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How the defeat Conor McGregor changed Dustin Poirier

Within 6 years, from a “pave the way” for the career of Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier had a position of his own at UFC.

In 2014, Conor McGregor entered the UFC with provocation aimed at the entire Featherweight weight category. Many boxers at that time tried to find a way to stop the arrogant Irishman but failed in turn, including “The Diamond” Dustin Poirier.

After 6 years, Conor McGregor rose to superstar status but Dustin Poirier was no less competitive. The American puncher is currently in the top of the lightweight category and has the most attractive fighting style UFC. Dustin even ranked above Conor in the rankings due to his active play and more victories.

Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor each faced each other in 2014. Sharing about his own development, Dustin Poirier admitted that his match with Conor had begun a significant career change.

Dustin Poirier used to be the path to Conor’s success

At the encounter with Conor, the audience can clearly see a Poirier provoked by opponents before the game. This is also a weakness that many opponents were exploited by Conor McGregor leading to their KO losses against “The Notorious”.

However, in recent times, the image of Poirier has become more “manly”. Instead of a sassy image like before, Poirier impressed with calmness both inside and outside the ring. Not only that, the style of “The Diamond” also became more careful, sharper and more powerful than in the Featherweight days.

Dustin Poirier’s current is a successful martial artist and receives respect from all opponents. After the victory over Dan Hooker over the weekend, Dustin Poirier is firmly in 3rd place. The boxer from the American Top Team is on a break before continuing for the title race promising to be tense when the defending champion Khabib Nurmagomedov returns to the ring.

UFC announces the final Fight Card 2 event in June, 2020

Before conducting “Duel Island” in July, UFC quickly scheduled the final events of June with many unexpected names.

In a recent broadcast on ESPN, UFC president Dana White announced the final details of the two Fight Cards that will take place at the end of June. The focus is on the characters in the main matches of the event.

Taking place June 20, the 12-match UFC on ESPN 11 will follow the series of events at UFC Apex, Las Vegas. In particular, the main match was announced between Russian puncher Alexander Volkov against Curtis Blaydes – a boxer who owns a series of 3 consecutive victories in heavyweight. This is considered an important match for both to decide who is going to advance further in the competition.

In addition to the battle between Volkov and Blaydes, UFC on ESPN 11 also has the appearance of famous heavy punches, typically Featherweight boxer Josh Emmett encounter emerging talent Shane Burgos.

Fight Card events UFC on ESPN 11 with the lead of Alexander Volkov vs. Curtis Blaydes

A week later on June 27, UFC on ESPN 12 will conclude June with the epic match between Dustin Poirier and Dan Hooker.

Predicted long ago by both of their positions in the Lightweight rankings, if Dustin Poirier is trying to find a win to stay in the top 5, then Dan Hooker with great ambition to knock American fighters out of position. The battle for position in the first group of Lightweight is expected to be fierce when both are strikers with persistent, powerful fighting style.

The top war between Dustin Poirier and Dan Hooker will end in June

Thus, UFC on ESPN 11/12 will end in June and is also a goodbye to the UFC Apex center in Las Vegas. Entering July, the largest MMA tournament on the planet will officially dock “The Island of Fighting” at Yas Island, Abu Dhabi with a series of 5 consecutive events – including 3 notable belt battles.

Dana White announces the official date of Battle Island

Airing date of the project “Fight Island – Determination Island” was officially decided by UFC President Dana White in June.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic situation as well as the US maintaining its ban on entry with foreign fighters, UFC had a plan called “Fight Island”.

Of course, the preparation of facilities on a completely isolated island is not simple in terms of both performance and budget. But with his determination, President Dana White confirmed that he has completed the final stages, preparing for the first event on “Fight Island” on June 27.

Fight Island shows the determination of Dana White and UFC

As one of the earliest sports tournaments back in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, UFC has gained certain successes since the UFC 249. Recently, the UFC Apex headquarters in Las Vegas has been given allowed to organize matches and will continue to welcome UFC 250 event on June 7 here.

Regarding the “Decisive Battle” campaign, the strong investment of UFC shows that this tournament will not only consider this as a temporary option but also target a regular venue later.

Despite the reorganization of the matches, UFC still has to ensure isolation and absolutely no spectators are allowed to watch the fighters directly. However, White is still optimistic about the ability to normalize future activities.

The fighting island

The idea of ”Fighting Island” originated from the COVID-19 pandemic that “closed” the world sport and made UFC struggle to find the venue for UFC 249. The original event of UFC 249 The event was held on April 18 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York with Khabib and Tony Ferguson as the pair leading the event.

However, with the widespread pandemic, Nurmagomedov was stuck in Russia due to quarantine orders. Justin Gaethje became Khabib’s replacement, but UFC 249 still could not determine the venue.

After a series of “miseries”, UFC 249 finally found a venue for private matches at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Florida. However, this is not a guaranteed place for future events of UFC.

White ensures that “Island of Fighting” will have all the infrastructure needed to host an event. UFC will ensure everything from the ring, training and training facilities, to daily life needs like courier and internet.

Khabib Nurmagomedov responded to contempt for COVID-19 at home

In the face of disregard for the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, Khabib Nurmagomedov shared the situation his home town was facing to warn people.

In recent days, the illness of Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, father of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, has received much attention. Especially when the disease COVID-19 has spread in Russia with the 2nd highest number of infections worldwide.

However, there are still many individuals who seem to disregard the dangers of this disease. There are even people who think that COVID-19 is just a deceit of the government and the media. Responding to this comment on his personal page, Khabib responded quite harshly and shared the seriousness of the disease situation in his home country.

Dagestan, Khabib’s hometown, is facing a serious condition due to COVID-19

Khabib’s father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, is also undergoing intensive treatment after surgery. The cause is reported to be a recurrent heart disease due to the effects of COVID-19. For now, Abdulmanap is still using medical support to sustain his life.

Currently, Russia is ranked 2nd worldwide with 308 thousand COVID-19 infections with more than 2900 deaths. Particularly in Khabib’s home town of Dagestan, the government acknowledges that the number here exceeds the estimate of the data sent to Moscow.

Trapped in Russia since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Khabib Nurmagomedov is carrying out self-training and radical isolation. The UFC champion also regularly shares the advice that people should implement social spacing and avoid crowding, until the risk of the global pandemic is over.

Khabib is still at Dagestan practicing himself and performing Ramadan

Blocking Dagestan due to the COVID-19 pandemic since April, Khabib Nurmagomedov has yet to show the possibility of returning to UFC at least this summer. After the results of UFC 249, the lightweight champion’s next opponent will be American puncher Justin Gaethje – who just won the interim belt after winning Tony Ferguson.

As expected by President Dana White, the title match between Khabib and Justin Gaethje is likely to start in the fall from August this year. And if Khabib’s return to the US is still not feasible, it is possible that both fighters will have to face each other on “Fight Island” – the UFC project has been cherishing since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

UFC has just announced the official time and venue for UFC 249 event

According to the official announcement from UFC, the UFC 249 event will take place at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena (Jacksonville, Florida) on May 9.

It is known that this will also be the venue for the next 2 events of UFC, scheduled for May 13 and 16. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, all three events took place without spectators.

The focus of UFC 249 will be the confrontation between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje. Winners will receive Interim Lightweight, which will compete with Khabib Nurmagomedov. The co-event was the bantamweight protection match for defending champion Henry Cejudo against Dominick Cruiz.

UFC prepared more than 1200 Covid-19 test kits for UFC 249

The UFC has prepared more than 1200 sets of Covid-19 virus test kits, one of the mandatory factors to ensure the safe event of UFC 249.

UFC was allowed to host events again after Florida governor Ron DeSantis named the group “essential activity” between the Covid-19 pandemic.

On May 9, UFC will return through the UFC 249 event at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena (Jacksonville, Florida). According to a source from journalist John Ourand of Sports Business magazine, the UFC has prepared more than 1200 sets of Covid-19 test kits to ensure the event took place safely.

UFC 249 will take place without an audience

In the near future, UFC will need more test kits, as the number one planet MMA tournament plans to hold two more events on May 13 and 16.

The fact that sports leagues have priority in getting test kits is controversial. According to Adam Silver, president of the NBA (the American professional basketball league), the tournament will not return, if forced to use a large number of test suites, in the context of shortages in hospitals and nursing facilities.

Other squirrels in the US. It is estimated that the NBA needs more than 15,000 test kits to ensure safety for athletes and staff. On the UFC side, Ep Epstein, the company’s chief executive, said that the test kit they currently own does not affect those who really need them.