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Poirier knocks out Conor McGregor in 2nd round at UFC 257
(Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – Dustin Poirier stopped Conor McGregor with a flurry of punches midway through the second round at UFC 257. Poirier caught McGregor with a series of shots to the head before buckling his knees with two left hands. ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dustin Poirier stopped Conor McGregor with a flurry of punches midway through the second round Sunday, avenging his loss to the Irish superstar with a knockout victory at UFC 257. Poirier (26-7) caught McGregor with a series of shots to the head before buckling his knees with two left hands. “I think this is a title fight,” Poirier said of their lightweight bout.
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Conor McGregor returns at UFC 257 with big dreams intact
“I feel like I’m only starting, man,” the 32-year-old McGregor said this week. UFC 257 is co-headlined by title-contending lightweights Dan Hooker and Michael Chandler, who is making his UFC debut after a decade in the rival Bellator promotion. McGregor spoke of wanting to fight four times in 2020, culminating in another shot at lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. McGregor and Poirier were even smaller — two up-and-coming featherweights — when they met in September 2014 in the third-billed bout at UFC 178. McGregor stopped Poirier just 1:46 into the opening round, landing a big left hook to the ear that ended the action swiftly.
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2020 sports quiz: Brady to Bundesliga, Big Ten to Brooklyn
FILE - In this Dec. 1, 2020, file photo, the Olympic Symbol is reinstalled after it was taken down for maintenance ahead of the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics, in the Odaiba section in Tokyo. Your 2020 year-end sports quiz awaits. Like much else these days, quizzes will be graded on the curve:JanuaryThe IOC sets conduct guidelines for athletes at the Tokyo Olympics. JulyThe renamed Washington Football Team might get another rebrand. ___Answers: January (b); February (a); March (b); April (a); May (c); June (b); July (c); August (a); September (a); October (b); November (b); December (c).
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Lamentation for sports in 2020: A year of living virally
File-This Jan. 28, 2020, file photo shows a remembrance board at a memorial for Kobe Bryant near Staples Center in Los Angeles. LeBron, on court, gives heartfelt shout,A declaration: “Mamba out.”Sports still reeling by Super Bowl,Where Patrick Mahomes takes control. Defying odds, even reason,Baseball makes it through its season,Leaving summer and into fall --Bob Gibson ’s time, October ball. Through it all, a truth emerges:Games go on while COVID surgesAnd records fall, that much is clear --Consider Tara VanDerveer. But we’ll toast, of course, don’t think twice --Take a deep breath and roll the dice.
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One Championship making deliberate plans for return to cage
Sityodtong still plans to be a bit more measured on his own path to get One Championship back in the cage during this unprecedented public health crisis. One Championship definitely will return to action this summer, Sityodtong told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Sityodtong is working with government officials and health experts on the fastest path back in China, Thailand and Singapore, One Championship's hometown. Once he finalizes his plans, Sityodtong plans to speed up One's calendar to hold as many events as prudently possible in 2020. But One Championship, which held its most recent show Feb. 28, is proceeding down this difficult path more deliberately than the UFC.
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UFC champion Conor McGregor has announced his retirement
Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor announced his retirement from the sport on social media Sunday. The former two-division UFC World Champion said he was done fighting in a statement posted to his verified Twitter early Sunday morning. Whatever you desire it's yours"This isn't the first time the mixed martial arts star has announced his retirement on social media. 'It's in my blood to fight'The fighter, a former trainee plumber, is considered one of the best in the UFC. McGregor leaves the sport ranked 8th on the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) pound-for-pound list.