McGregor vs Poirier live

Shane Burgos vs Hakeem Dawodu Added to UFC 257

by Leave a Comment

The UFC 257 card headlined by Conor McGregor and Dustin Porier has another thrilling fight with Shane Burgos (13-2) vs. Hakeem Dawodu (12-1). The bout was first reported by MMA Fighting, with Burgos confirming the fight via social media.

Most recently falling to Josh Emmett, Burgos earned a Fight of the Night bonus with an outstanding performance in what many hailed as one of the best fights of 2020. Opposite to him at UFC 257 will be one of Canada’s hottest prospects, Dawodu — a fast twitch kickboxer who has continued to evolve throughout his UFC career.

The featherweight pairing undoubtedly has Fight of the Night written all over it. In contrast to Burgos, Dawodu comes into this bout with plenty of momentum. Now riding a five-fight win streak, incliding a solid win over Zubaira Tukhugov the Canadian powerhouse hasn’t lost a bout since early 2018.

Even though Burgos came up short in his last fight against Emmett, he’s shown elite potential in the UFC. The young featherweight has only lost to the top tier: Emmett and Calvin Kattar, who will be taking on former divisional king, Max Holloway a week before UFC 257. However, Dawodu has been undeniable as of late.

Aside from Burgos vs Dawodu, who else is on the Jan 23. Card?

Several fights have been slated for UFC 257 on January 23rd. Currently the fights targeted are:

  • Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier
  • Joanne Calderwood vs. Jessica Eye
  • Amanda Ribas vs. Michelle Waterson
  • Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Brad Tavares
  • Nasrat Haqparast vs. Arman Tsarukyan
  • Ottman Azaitar vs. Matt Frevola
  • Sergey Morozov vs. Umar Nurmagomedov

Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier 2 lightweight bout set to headline UFC 257 fight card in January

by Leave a Comment

After returning from retirement, fighting and then retiring again, Conor McGregor has his next UFC fight scheduled. McGregor will face Dustin Poirier in January 2021, the UFC announced on Monday. The rematch will serve as the main event of UFC 257, which will take place on Saturday, Jan. 23. No location has been announced for the UFC 257 card, though UFC president Dana White recently indicated he’s eyeing it to take place on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.

As is usually the case for McGregor, the journey to this fight was unusual. McGregor had been on vacation in mid-September when he was detained in Corsica after allegations of attempted sexual assault. Around the same time, McGregor tweeted about being drug tested by USADA on his yacht despite claiming to be retired.

He followed that up by releasing a string of direct messages with UFC president Dana White from February. In the messages, McGregor pushed White for a fight against veteran Diego Sanchez in Los Angeles. He ended the string of tweets by announcing that his next fight would be in the Middle East against Manny Pacquiao in a boxing match. Confusion followed as it became clear the fight was not yet a done deal.

On Sept. 28, Poirier quote-tweeted a McGregor rant directed at Daniel Cormier, sparking McGregor to offer a charity bout. “Zero to do with the UFC,” McGregor tweeted. “I will donate half a mill towards your charity for it. Sell it on PPV or work a TV deal and we work out other charities that are close to my heart also. I am engaged in many. Strictly a charity exhibition.”

The UFC, not wanting to let a potential big-money fight between the former featherweight and lightweight champion and former interim lightweight champion slip away, offered up the fight to take place in the Octagon with White stating on Oct. 2 that Poirier signed on and they were just waiting for McGregor’s response. It would take more than a month before all parties would sign on the dotted line to make the bout official, but everything now looks set for McGregor and Poirier to step into the Octagon in January.

McGregor and Poirier previously faced off in September 2014, with McGregor scoring a TKO in just 1:46. The bout was McGregor’s fourth in the UFC and is looked back at as a key moment in his march to becoming UFC champion.

Werdum vs Gustafsson live stream UFC Fight Night 174 on Fight Island.

by Leave a Comment

Fabricio Werdum vs. Alexander Gustafsson square off in a heavyweight bout at UFC Fight Night from Fight Island on July 25th.

The big boys take to the main card this Saturday night when a pair of ranked heavyweights face off as Fabricio Werdum takes on Alexander Gustafsson live from Fight Island in Abu Dhabi as part of UFC Fight Night on ESPN+.

Werdum is 42 years old and first stepped in a UFC octagon in 2007. He’s 23-9 in his career, 9-6 in the UFC, and is the former heavyweight champion of the promotion. He defended the belt once before falling to Stipe Miocic in 2015, who has held the title ever since. The Brazilian is as comfortable on his feet as the mat, landing 3.61 strikes per minute as well as 1.71 takedowns per 15-minute fight.

Despite his #14 ranking, he hasn’t won a fight in nearly three years, falling to Alexander Volkov in March of 2018, and Alexey Oleynik 10 weeks ago ago in Jacksonville upon the return of the UFC.

Here are the betting odds at DraftKings Sportsbook for Fabricio Werdum vs. Alexander Gustafsson at UFC Fight Night from Abu Dhabi on July 25th:

Rua vs Nogueira 3 live stream UFC Fight Night 174 on Fight Island.

by Leave a Comment

Mauricio Rua vs. Antônio Rogério Nogueira will be the co-main event for UFC Fight Night 174 betting for Saturday, July 25 on Fight Island. This blast from the past features two MMA legends going at it for the third time since 2005.

UFC odds have Rua as the -198 favorite while Lil Nog is the underdog at +160. We break down the UFC betting odds for this light heavyweight tilt and give our best picks and predictions for Rua vs. Nogueira 3 at UFC Fight Night 174.

Shogun vs Nogueira 3

Maurício “Shogun” Rua is coming off a draw against Paul Craig last November. Prior to that bout, he had won four of his previous five fights. For a guy who first made an international name for himself by defeating Rampage Jackson all the way back in 2005, Rua is still relatively young at 38. A strong boxer and wrestler, Shogun has 26 wins, with 21 of those coming via KO/TKO.

Rua vs Nogueira 3

UFC Fight Night: Robert Whittaker vs. Darren Till — How to watch and stream

by Leave a Comment

Robert Whittaker fights on Saturday for the first time since losing his UFC middleweight championship in October, taking on former welterweight Darren Till in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

It is the fourth and final event in the UFC’s two-week run on Yas Island, which the promotion has dubbed “Fight Island.”

Whittaker (20-5) lost his belt to Israel Adesanya, ending a nine-fight winning streak dating back to 2014. He is No. 2 in ESPN’s middleweight rankings.

The sixth-ranked Till (18-2-1) moved up from 170 pounds in November and defeated Kelvin Gastelum, who seven months earlier had competed for an interim 185-pound title.

The fights are on ESPN and ESPN+, with the main card starting at 8 p.m. ET and the prelims at 5 p.m.

There are also former champions in the three fights preceding the headliner. Ex-light heavyweight titlist Mauricio Rua faces fellow veteran Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in the co-main event. Fabricio Werdum, a former heavyweight champ, welcomes longtime 205-pounder Alexander Gustafsson to the division. And Carla Esparza, the UFC’s inaugural strawweight champion, takes on Marina Rodriguez.