Tag: MMA News

Dustin Poirier plans one final match in the UFC: ‘Once more into the fray’

Dustin Poirier plans one final match in the UFC: 'Once more into the fray'Former interim UFC lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier has once more confirmed plans to make one final Octagon appearance off…

Dustin Poirier plans one final match in the UFC: 'Once more into the fray'

Former interim UFC lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier has once more confirmed plans to make one final Octagon appearance off the back of his latest undisputed title charge loss — revealing he plans to step into the “fray” for one last time.

Poirier, the current number four ranked lightweight contender, has been sidelined since he headlined UFC 302 back in May, suffering a fifth round D’Arce choke submission defeat against current pound-for-pound number one, Islam Makhachev in the pair’s heated grudge fight.

Dustin Poirier reveals he requested UFC release in 2019 it's been a war zone behind the scenes

And weighing up his fighting future in the immediate aftermath of his submission loss to the Russian, veteran lightweight star, Poirier failed to hang up his gloves, and in the weeks following the defeat, maintained he may fight one final time.

Dustin Poirier confirms plan for one final Octagon walk

On social media this weekend to boot, the Lafayette striking favorite once more confirmed plans to compete just once more in the UFC — amid links to a slew of high-profile bouts at his 155lbs home.

Dustin Poirier appears to shut down retirement talk make UFC return The Last Dance

“I will,” Dustin Poirier responded to a user on X who questioned if he would fight again. “Once more into the fray, into the last good fight I’ll ever know. Live and die on this day, live and die on this day.”

In his most recent win, the Louisianan fan-favorite turned in an impressive rallying win over French contender, Benoit Saint Denis — snapping the Nimes prospect’s impressive winning run with a blistering knockout success as recent as April.

Dustin Poirier still unclear on fighting future I'm still unsure about what's next

Earlier this week, however, the American Top Team staple confirmed he would not even entertain a potential grudge fight with former training partner, Colby Covington, claiming the outspoken veteran would not be making any sort of money off his name in a long-rumored pairing.

Dustin Poirier plans one final match in the UFC: ‘Once more into the fray’

Dustin Poirier plans one final match in the UFC: 'Once more into the fray'Former interim UFC lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier has once more confirmed plans to make one final Octagon appearance off…

Dustin Poirier plans one final match in the UFC: 'Once more into the fray'

Former interim UFC lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier has once more confirmed plans to make one final Octagon appearance off the back of his latest undisputed title charge loss — revealing he plans to step into the “fray” for one last time.

Poirier, the current number four ranked lightweight contender, has been sidelined since he headlined UFC 302 back in May, suffering a fifth round D’Arce choke submission defeat against current pound-for-pound number one, Islam Makhachev in the pair’s heated grudge fight.

Dustin Poirier reveals he requested UFC release in 2019 it's been a war zone behind the scenes

And weighing up his fighting future in the immediate aftermath of his submission loss to the Russian, veteran lightweight star, Poirier failed to hang up his gloves, and in the weeks following the defeat, maintained he may fight one final time.

Dustin Poirier confirms plan for one final Octagon walk

On social media this weekend to boot, the Lafayette striking favorite once more confirmed plans to compete just once more in the UFC — amid links to a slew of high-profile bouts at his 155lbs home.

Dustin Poirier appears to shut down retirement talk make UFC return The Last Dance

“I will,” Dustin Poirier responded to a user on X who questioned if he would fight again. “Once more into the fray, into the last good fight I’ll ever know. Live and die on this day, live and die on this day.”

In his most recent win, the Louisianan fan-favorite turned in an impressive rallying win over French contender, Benoit Saint Denis — snapping the Nimes prospect’s impressive winning run with a blistering knockout success as recent as April.

Dustin Poirier still unclear on fighting future I'm still unsure about what's next

Earlier this week, however, the American Top Team staple confirmed he would not even entertain a potential grudge fight with former training partner, Colby Covington, claiming the outspoken veteran would not be making any sort of money off his name in a long-rumored pairing.

Superlek scores 49-Second KO of Jonathan Haggerty with savage elbow strike – ONE 168 Highlights

Superlek scores 49-second KO of Jonathan Haggerty with savage elbow strike - ONE 168 HighlightsSuperlek needed less than a minute to finish Jonathan Haggerty in the ONE 168 headliner on Friday night in…

Superlek scores 49-second KO of Jonathan Haggerty with savage elbow strike - ONE 168 Highlights

Superlek needed less than a minute to finish Jonathan Haggerty in the ONE 168 headliner on Friday night in The Mile High City.

Emanating from Ball Arena, fight fans were treated to a fast and furious main event as ‘The Kicking Machine’ scored a shocking first-round KO against former two-sport king Jonathan Haggerty to claim the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world championship.

Haggerty came out aggressive from the get-go and caught Superlek early with a nice left hand. That early success appeared to encourage ‘The General’ to move forward — a decision that would prove to be a massive mistake as Superlek timed Haggerty’s entry perfectly and unleashed an absolutely brutal elbow that caught Haggerty clean and sent him crashing to the canvas.

Haggerty attempted to reach his feet before the 10-count but was unable to do so, giving us a brand new bantamweight Muay Thai titleholder.

Official Result: Superlek def. Jonathan Haggerty via KO (elbow) at 0:49 of Round 1.

Check Out highlights from Jonathan Haggerty vs. Superlek at ONE 168:

Liam Harrison TKO’d in second round of instant classic with Seksan – ONE 168 Highlights

Liam Harrison comes up short against Seksan in long-Awaited ONE Championship return - ONE 168 HighlightsLiam Harrison came up short in his long-awaited return to the Circle at ONE 168: Denver. Harrison got his…

Liam Harrison comes up short against Seksan in long-Awaited ONE Championship return - ONE 168 Highlights

Liam Harrison came up short in his long-awaited return to the Circle at ONE 168: Denver.

Harrison got his lightning-fast leg kicks going early, but it was Seksan who poured on the pressure, pushing ‘The Hitman’ up against the fence and working his way into range. That trend continued through to the second round as Seksan trapped Harrison against the fence and unleashed a series of vicious elbows.

‘The Man Who Yields To No One’ landed clean and put Harrison on the mat, but Harrison answered the court and came storming back. Unfortunately for fans of ‘The Hitman,’ Seksan tagged him again, sending him crashing to the canvas for the second time in the second round.

Harrison again answered the count, but it was just a matter of time before Seksan put him down for the third and final time. That moment came moments later when Seksan landed a looping right hand that caught Harrison with his back turned. Harrison hit the mat for a third time in the round, prompting the referee to call for the stoppage before the two-minute mark of the round.

Official Result: Seksan def. Liam Harrison via TKO (three knockdowns) at 1:49 of Round 2.

Check Out highlights from Liam Harrison vs. Seksan at ONE 168:

Aung La N Sang suffers brutal TKO loss against Dagestani standout Shamil Gasonov – ONE 168 Highlights

Aung La N Sang suffers brutal TKO loss against Dagestani standout Shamil Gasonov - ONE 168 HighlightsAung La N Sang suffered his first TKO loss in more than a decade at ONE 168: Denver on…

Aung La N Sang suffers brutal TKO loss against Dagestani standout Shamil Gasonov - ONE 168 Highlights

Aung La N Sang suffered his first TKO loss in more than a decade at ONE 168: Denver on Friday night.

Right out the gate, Erdogan wobbled Aung La with a right hand and quickly followed it up with a takedown that kept ‘The Burmese Python’ on the mat for much of the remainder of the opening round.

Erdogan put his striking skills on display in the opening moments of the second, landing a nice jab followed by a flurry of strikes that had Aung La on rubber legs. Still, Aung La stayed upright which prompted Erdogan to shoot in and secure another easy takedown. Once there, Aung La had little left in the tank. Erdogan poured it on, dropping a slew of ground-and-pound strikes that forced referee Herb Dean to step in and call for the stoppage.

Official Result: Shamil Erdogan def. Aung La N Sang via TKO (ground-and-pound) at 2:48 of Round 2.

Check Out highlights from Aung La N Sang vs. Shamil Erdogan at ONE 168:

Vanessa Demopoulos: Ex-Stripper Turned UFC Star Talks Title Dreams and Unruly Customers

Vanessa Demopoulos: Ex-Stripper Turned UFC Star Talks Title Dreams and Unruly CustomersStrawweight standout Vanessa Demopoulos returns to the Octagon this Saturday night seeking her sixth career win inside the Octagon…

Vanessa Demopoulos: Ex-Stripper Turned UFC Star Talks Title Dreams and Unruly Customers

Strawweight standout Vanessa Demopoulos returns to the Octagon this Saturday night seeking her sixth career win inside the Octagon and 12th overall.

A winner in four of her last five, ‘Lil Monster’ has won over a legion of fight fans with her bubbly personality and her signature celebration that sees her jump into the arms of her post-fight interviewer, whether that be Joe Rogan, Michael Bisping, or Daniel Cormier.

Vanessa Demopoulos

It’s been a long road for the 35-year-old Ohio native to get to this point in her life. Just two years ago, Demopoulos was working as an exotic dancer even as she made her Octagon debut against JJ Aldrich in the summer of 2021.

“I’ve always been a tough cookie,” Demopoulos told talkSPORT.com in May 2023. “I used to fight a lot when I was in school and I actually got kicked out of a lot of schools for fighting when I was young. When I turned 18, I started dancing as a stripper, as a pole dancer, and then someone saw me in the club and said, ‘If you put that same skill that you put towards pole dancing into fighting, you might do something with it.’

“So, I was like, ‘Cool. Teach me how to fight.’ That was when I was 21 years old, and I never looked back. I loved it! “

Vanessa Demopoulos

Juggling the two careers was quite the challenge, but Demopoulos admits that her MMA skills came in handy from time to time at the gentleman’s club.

“I’ve had to choke a couple of guys unconscious at work, you know. They would try to run off on me without paying me or something and didn’t know they were messing with the wrong chick. They’d end up waking up and politely giving me my money. That was really cool. So, I doubled up as a bouncer at work. The bouncers said they didn’t have to worry about me because I was gonna handle my business.”

Vanessa Demopoulos

Vanessa Demopoulos knew that focusing on fighting full-time would be a huge financial risk

After finding success and financial freedom as a dancer for 13 years, ‘Lil Monster’ knew walking away to focus on fighting would be a huge risk.

So far, it’s worked out for her. Now that she’s got a few wins behind her and a solid fanbase, she’s focused on working her way up the strawweight rankings with hopes of one day challenging current champion Zhang Weili.

“This is my dream and I get to chase them now. I didn’t have the financial means at the time when I walked away and I was really scared, honestly,” Demopoulos said. “I believed in myself, and I trusted my skillset. I trusted myself and I knew that I was going to be able to make something of this. I didn’t want to split my effort anymore.

“One day I will be the champion and I’m working towards that. I know that in my heart, in my soul. I work for that every single day. This is all I think about.”

Demopoulos will face Jaqueline Amorim at UFC Vegas 97 this weekend. Amorim carries with her an impressive 8-1 record including four straight wins under the UFC banner. As a result, she is listed as a 3-to-1 favorite to come out on top.

d509c 17105955255054 1920