Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier are region to lastly resolve a winner in their rivalry when they meet on Saturday evening within the major match of UFC 264. The action is decided to head down from Las Vegas’ T-Cell Arena to cap off a 13-combat card featuring masses of meaningful action.
A assured McGregor obtained the mind games towards Poirier outdated to their 2014 featherweight conflict, then obtained within the Octagon when he scored a TKO victory in not as a lot as two minutes. Poirier needed to reduction a in point of fact long time for revenge, transferring as a lot as lightweight and turning into a force at 155 pounds.
Poirier panicked many along with his thrilling 2nd-round TKO of McGregor in January, but he panicked even extra when he chose to pursue a trilogy bout with the Irishman over a likelihood at the lightweight title. The belt turn out to be as soon as left vacant at the moment after his remove when Khabib Nurmagomedov affirmed his solution to retire to UFC president Dana White. Now, a remove for either man doubtless earns them a shot at unusual champion Charles Oliveira later this yr.
The co-major match carries equal importance to the welterweight title image. Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson is decided to face off with Gilbert Burns in a bout that could well per chance also shape the 170-pound title hard future. Colby Covington is anticipated to accumulate subsequent in a rematch with Kamaru Usman after he turn out to be as soon as stopped within the fifth round at the pause of 2019, Thompson and Burns — each and every broken-down title challengers in their delight in supreme — maintain a impart at being subsequent after that with a remove on Saturday evening. It could well presumably also be Thompson’s third different at the belt after organising quick in a diagram and majority option loss to Tyron Woodley beforehand.
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We trace or not it’s simple to accumulate lost within the trivialities of a great match. So we’re here to serve provide you with a concise outlook of what to are waiting for and what to perceive for every major card combat. Let’s have interaction a more in-depth scrutinize at what to are waiting for on Saturday with the latest odds from William Hill Sportsbook.
Sean O’Malley -800 vs. Kris Moutinho +550, bantamweights: Louis Smolka turn out to be as soon as first and major slated to face O’Malley (13-1), already a step down from what most wished from the rising contender’s subsequent opponent. The UFC has thrown heavy promotional effort within the relieve of the thrilling, heavy-hitting O’Malley and he perceived to be transferring toward a title shot sooner than a gorgeous upset loss to Marlon Vera. Whereas masses of attention-grabbing alternate ideas for opponents called to step in and have interaction the combat, the UFC regarded externally, signing Moutinho (9-4). Excluding for his most latest combat, Moutinho’s total occupation took location within the CES MMA cage. Moutinho is using a two-combat a success go, bouncing relieve from a two-combat losing skid. Moutinho has handiest achieved four of his 9 occupation victories but has been stopped in all four of his losses. O’Malley has 9 knockouts and one submission remove on his file.
Irene Aldana -120 vs. Yana Kunitskaya +100, females’s bantamweights: After a rocky commence to her UFC occupation, losing each and every of her initial fights within the Octagon, Aldana (12-6) has straightened things out with a 5-2 jog. Her most latest combat turn out to be as soon as a option loss to Holly Holm in a UFC Wrestle Night time major match. The Holm combat turn out to be as soon as Aldana’s handiest combat in 2020, in fragment on account of a mid-yr sure COVID-19 test that delayed the Holm combat from August to October. Aldana has 9 finishes in her 12 occupation victories. In Kunitskaya (14-5), Aldana faces one other highly-ranked opponent within the UFC’s bantamweight division. Kunitskaya made her Octagon debut after capturing the Invicta FC bantamweight champion, straight being thrust into deep waters as she faced Cris Cyborg for the UFC featherweight title. Kunitskaya lost the combat by TKO within the first round. She has gone on to remove four of her subsequent five fights, along with a unusual two-combat a success go.
Tai Tuivasa -135 vs. Greg Hardy +115, heavyweights: Hardy (7-3), a broken-down NFL huge name whose occupation ended after home violence allegations that came with photographic evidence, has been a controversial fragment of the UFC roster since two sub-one minute knockouts on Dana White’s Contender Sequence. He lost his official UFC debut by disqualification after an illegal knee sooner than two wins. A third turn out to be as soon as overturned for Hardy violating the ideas as soon as extra, this time using an inhaler between rounds. Hardy has since gone 2-2, with losses to Alexander Volkov and Marcin Tybura in a combat the build fatigue precipitated him to crumble. Tuivasa (11-3) started his UFC occupation with three straight victories sooner than a trio of losses. He’s for the time being using a two-combat a success go, knocking out Stefan Struve and Harry Hunsucker, each and every within the first round. In Tuivasa’s 11 occupation victories, he has scored 10 knockouts, all within the first round.
Stephen Thompson -165 vs. Gilbert Burns +140, welterweights: Thompson (16-4-1) is a broken-down two-time welterweight title challenger, battling Tyron Woodley to a diagram sooner than losing the rematch by majority option. Thompson has been a fixed high-level competitor and one in all doubtlessly the most a success opponents in UFC historic past to reach from a karate fallacious. After a two-combat losing skid, Thompson purchased relieve heading within the correct route with two straight wins over Vicente Luque and Geoff Neal. At 38 years passe, Thompson is attempting to push for one last jog at a title shot. Burns (19-4), then all all over again, is coming off his delight in title shot, losing to Kamaru Usman by third-round knockout in February. That loss snapped a six-combat a success go for Burns, who emerged as one in all the celebrities of the early pandemic era with a knockout of Demian Maia and dominant remove over Woodley. Burns has a balanced attack, with eight submission wins, six knockouts and five choices.
Dustin Poirier -125 vs. Conor McGregor +105, lightweights: Poirier (27-6) is on the handiest jog of his educated occupation with a 7-1 file since 2017. 5 of these wins came towards men who maintain held UFC gold. The lone loss in that stretch came towards Khabib Nurmagomedov, doubtlessly the most dominant champion in lightweight historic past. Poirier’s enchancment — which he largely attributes to not being lost to the 2nd — turn out to be as soon as on cloak in January when he survived early stress from McGregor to ranking the 2nd-round knockout remove. Truly, four of his seven most latest victories came by job of stoppage, bringing him to 20 stoppage wins in his 27 occupation victories.
McGregor (22-5) entered the UFC as an absolute killer, rattling off 9 straight wins within the Octagon, culminating in a 13-2nd knockout of Jose Aldo to remove the featherweight championship. Since that remove, McGregor’s dominance has reach to one thing of a dwell even as he obtained the lightweight title from Eddie Alvarez. The broken-down two-division champ has gone delicate 3-3 since 2016. Jumbled in that interval had been plenty of quick-lived retirements and a day out to the boxing ring for a loss to Floyd Mayweather in a mega-combat. Restful, McGregor remains a highly dreadful fighter who has stopped 20 of his opponents, handiest a success on the scorecards twice in his pro occupation.
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