Conor McGregor looks to have upped the mind games ahead of his upcoming clash with Dustin Poirier by taunting his rival on social media on Tuesday.
The former two-division champion, who takes on the American in their trilogy bout at UFC 264 in Las Vegas on Sunday, uploaded a voice note on Twitter calling Poirier “pea-head”.
In the post, McGregor could be heard saying: “Dustin? Pea-head? I'm coming for you pea-head. Silly hillbilly."
The pair, who last fought in Abu Dhabi in January, each have a win against the other, although McGregor's did come some time back, in 2014 when the two faced off at featherweight.
Sunday’s lightweight encounter, which tops the bill at a sold-out T-Mobile Arena, is viewed as a title eliminator, with the winner expected to be next in line for champion Charles Oliveira. Poirier (27-6) is the lightweight division’s No 1-ranked challenger, while McGregor (22-5) sits at No 5.
Poirier’s victory at Etihad Arena at UFC 257, which came via a second-round TKO, represented the first time McGregor had been knocked out in his professional mixed martial arts career. The Irishman, who in the build-up had been extremely cordial with the former interim champion, later promised on social media that it would be “no more Mr Nice Guy”.
That appears now to be ringing true, with both McGregor and Poirier exchanging barbs on Twitter last week. In an interview with ESPN, Poirier said his opponent “reeks of insecurity” after McGregor dared him to avoid shooting for takedowns when they meet on Sunday.
On Saturday, McGregor responded in an Instagram Live Q&A: “He talks some amount lately. He’s going to pay for that, that’s for sure. That’s not going to be nice.”
McGregor had earlier told those tuning in: “[I’m going to] give him a proper head kick. There will be a lot of weapons produced on the night, that’s for sure. He wants mixed martial arts? He’s going to get it.
“I’ve been busy putting in the work. Full focus, fully immersed in mixed martial arts. It’s been nothing but mixed martial arts, so I’m ready to put on a show.”
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 268hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: CVT auto
Fuel consumption: 9.5L/100km
On sale: now
Price: from Dh195,000
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
Blonde
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Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
