Author: Dan Hiergesell

If Dustin Poirier is able to knock off UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway and UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in the same calendar year he’ll have to be considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in MMA today.

Luckily for “Diamond,” he already defeated “Blessed” earlier this month at UFC 236 to claim the interim lightweight title. All Poirier has to do now is hand Khabib his first professional defeat later this year when the two meet in a proposed title unification bout. Needless to say, it will be the biggest fight of Poirier’s career considering the dominance that Nurmagomedov has demonstrated through 11 perfect UFC bouts, which includes a recent submission victory over Conor McGregor this past October.

With the odds stacked against him, Poirier will have to rise to the occasion to knock off one of the most destructive forces to ever step inside of the Octagon. Poirier’s head coach, Mike Brown, believes his fighter is ready to make that next jump.

“Dustin knows what he’s capable of, and all these guys are dangerous, they’re all very good fighters, so it’s better to put yourself in there against the guy everybody thinks is unbeatable,” Brown said in a recent interview with MMA Fighting’s Chuck Mindenhall. “Only good things can happen. Dustin is 100 percent capable, and he’s going to win that fight.”

Poirier, who already held a submission win over Holloway dating back to 2012, looked better than ever in his rematch with “Blessed” at UFC 236. Not only did “Diamond” absorb everything Holloway had to offer over the course of five bloody rounds, but he inflicted more damage to the UFC featherweight champion than we’ve ever seen before.

Brown, who has trained countless UFC champions over the years, believes Poirier’s performance against Holloway will only lead to good things against Khabib.

“Dustin is such a talented guy, super-skilled mentally, physically and technically, and I believe he’s in his absolute prime,” Brown said. “He could have win the title a couple of years ago, now he’s a different animal. I’m guessing, because this happens a lot, winning this title against Max is going to propel him to another level. He thought he was the best in the world, or maybe he knew he was the best in the world, but now he has that title label on him and the confidence will be much higher in him. That’s important.”

With title in hand, Poirier will likely lock horns with Khabib this September in a huge showdown at 155 pounds. If “Diamond” is able to upset “Eagle” and become the undisputed UFC lightweight champion then the sky is truly the limit.

Things may not have turned out the way Terence Crawford (35-0, 26 KO) envisioned last night (Sat., April 20, 2019) on ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Madison Square Garden in New York City, but the reigning WBO welterweight champion still defended his title against former WBA and IBF light-welterweight champion Amir Khan (33-5, 20 KO) in fashion.

The first few rounds featured sheer dominance by Crawford, including his first-round knockdown on Khan that left the New York crowd on its feet. Khan did land some solid one-two combos in the second and third frames, but ultimately couldn’t stomach Crawford’s collection of heavy body punches.

Check out that first-round knockdown by Crawford below:

In the sixth round, Crawford landed an accidental low blow on Khan that stopped the fight in its tracks (little did we know this would be the end). Khan was given time to recover but ultimately ruled himself out when his corner asked if he was able to continue.

Check out the finishing sequence below:

It wasn’t the greatest of outcomes for one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, but Crawford had already done enough damage entering the sixth round that it was only a matter of time before Khan crumbled. Crawford, who heard some boos during his post-fight speech, believed the punch wasn’t even a low blow.

Such is life. Crawford still killed it.

For complete ‘Crawford vs. Khan’ results and coverage click here.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is gearing up for its return to the Empire State with UFC on ESPN+ 10 set to go down on May 18 live on ESPN+ from inside Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York.

The main event of the evening will feature a 170-pound clash between former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos and perennial lightweight contender Kevin Lee. This will mark the welterweight debut of “Motown Phenom” as he moves up from lightweight after a recent decision loss to Al Iaquinta this past December. Lee leaves behind a 10-4 UFC lightweight record since making his Octagon debut back in 2014.

As for dos Anjos, this is a chance for the former UFC champion to rebound after a lopsided loss to Kamaru Usman back in November. After starting his welterweight campaign with three-straight wins over the likes of Robbie Lawler, Neil Magny, and Tarec Saffiedine, the 34-year-old Brazilian has lost his last two Octagon appearances. A victory over Lee with help RDA right the ship at 170 pounds and regain momentum heading into the second half of 2019.

Check out the first official poster for UFC on ESPN+ 10: ‘Dos Anjos vs. Lee’ above courtesy of UFC.

While the official fight card lineup is subject to change with a month left before the starting bell, UFC on ESPN+ 10 will feature the following bouts:

Neil Magny vs. Vicente Luque
Charles Oliveira vs. Nik Lentz
Aspen Ladd vs. Sijara Eubanks
Megan Anderson vs. Felicia Spencer
Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Ian Heinisch
Zak Cummings vs. Trevin Giles
Patrick Cummins vs. Ed Herman
Michael Trizano vs. Grant Dawson
Julio Arce vs. Julian Erosa
Davi Ramos vs. Austin Hubbard
Danny Roberts vs. Michel Pereira

For more UFC Rochester fight card news click here.

Alistair Overeem may have had to eat furious right hooks from Russian veteran Aleksei Oleinik earlier today (Sat., April 20, 2019) at UFC on ESPN+ 7 live on ESPN+ from inside Yubileyny Sports Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia, but the former K-1 World Grand Prix champion eventually prevailed to earn a first-round TKO stoppage over “Boa Constrictor.”

While Overeem was originally slated to meet towering Russian heavyweight Alexander Volkov at UFC St. Petersburg, his stoppage over Oleinik, who was riding back-to-back submission wins over Mark Hunt and Sergei Pavlovich, is a huge step in the right direction for a former title challenger on the rebound. Overeem had also taken care of Pavlovich via first-round TKO back in November.

Despite his recent success and undeniable track record, Overeem doesn’t believe it’s time to start thinking about his second UFC heavyweight title shot. For now, the 38-year-old veteran is looking to get back into the cage this September and continue his divisional resurgence.

“I’m aiming for September. Fighting in September and then again later in the year. But after three wins we will start talking about the title,” said Overeem during UFC St. Petersburg’s post-fight press conference (video replay here). “Not yet, it’s too soon.”

Considering Overeem has fought nearly every heavyweight currently ranked in the top 10 there aren’t too many fresh options available. That’s why “The Reem” is holding out hope that UFC re-books his previously scheduled bout with Volkov and the two international strikers can duke it out later this year.

“There’s not choice in the UFC. I mean you choose who you fight? That’s not how the UFC works. The UFC will match you with whoever is interesting and that’s based on rankings,” Overeem explained.

“To me, Alexander Volkov is still ranked somewhere there, we were supposed to fight tonight. I’m still looking for that fight. Let’s do that first and then we’ll figure out who comes after.”

If Volkov’s name somehow slips off the table maybe the promotion can coax Cain Velasquez to sign the dotted line for a dream matchup with Overeem this September. It’s wishful thinking, but a nice backup plan if the Volkov fight happens to fall through.

For complete UFC St. Petersburg results and coverage click here.

Despite ripping Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for the lackluster promotion of UFC on ESPN+ 7 from inside Yubileyny Sports Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, current lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was still in attendance earlier today (Sat., April 20, 2019) to witness the action first hand.

After seeing some incredible fights, which included a co-main event victory for Nurmagomedov’s teammate, Islam Makhachev, Khabib joined the UFC on ESPN+7 post-fight show to discuss his upcoming return to the Octagon. Remember, Khabib has been serving a nine-month suspension for his role in UFC 229’s post-fight brawl.

Upon his return, Nurmagomedov will square off with interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier, who just won the “temporary belt” earlier this month at UFC 236 with an impressive decision win over UFC featherweight king Max Holloway. Khabib, who originally expected “Blessed” to defeat Poirier, talked about “Diamond’s” title fight victory.

“I think it was very good performance from Dustin Poirier,” said Nurmagomedov. “Honestly, before fight I think Holloway going to beat him. This is my prediction when you talk with friends, with father, with team, but he impressed me. Dustin has impressed me. I think he has very good boxing, much better than before. Every fight he becomes stronger, better in boxing on his feet. I think he deserve title shot. He already interim UFC lightweight champion, I am real lightweight champion. We have to fight. Now we’re working on this.”

Nurmagomedov, 30, has been the most dominant force in UFC since making his debut back in 2012. In total, “Eagle” has compiled an unblemished 11-0 Octagon record with key victories over Conor McGregor, Edson Barboza, Al Iaquinta, Rafael dos Anjos, and Michael Johnson. He has barely been touched inside of the cage and has never actually lost a round in UFC competition.

So while Poirier has looked downright unstoppable on the heels of four-straight victories, including three wins over current or former UFC champions, Khabib’s confidence entering their anticipated title fight later this year remains at an all-time high.

“He have very good background, he have good ground game – not bad – he have good striking game,” Nurmagomedov said. “I follow him long time and versus me – I think I have to maul him like I do with everybody. This is what I have to do. I respect him like fighter, like human, but when we go to the cage I have to maul this guy. This is what I want and right now I am focused on September. Five month before fight and I think it’s going to be really good fight with him.”

Poirier will now have five months to prepare for the hardest fight of his career. The same should be said about Khabib considering Poirier’s well-rounded arsenal, but the UFC lightweight king makes every fight look easy.

For complete UFC St. Petersburg results and coverage click here.

The action delivered as advertised earlier today (Sat., April 20, 2019) at UFC on ESPN+ 7 live on ESPN+ from inside Yubileyny Sports Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia, as heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem put a brutal stop to submission expert Aleksei Oleinik via first-round TKO (highlights HERE).

In addition to Overeem’s main event finish, heavyweight prospect Sergei Pavlovich stunned Brazilian fighter Marcelo Golm with a 66-second knockout blow, Alexander Yakovlev ended the hype of Brazilian prospect Alex da Silva with a slick guillotine choke finish, heavyweight veteran Shamil Abdurakhimov brutally finished Polish contender Marcin Tybura in the second round, surging light heavyweight youngster Michal Oleksiejczuk scored a filthy 44-second knockout over Gadzhimurad Antigulov, the returning Magomed Mustafaev sparked the “Prelims” undercard with a beautiful spinning back kick finish over Rafael Fiziev, and Islam Makhachev narrowly escaped an upset defeat at the hands of UFC newcomer Arman Tsarukyan in the co-main event.

In order to sift through the action and see which fighters took home an extra $50,000, we take a closer look at the official UFC on ESPN+ 7 bonus winners below:

Fight of the Night: Islam Makhachev def. Arman Tsarukyan

Performance of the Night: Sergei Pavlovich

Performance of the Night: Magomed Mustafaev

For complete UFC St. Petersburg results and coverage click here.