.

Poirier used a left hand to the jaw to setup up a flurry of a finish of McGregor (22-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC) at the 2:32 mark of Round 2 at Etihad Stadium in Abu Dhabi. And with that, the former interim lightweight champ had his revenge.

“The goal was to be technical and pick my shots and have a big finish,” Poirier said.

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The opening round saw Poirier attempt to wear McGregor down in the clinch, which ended up with several reversals of position along the fence in which both landed solid shoulder shivers, but McGregor more. After they broke, McGregor’s striking started to land, not just his trademark lefts, but solid right jabs to the head and body shots.

Poirier, however, began finding his footing toward the end of the round. By the second, Poirier began landing calf kicks to McGregor’s lead leg at will, and when one visibly wobbled him, it was clear the fight’s trajectory had changed. Poirier throws with bad intentions, and he stalked the fading McGregor and started landing heavy punches.

A monster left hand to the face was the big blow, and a vicious flurry put McGregor on the mat and ended the bout.

With the victory, Poirier avenged a loss in their first matchup, a first-round McGregor TKO at UFC 178 in 2014. It was his second consecutive win after a loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov in September 2019 and his seventh win in his past eight fights.

McGregor now has lost two of his past three fights and has only won once since 2016. This was the first non-submission loss of his career.

“It just wasn’t where I needed to be tonight,” McGregor said. “I’ll come back again, that’s what I’ll do. I need activity.”

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Complete UFC 257 results:

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Twitter reacts to Dustin Poirier’s stunning TKO of Conor McGregor at UFC 257

See the top Twitter reactions to Dustin Poirier’s victory against Conor McGregor in the UFC 257 main event rematch.

Twitter reacts to Dustin Poirier’s victory over Conor McGregor at UFC 257

[autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] exacted revenge against [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] in Saturday’s UFC 257 headliner.

In the anticipated rematch between top lightweight contenders, Poirier (27-6 MMA, 19-5 UFC) redeemed his September 2014 loss to McGregor (22-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC) with a second-round TKO victory in the main event matchup, which took place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi

Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Poirier’s victory over McGregor at UFC 257.

UFC 257 results: Michael Chandler knocks out Dan Hooker in first, puts lightweights on notice

Statement made.

Much was made leading up to [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag]’s UFC debut – and when the time finally came, he delivered.

The former long-time Bellator lightweight champion, Chandler sent a big message to the UFC’s 155-pound division when he finished [autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag] with punches at 2:30 of Round 1.

Afterward, Chandler delivered a blistering promo calling out still-champion-but-retired Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, and Dustin Poirier.

From the opening bell, Chandler (22-5 MMA, 1-0 UFC) came out flying. Using a ton of pressure, Chandler threw kicks and punches, all the while stalking Hooker (20-10 MMA, 10-6 UFC). A powerful sequence stunned Hooker as the clock approached the midway point of the round. Hooker crumpled to the mat, and Chandler followed up with some more punches. That was all referee Marc Goddard needed to see.

Following the reading of the decision, Chandler took to the microphone and called the win the greatest moment of his professional career. But that wasn’t all as he issued the callout to the three top lightweights.

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The victory marks Chandler’s sixth win in seven fights, with his only loss in that stretch coming to Bellator dual champ Patricio Freire. Chandler now rides a three-fight winning streak.

Chandler, a three-time Bellator lightweight champion who fought for the promotion for a decade and served as one of its faces, made his highly anticipated UFC debut after signing with the promotion last September.

As for Hooker, the New Zealand-based fighter has lost back-to-back fights for the first time since 2010. Prior to the loss to Chandler, “The Hangman” came up short-handed in a unanimous decision defeat to Poirier last June.

The lightweight bout was the UFC 257 co-main event at Etihad Stadium in Abu Dhabi. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

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Up-to-the-minute UFC 257 results include: