Anyone ruling out a potential boxing clash between Conor McGregor and Manny Pacquiao may want to pump the brakes just a little.

In the aftermath of McGregor’s second-round TKO defeat to Dustin Poirier at UFC 257, the Irishman admitted that he wasn’t sure how things would pan out for his mooted clash with the Filipino as he told reporters, including MMA Junkie, during the post-fight press conference that the fight was close to being signed.

“I’ll see what happens. I don’t know what will happen,” he said at the time. “That Manny fight was happening. That was as good as done, so I don’t know.”

The following day, news emerged stating that Pacquiao was no longer interested in the McGregor matchup, with the president of Manny Pacquiao promotions Sean Gibbons reportedly telling U.K. newspaper The Sun, “I think the demand for the fight is not there presently.”

But on Saturday night Audie Attar, who manages both Pacquiao and McGregor, posted a statement to his social media making clear that his company, Paradigm Sports, is the only organization actively representing Pacquiao’s interests, and took aim at some of the rumors and statements that have been linked to the Pacquiao camp in recent days.

“The boxing industry has a history of shady characters being involved. These individuals introduce confusion and spread false rumors solely for their own interests. Unfortunately, this only ends up hurting the fighters.

“It has come to our attention that some of these individuals are once again spreading false and inaccurate rumors that are self-serving without the authority of Senator Pacquiao or Paradigm Sports.

“Senator Pacquiao engaged Paradigm Sports as his exclusive representatives last year because he wants to close out the final chapters of his historic boxing career in a meaningful way.

“No one outside of Paradigm Sports is involved in any way with the management of Senator Pacquiao’s boxing career at this time. Anyone falsely representing themselves as Senator Pacquiao’s manager or representative as it relates to his remaining fight career may face legal repercussions.

“Paradigm Sports has a reputation in the combat sports industry for operating with integrity, professionalism, and transparency fighting for our clients, and we look forward to producing an incredible event with Senator Pacquiao in early 2021.

“I am working closely with Senator Pacquiao and his legal team in Manila on plans for his next fight. We will be sharing the details of this event in the coming weeks.”

pic.twitter.com/nvvg7ZvODw

— Audie A. Attar (@AudieAttar) January 31, 2021

The statement certainly raises a few questions. Is this simply a case of Attar shutting down previous representatives trying to muddy the waters? Could this mean that the suggestion of waning interest in a Pacquiao-McGregor bout is inaccurate? If so, does this mean we could still see a Pacquiao-McGregor boxing match in 2021, as McGregor suggested in the lead-up to UFC 257?

With fans across boxing and MMA eagerly awaiting news on both Pacquiao’s and McGregor’s respective futures, it would appear that all options remain open and, with Pacquiao not being quoted as saying he’s no longer interested in a bout with the Dubliner, a matchup between the two may still be a possibility.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/manny-pacquiao-vs-conor-mcgregor-manager-audie-attar-hits-out-at-shady-characters-social-media

Dustin Poirier isn’t looking to fast play anything with his fighting career after scoring a signature victory over Conor McGregor at UFC 257.

Poirier (27-6 MMA, 19-5 UFC) redeemed one of the most noteworthy losses of his career in his rematch with McGregor (22-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC) earlier this month. He scored a second-round TKO of the former two-division champion on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi, and now the future appears to be very bright for him.

In the aftermath of the fight, Poirier has been the center of attention in the lightweight division. McGregor’s team has expressed interest in a rematch, Nate Diaz said he wants to reschedule their scratched matchup from UFC 230 in November 2018. Michael Chandler has pitched the idea of a vacant lightweight title bout, as has Charles Oliveira. And Tony Ferguson also wants a piece of “The Diamond.”

Poirier said he enjoys everyone is coming for him, and he’s well aware that he’s currently the man at 155 pounds.

“I’ve got a target on my back,” Poirier told MMA Junkie on Sunday. “(I’m a former) interim world champion, I just knocked out Conor McGregor, and now I’m No. 1 and the only person above me, (Khabib Nurmagomedov), might never fight again. People want to climb that ladder, and in order to do that, you’ve got to beat the guys at the top. You’ve got to beat the next guys in line, so I understand why the target is on my back, and I wear it proudly.

“I am the uncrowned lightweight champ. If Khabib’s out, I am the best in the division. Former interim world champion, former title challenger. I just took out a two-division former world champion. I am the champ. I know that.”

The only thing that differentiates Poirier’s word from the reality of the situation is that he doesn’t have ownership of the UFC lightweight title. That still belongs to Nurmagomedov, who seemingly has closed the door on making a return to the octagon after retiring from MMA following his title defense against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in October.

UFC president Dana White said post-fight at UFC 257 he likes the idea of a vacant title bout between Poirier and Chandler, a former Bellator champion who made a memorable debut the same night against Dan Hooker before Poirier stopped McGregor. Poirier immediately shot that down after the fight, citing his opinion Chandler hasn’t done enough under the UFC banner to warrant the opportunity.

Poirier thinks Oliveira, who is riding an eight-fight winning streak in the division, is a different story, though. But if the UFC doesn’t want to move forward with more sensible options, Poirier said he’ll pull himself out of the equation.

“I want to be the world champion, and Charles is a guy that’s paid his dues,” Poirier said. “He’s earned where he’s at, no doubt about it. Let him and Chandler fight for the belt. If they want Chandler in there for the title, and he’s calling for the title. Let them fight for the belt. I’ll take a step back and just watch.”

The possibility of a trilogy fight with McGregor is something Poirier doesn’t rule out either, he said. The perks of that fight are obvious, from exposure to financial gain. Despite his team coming out in favor of a third matchup, McGregor hasn’t said anything beyond his immediate post-fight comments, when he said it was something of interest.

What Poirier does know, however, is that he hasn’t been contacted directly about anything. And until then, nothing is real.

“It’s tough to call,” Poirier said. “I don’t know what they’re saying behind closed doors. And I haven’t been reached out yet by the UFC or by Conor’s management about the trilogy fight. So I’m not sure what’s going to happen. I haven’t been reached out to the UFC about anything.”

So until the UFC brings Poirier a matchup he deems worth his time and energy, he’s not jumping to push for anything definitive. All that’s on his mind now is the immediate plan of taking his wife, Jolie, and daughter, Parker, on vacation.

“The future is bright, for sure,” Poirier said. “I haven’t even really thought about it that far. Might go on a snow trip with my wife and my daughter in a couple of weeks. That’s what next.”

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/ufc-news-dustin-poirier-next-fight-conor-mcgregor-knockout-callouts-target-step-back-dana-white

By Blue Corner
January 31, 2021 9:00 pm

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Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/khabib-nurmagomedov-will-smith-ufc-actor-mma

Poirier is the first fighter to finish McGregor with strikes.

After McGregor, the former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion, thrived for most of the first round, Poirier picked up the pace and then ended things in the blink of an eye.

Poirier used a left hand to the jaw to setup up a flurry of a finish of McGregor at the 2:32 mark of Round 2 at Etihad Stadium in Abu Dhabi. And with that, the former interim lightweight champ had his revenge.

“The goal was to be technical and pick my shots and have a big finish,” Poirier said.

The opening round saw Poirier attempt to wear McGregor down in the clinch, which ended up with several reversals of position along the fence in which both landed solid shoulder shivers, but McGregor more. After they broke, McGregor’s striking started to land, not just his trademark lefts, but solid right jabs to the head and body shots.

Poirier, however, began finding his footing toward the end of the round. By the second, Poirier began landing calf kicks to McGregor’s lead leg at will, and when one visibly wobbled him, it was clear the fight’s trajectory had changed. Poirier throws with bad intentions, and he stalked the fading McGregor and started landing heavy punches.

A monster left hand to the face was the big blow, and a vicious flurry put McGregor on the mat and ended the bout.

With the victory, Poirier avenged a loss in their first matchup, a first-round McGregor TKO at UFC 178 in 2014. It was his second consecutive win after a loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov in September 2019 and his seventh win in his past eight fights.

McGregor now has lost two of his past three fights and has only won once since 2016. This was the first non-submission loss of his career.

“It just wasn’t where I needed to be tonight,” McGregor said. “I’ll come back again, that’s what I’ll do. I need activity.”

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/knockout-of-the-month-january-2021-dustin-poirier-knockout-conor-mcgregor-ufc-257

Dagestani bantamweight Magomed Magomedov came to Bellator with quite the reputation.

A former Absolute Championship Berkut champion, Magomedov had built an impressive record fighting largely in his native Russia, and he also had bragging rights as the only man to ever defeat current UFC champ Petr Yan. But would that success translate to the Bellator cage?

As it turned out, the answer was a resounding, “Yes.”

Magomedov debuted for the promotion at this past December’s Bellator 254, which took place at the venue the organization has dubbed the “FightSphere,” Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

Drawing the unenviable task of welcoming Magomedov (17-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) to the promotion was Brazilian Matheus Mattos (12-2-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA), who was able to flash his durability and heart throughout the 15-minute contest, but only because he was constantly on defense. Magomedov’s relentless grappling proved insurmountable, and he was ultimately awarded a clearcut decision win, though he’d later express some disappointment in his performance and promise better in future appearances.

Check out a complete replay of the first fight, courtesy of Bellator MMA, in the video above.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/bellator-free-fight-magomed-magomedov-beat-petr-yan-whitewashes-opponent-in-debut