Conor McGregor vows to go back to his roots to train for third Dustin Poirier fight


John McAuley
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Eight years to the day from his UFC debut, Conor McGregor has vowed to go back to the approach that eventually made him the promotion's double champion, as he prepares for his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier.

The Irishman, the first athlete to hold two UFC belts simultaneously, stepped into the octagon for the first time on April 6, 2013 at UFC on Fuel TV, where he defeated fellow featherweight Marcus Brimage in little more than a minute to spark a superstar career.

McGregor went on to capture titles at both featherweight and lightweight, in the process becoming the biggest draw in mixed martial arts history.

However, the 32-year-old star is coming off an emphatic second-round TKO defeat in his rematch against Poirier at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi in January. Last week, the pair confirmed they had agreed to a third encounter - McGregor won the first, in 2014, by first-round TKO - with UFC 264 on July 10 the scheduled slot.

McGregor, whose MMA record stands at 22-5, is currently in Dubai ahead of his return. Taking to social media to the mark the anniversary of his UFC bow, the former two-division champion posted: “Today in 2013 I weighed in for my UFC debut. What a journey! It would become my 12th KO in MMA competition. Dustin Poirier would then become my 12th first round KO in MMA competition. This next fight will be my 12th UFC main event. Rare company!

“My ufc debut I found out 9 weeks out. I took a week to get right from not training/partying, and then 8 weeks out I moved to my sisters apt which was close to the gym. I woke up, trained, walked back to apartment, ate my meals and rested, trained again, back to apt, sleep, repeat.

“Double skills work. I also didn’t take rest days unless I absolutely had to. Not one. Not even a Sunday. I will take this approach again for my comeback fight. I didn’t become ufc champ champ with this method but I did become ufc 145 champion. Also the cage warrior champ champ.”

As of yet, no location has been set for the trilogy clash with Poirier, although UFC president Dana White has spoken of his desire to stage UFC 264 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The UFC’s next pay-per-view event, UFC 261 on April 24, will take place at a sold-out VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida - the first time the promotion has held an event at full capacity since March last year.

The trio of events at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi in January, all hosted by Etihad Arena, were open to a limited amount of spectators.

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The bio

His favourite book - 1984 by George Orwell

His favourite quote - 'If you think education is expensive, try ignorance' by Derek Bok, Former President of Harvard

Favourite place to travel to - Peloponnese, Southern Greece

Favourite movie - The Last Emperor

Favourite personality from history - Alexander the Great

Role Model - My father, Yiannis Davos

 

 

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Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.” 

List of alleged parties
  • May 15 2020: Boris Johnson is said to have attended a Downing Street pizza party
  • 27 Nov 2020: PM gives speech at leaving do for his staff
  • Dec 10 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary Gavin Williamson 
  • Dec 13 2020: Mr Johnson and his then-fiancee Carrie Symonds throw a flat party
  • Dec 14 2020: Shaun Bailey holds staff party at Conservative Party headquarters 
  • Dec 15 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz
  • Dec 18 2020: Downing Street Christmas party 
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Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Film: Raid
Dir: Rajkumar Gupta
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Ileana D'cruz and Saurabh Shukla

Verdict:  Three stars 

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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

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Panipat

Director Ashutosh Gowariker

Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment

Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman

Rating 3 /stars

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%3Cp%3EFounder%3A%20Hani%20Abu%20Ghazaleh%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20with%20an%20office%20in%20Montreal%3Cbr%3EFounded%3A%202018%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Virtual%20Reality%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20raised%3A%20%241.2%20million%2C%20and%20nearing%20close%20of%20%245%20million%20new%20funding%20round%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%2012%3C%2Fp%3E%0A