Author: Dan Hiergesell

What time will the two budding rivals make their walks to the cage? We predict deez tings …

Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier will lock horns in a massive trilogy bout later this evening (Sat., July 10, 2021) at UFC 264 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, as the two lightweights do battle in the main event. This will be the third (and likely final) fight between “Notorious” and “Diamond.” After McGregor finished Poirier in a Featherweight bout all the way back in 2014 (watch it), it was Poirier who returned the favor at UFC 257 this past January, handing the Irishman his first career knockout loss (highlights here). Six months later and the two lightweights are ready to settle their rivalry in front of the first sold-out Las Vegas crowd since the COVID-19 pandemic started.

Needless to say, this is a massive fight for both men. For McGregor, he needs a win over a legitimate contender to prove he’s still one of the best at 155 pounds. His lack of consistency inside of the Octagon has many people believing he is currently on the back end of his fighting career. Poirier, on the other hand, needs another win over McGregor to prove his last victory wasn’t a fluke. He also needs a win over “Notorious” to lock down his next UFC title shot against current Lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira.

It is going to be one of the biggest cards of the year and one of the biggest rivalry fights of all time. You will not want to miss the action as McGregor and Poirier collide for a third time in front of a wild Vegas crowd, but when will the trilogy bout actually start later tonight at UFC 264?

With four other fights taking place on the PPV main card starting at 10 p.m. ET, Poirier vs. McGregor 3 is likely to begin sometime around 12:20 a.m. ET (Sunday). The main card will also feature a Welterweight co-main event between top contenders Stephen Thompson and Gilbert Burns, the return of Bantamweight sensation Sean O’Malley, and a Heavyweight clash pitting Tai Tuivasa against Greg Hardy.

If things run late (or early) Mania will be sure to provide an updated start time for tonight’s Poirier vs. McGregor 3 main event. You won’t want to miss it!

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 264 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 264: “McGregor vs. Poirier 3” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

One of the biggest trilogy fights in UFC history will unfold later tonight (Sat., July 10, 2021) at UFC 264 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, as former UFC double champ, Conor McGregor, meets No. 1-ranked Lightweight contender, Dustin Poirier, in a highly-anticipated main event. In addition to the 155-pound headliner, Welterweight contenders Gilbert Burns and Stephen Thompson will collide in an important co-main event, Bantamweight sensation Sean O’Malley will try to continue his rise against late-replacement Kris Moutinho, and Heavyweight knockout artist Tai Tuivasa will test his punching power against former NFL star Greg Hardy. Not mention a “Prelims” undercard (early and late) that will feature the likes of Carlos Condit, Niko Price, Ryan Hall and Jessica Eye, among others.

Take a look below at UFC 264’s complete fight card line up and start times:

Main Card (ESPN+ PPV)
10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT

Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor
Gilbert Burns vs. Stephen Thompson
Tai Tuivasa vs. Greg Hardy
Irene Aldana vs. Yana Kunitskaya
Sean O’Malley vs. Kris Moutinho

Late ‘Prelims’ Undercard (ESPN/ESPN+)
8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT

Carlos Condit vs. Max Griffin
Niko Price vs. Michel Pereira
Ryan Hall vs. Ilia Topuria
Dricus du Plessis vs. Trevin Giles

Early ‘Prelims’ Undercard (ESPN+/Fight Pass)
6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT

Jennifer Maia vs. Jessica Eye
Omari Akhmedov vs. Brad Tavares
Zhalgas Zhumagulov vs. Jerome Rivera
Alen Amedovski vs. Hu Yaozong

Watch UFC 264 Online

• UFC 264: “Poirier vs. McGregor 3” PPV main card can be viewed via the ESPN+ streaming app.
• Subscriptions cost $5.99 per month. The UFC 264 PPV will cost $69.99 for current subscribers.
• UFC 264: “Poirier vs. McGregor 3” undercard “Prelims” can be viewed via ESPN+ as well.

Watch UFC 264 On Television

• UFC 264: “Poirier vs. McGregor 3” undercard “Prelims” can be viewed via ESPN. Check your local providers or click for instant access to ESPN.
• UFC 264: “Poirier vs. McGregor 3” can also be streamed via Xbox One, Apple TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, and ChromeCast.

Watch UFC 264 On Tablet/Mobile

• UFC 264: “Poirier vs. McGregor 3” PPV main card and undercard “Prelims” can be viewed via ESPN+ streaming app through Google Play and iTunes stores.

Watch UFC 264 Near Me (Bars)

• Stay home, be safe. But if you really, really need to go out and watch UFC 264 there is a list of bars near you airing “Poirier vs. McGregor 3” right here.

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 264 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 264: “McGregor vs. Poirier 3” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

Former UFC middleweight title challenger Nate Marquardt is ending his four-year retirement to sign with Titan FC. “The Great” is expected to make his debut on Aug. 6.

Marquardt announced his return during Friday’s broadcast of Titan FC 70. MMA Junkie later confirmed the news, reporting that Marquardt is still looking for an opponent and expected to compete at 185 pounds.

Marquardt, who turned 42 this past April, hasn’t competed since a split decision loss to Cezar Ferreira back at UFC Fight Night 120 in Nov. 2017. It was Marquardt’s third-straight loss to end his UFC career as he announced his retirement from the sport just one month later.

Marquardt fought under the UFC banner from 2005-2017 with a brief stopover in Strikeforce, where he knocked out Tyron Woodley to capture the welterweight title. The biggest moment in Marquardt’s UFC career came in the form of a middleweight title shot against the legendary Anderson Silva at UFC 73 in 2007. Marquardt ended up losing via first-round TKO and never made it back to the big dance, although he did fight in two UFC title eliminator bouts in 2010.

It is unknown at this time how Marquardt will perform after four years away from the sport but he’ll have his chance to prove himself as a member of the Titan FC roster.

It’s been one year since Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov passed away due to complications from COVID-19 and the MMA world is still feeling the effects.

Nurmagomedov, who helped corner a large stable of Dagestani fighters, is best known for coaching his son and former UFC lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov. In fact, Khabib and his father worked hand-in-hand to turn in a perfect 29-0 professional record with 13 of those wins coming inside of the Octagon.

Khabib went on to win the undisputed UFC lightweight title back in 2018 and then defended it three times in a row. It looked like “Eagle” was going to dominate the division for years to come, but Khabib ended up retiring and vacating his 155-pound title following the passing of his father last year.

On Saturday, Khabib took to social media to deliver a message on the one year anniversary of Abdulmanap’s death. It was quite powerful. Check it out below:

“It’s been a year today since the Father is gone,” Khabib wrote on Instagram. “This event has increased my belief that in this world we own nothing, not out children, not our parents, not our property. Everything we have is temporary.

“All things belong to Allah alone and to Him we shall return, tie your hearts to Allah, stay more alone with Him, for a time will come when we will all be put in the grave where we will be alone, where our friends, relatives, property and connections will not be there, only our deeds and report.”

As of now Khabib will remain a retired man. He has fully embraced life after fighting which includes coaching, running his own MMA organization, and many other lucrative ventures. The undefeated lightweight legend made a choice to walk away after the passing of his father and remains content with his decision.

John Dodson’s MMA return has been postponed after the former UFC flyweight title challenger was involved in a serious automobile accident Friday night.

On Saturday, Dodson’s manager, Ricky Kottenstette, revealed on social media that “Magician” and his family were part of a near-death car accident while traveling to Texas for vacation. Fortunately, Dodson and his entire family were released from the hospital on Saturday.

Kottenstette posted the following photo to social media as well, which shows Dodson’s wrecked vehicle flipped on its side:

“@johndodsonmma and his family were in a serious accident last evening. Let’s show them some love thru this tough time. @gofundme is in my bio.”

As stated in his Instagram post Kottenstette has set up a GoFundMe page to assist the Dodson’s financially. Details can be found below:

We have started this go fund me to help John Dodson and family. The Dodson’s were headed to Texas on vacation to visit family when they were involved in a near death accident with the whole family inside the vehicle. They were all released from the hospital this morning but will have a rough month of recovery and financial hardship ahead. They have totaled their family vehicle and unfortunately John will no longer be able to fight in his upcoming July 30th bout. We are asking for assistance to help them with their medical bills, financial assistance from being out of work and travel back to New Mexico. Let’s show these guys some [love].

In addition, Dodson has been removed from his upcoming fight on July 30 at a XMMA event in Greenville, South Carolina. It was expected to be Dodson’s first MMA fight after being released from UFC back in Sept. 2020. The 35-year-old produced a 10-7 record under the UFC banner while losing two flyweight title fights against the legendary Demetrious Johnson.

Stick with Mania for more updates on Dodson’s condition and eventual MMA return.

A Conor McGregor fight week is not complete without a pre-fight press conference featuring trash talk and a nose-to-nose staredown.

Luckily. that’s exactly what fight fans are going to get before McGregor steps inside of the Octagon at UFC 264 next weekend in Las Vegas for his trilogy bout with lightweight contender Dustin Poirier. The two men will meet atop UFC 264’s ESPN+ PPV main card in what will be the first UFC event in Vegas that is open to fans since the coronavirus pandemic hit.

Before McGregor and Poirier square off live on PPV both fighters will meet at a pre-fight press conference this coming Thursday from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The UFC 264 pre-fight presser will be hosted by UFC president Dana White and starts at 8:00 p.m. ET. It is free and open to the public.

While McGregor and Poirier remained cordial for their rematch at UFC 257 this past January things are likely to change this time around. McGregor suffered the first knockout loss of his career at the hands of “Diamond” and is going to do everything in his power to get under Poirier’s skin prior to their trilogy bout.

Needless to say, this is a big fight for both lightweights. McGregor is trying to prove he’s still a top fighter in the game after taking so much time off over the past few years while Poirier is trying to close out the biggest rivalry of his career and fight his way back into a UFC lightweight title shot. Their trilogy bout at UFC 264 is expected to be one of the biggest combat attractions of the year and a fight that is going to set Las Vegas ablaze as fight fans finally make their way back into the T-Mobile Arena.

Mania will deliver live coverage for Thursday’s UFC 264 pre-fight press conference so stick around for all of the best reaction, trash-talking moments, and the anticipated on-stage staredown.