Dustin Poirier says he feels like the lightweight champion after delivering the most notable result of his career in knocking out Conor McGregor in Abu Dhabi on Sunday – although he wants the belt to prove it.
The American, the division's former interim belt-holder, stopped the returning Irishman in the second round of the headline clash at UFC 257 at Etihad Arena. It was the first time in 27 professional mixed martial art bouts that McGregor had lost via knockout.
Poirier, who last week celebrated his 32nd birthday, could be seen directly afterwards telling Daniel Cormier, a former two-division champion and now colour commentator sitting octagon-side, that he didn’t enjoy competing in the UFC any more.
“I just felt flat in the locker room,” Poirier said at the post-fight press conference. “I’m damn good at it. But I just felt flat, really calm. I don’t know, it’s hard to say, but that’s it exactly: I just don’t really like this any more.”
Asked if he was considering retirement, Poirier said: “I don’t know. Dude, I’ve so many whoopings I have to hand out, I feel like I’m just hitting my prime. I’m just putting everything together.
“My body and my mind are finally on the same wavelength. Just turned 32 this week. We’ll see what happens. I don’t know. The only part I liked this past two weeks was the fight.
“I don’t know if that answers the question or draws more questions, but I didn’t enjoy the process these last two weeks. The only part I liked was the fighting.”
Poirier, whose professional record now stands at 27-6 (19-5 in the UFC), is in line next to take on Michael Chandler, according to UFC president Dana White. On Sunday, the three-time Bellator lightweight champion crowned his promotional debut in the card's penultimate bout by knocking out Dan Hooker in the first round.
Poirier defeated Hooker, the division’s sixth-ranked challenger – Poirier is second – last time out, on points in June.
On whether a fight with Chandler interests him, Poirier said: “No, it does not. Respect to Chandler, great win. But to come in and beat a guy I just beat and get a title shot? I’ve been in [24] fights in the UFC, trying everything, fighting the toughest of the toughest guys to get my hands on gold.
“He should fight [No 5] Charles Oliveira or something. Let Chandler and Charles Oliveira go at it. That doesn’t really interest me at this point. I’ll go sell hot sauce if that’s the case.
“It’s just my feelings towards the division and the sport. I lost to [now-retired] Khabib [Nurmagomedov in 2019], I came out and put on Fight of the Year for you guys, got my hand raised against a top-ranked opponent after that.
“And Khabib doesn’t want to come back. And in one of the biggest fight you can get, I knocked this guy out too. Khabib reiterates he doesn’t want to fight any more. I’m the champ.
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Gallery from UFC 257
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"I’m not going to – respect to Chandler – fight a new guy to the UFC who’s coming off a win against a guy that I just beat, for the belt. That’s not exciting to me.”
Poitier did, though, confirm he would be open to another bout against McGregor having avenged his 2014 loss to the former two-division world champion. McGregor sealed the win in that bout by first-round TKO.
“A rematch with Conor interests me,” Poirier said. “I always wanted to whip Nate Diaz’s [butt]; that interests me. I’m sure something will make sense, but just right now I don’t know. I’ve just got to go back home and see.
"Conor and me are one-and-one for knockouts. We’ll see. I don’t know. I can’t tell the future. We’re one-and-one, we both TKO-ed each other. We’ll probably have to do it again, right?”
On the difference between McGregor six years ago and now, Poirier added: “That first one was so long ago, but I felt his presence less, his aura less. I just saw another fighter tonight. The first time I was kind of deer in the headlights, you could say. This time I was just fighting another man, another man who bleeds just like me. And I knew that.
“[This win is] up there, especially to finish a guy who’s never been finished like that. Touching that UFC interim belt was so important to me and putting my hands on the undisputed world title before this is all said and done is what I want to absolutely do. But this is a big one.”
The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLE
Price, base / as tested Dh274,000 (estimate)
Engine 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder
Gearbox Nine-speed automatic
Power 245hp @ 4,200rpm
Torque 500Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.4L / 100km
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg
Roma 4
Milner (15' OG), Dzeko (52'), Nainggolan (86', 90 4')
Liverpool 2
Mane (9'), Wijnaldum (25')
The Breadwinner
Director: Nora Twomey
Starring: Saara Chaudry, Soma Chhaya, Laara Sadiq
Three stars
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
THURSDAY'S FIXTURES
4pm Maratha Arabians v Northern Warriors
6.15pm Deccan Gladiators v Pune Devils
8.30pm Delhi Bulls v Bangla Tigers
Ibrahim's play list
Completed an electrical diploma at the Adnoc Technical Institute
Works as a public relations officer with Adnoc
Apart from the piano, he plays the accordion, oud and guitar
His favourite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach
Also enjoys listening to Mozart
Likes all genres of music including Arabic music and jazz
Enjoys rock groups Scorpions and Metallica
Other musicians he likes are Syrian-American pianist Malek Jandali and Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou Khalil
Directed: Smeep Kang
Produced: Soham Rockstar Entertainment; SKE Production
Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Jimmy Sheirgill, Sunny Singh, Omkar Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma
Rating: Two out of five stars
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Enterprise-grade%20security%20and%20privacy%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Unlimited%20higher-speed%20GPT-4%20access%20with%20no%20caps%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Longer%20context%20windows%20for%20processing%20longer%20inputs%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Advanced%20data%20analysis%20capabilities%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Customisation%20options%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Shareable%20chat%20templates%20that%20companies%20can%20use%20to%20collaborate%20and%20build%20common%20workflows%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Analytics%20dashboard%20for%20usage%20insights%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Free%20credits%20to%20use%20OpenAI%20APIs%20to%20extend%20OpenAI%20into%20a%20fully-custom%20solution%20for%20enterprises%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
The%20specs
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Quick%20facts
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RESULTS FOR STAGE 4
Stage 4 Dubai to Hatta, 197 km, Road race.
Overall leader Primoz Roglic SLO (Team Jumbo - Visma)
Stage winners: 1. Caleb Ewan AUS (Lotto - Soudal) 2. Matteo Moschetti ITA (Trek - Segafredo) 3. Primoz Roglic SLO (Team Jumbo - Visma)
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
MATCH INFO
World Cup 2022 qualifier
UAE v Indonesia, Thursday, 8pm
Venue: Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
Kandahar%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ric%20Roman%20Waugh%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EGerard%20Butler%2C%20Navid%20Negahban%2C%20Ali%20Fazal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Scores in brief:
- New Medical Centre 129-5 in 17 overs bt Zayed Cricket Academy 125-6 in 20 overs.
- William Hare Abu Dhabi Gymkhana 188-8 in 20 overs bt One Stop Tourism 184-8 in 20 overs
- Alubond Tigers 138-7 in 20 overs bt United Bank Limited 132-7 in 20 overs
- Multiplex 142-6 in 17 overs bt Xconcepts Automobili 140 all out in 20 overs
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
Profile Periscope Media
Founder: Smeetha Ghosh, one co-founder (anonymous)
Launch year: 2020
Employees: four – plans to add another 10 by July 2021
Financing stage: $250,000 bootstrap funding, approaching VC firms this year
Investors: Co-founders
HAJJAN
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The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
25%20Days%20to%20Aden
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Michael%20Knights%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20256%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAvailable%3A%20January%2026%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
