Sports
Dustin Poirier Named Hardest Hitter He Faced During UFC Career
After Dustin Poirier retired from MMA following his unanimous decision loss to Max Holloway at UFC 318, it was the perfect time to look back at his glittering career, and he once revealed who hit him the hardest inside the Octagon.
With a professional MMA career spanning over 15 years, Poirier has endured his fair share of hits. While his unanimous decision loss to Holloway at UFC 318 certainly wasn’t the final fight he would’ve hoped for, his professional record of 30-10 stands as testament to his long and storied time in the sport.
Dustin Poirier’s MMA Career
Initially fighting across various regional promotions in his native Louisiana and Southern US, Poirier boasted a 7-0 record before his World Extreme Cagefighting debut provided the first loss of his career at the hands of Danny Castillo at WEC 50. A first-round TKO of Zach Micklewright at WEC 52 concluded his participation in the promotion, as it was merged with the UFC.
His life in the UFC started with a four-fight win streak, including a submission victory over Max Holloway, before his first loss, courtesy of Jung Chan-sung.
The Diamond’s wait for a UFC title ended in 2019 with yet another bout against Holloway, in which the judges unanimously hailed Poirier the victor, awarding him the interim UFC lightweight title in the process. However, his reign lasted only five months, having submitted to Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s rear-naked choke hold at UFC 242.
Dustin Poirier on Hardest Hitting Opponent
Of Poirier’s 10 losses, only three came via KO/TKO, but one fighter’s striking ability stood out from the rest.
“Conor McGregor, no doubt about it. As the biggest puncher I’ve fought? Yeah. He’s a special individual, for sure,” he revealed in an interview with Valuetainment. “Fought him in 2014; lost, and that was when his trajectory was just… sky was the limit.”
The fierce rivalry shared between the pair first emerged ahead of their 2014 bout at UFC 178. Within two minutes of the first round, McGregor had dropped his opponent to the floor, before pouncing on the stricken Poirier and unleashing another barrage of strikes, forcing the referee to call it off, only one minute and 46 seconds into the fight.
Reflecting on whether the Irishman had lost any of his punching power prior to their rematch at UFC 257, Poirier suggested that it was a change in his mental approach that allowed him to set up a trilogy fight: “Still the same; very dangerous. It’s just, I felt differently mentally going into it.”
Poirier opened the 2021 rematch by focusing on McGregor’s left calf. With the Dublin-born fighter landing a flurry of clean shots, The Diamond remained undeterred, focusing on breaking down the Irishman’s leg.
At the beginning of the second round, McGregor stunned the American with a strong left-hand, but, once again, Poirier remained focused. With McGregor’s calf becoming increasingly red, he was unable to use his notorious striking power due to his inability to put weight on his left leg. Smelling weakness, Poirier dropped him with a right hook before unraveling a series of blows, ending the bout.
As the pair trash-talked one another following the rematch, everything was poised for one of the fights of the year, a trilogy bout to settle it once and for all. In the first round of their UFC 264 meeting, the pair traded a series of punches and kicks, attempting to work out an opportunity in which to stop the fight early.
As McGregor attempted to throw a left hand, his leg went underneath him, snapping in the process. As his screams echoed around the T-Mobile Arena, Poirier tried to seize his opponent’s misfortune, bombarding him with shots. The horn sounded and the Irishman’s screams continued, as the ringside doctor entered the cage and stopped the fight.
Both fighters, as well as UFC CEO Dana White, suggested a fourth instalment was on the cards once McGregor returned from injury, but his lengthy absence from the UFC, and Poirier’s decision to retire, put an end to such an idea.
Liverpool want to sign Yan Diomande from RB Leipzig this summer, but getting a deal over the line will not be easy.
The teen sensation is the Reds‘ number one transfer priority in the summer transfer window, with the Anfield outfit needing to strengthen in wide forward areas following the departure of Mohamed Salah and the question marks over Federico Chiesa and Cody Gakpo’s futures.
Diomande has been a shining light for the Ivory Coast at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in America, Canada and Mexico so far, winning the man of the match award for the win over Ecuador and impressing in the 2-1 defeat to Germany.
Leipzig price keeps going up for Diomande
Liverpool will have to splash big money on the 19-year-old in order to complete a deal, with Leipzig looking for at least €100million to sanction a deal, not that they want to at all.
The German outfit are keen to keep hold of their red-hot forward and have offered him improved contract terms in the hopes of making him stay for at least one more year. The Red Bull side qualified for next season’s Champions League and the hope is that will encourage him to stay put for another year.
Liverpool have already had one bid for the Ivorian turned down, GIVEMESPORT understands it was for €80million plus €20 million in add-ons, so totaling the €100million that the German side were demanding. The Reds are planning to make a second offer in the coming days.
GMS senior football correspondent Ben Jacobs revealed in his newsletter – which you can sign up to receive direct to your email inbox right here – that Liverpool are not prepared to hang around when it comes to signing the teenager.
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He said: “Liverpool’s perspective is that Diomande is their number one target, but if they cannot get him, and relatively quickly, they’re also prepared to move on.
“It’s not a transfer that Liverpool want to drag on until deadline day, like Alexander Isak when he moved from Newcastle, it’s clarity quickly, and if they can’t get it because the player decides to stay or Leipzig’s price remains at €130million or so, then Liverpool move on to other targets.”
The Diomande alternatives Liverpool could sign this summer
And the Reds already have four other names in the frame when it comes to strengthening their forward line, as revealed by Jacobs.
He continued: “There’s appreciation for Bradley Barcola, so in a backhanded way, if PSG get Diomande, it might open the door for Barcola to move to the Premier League.
“There’s also Matias Fernandez-Pardo [from Lille], Said el Mala [from Koln] and Yankuba Minteh at Brighton, three other names the Reds are looking at.”
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Liverpool are facing a battle to get some of their key moves over the line in the summer transfer window.
Manchester United are in the market to sign a Bundesliga defender in the summer transfer window, according to reports in Germany.
A large percentage of the discourse surrounding United at the moment is around the pursuit of a number of different midfielders.
The Red Devils will likely strengthen in multiple different positions, but it appears that the midfield is a priority position at the moment.
It’s unclear what their next priority will be after bringing in midfielders, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them reinforce the whole squad.
United are back in the Champions League, which means they’ll need a deeper and more competitive squad to deal with the hectic and more difficult fixture schedule.
Man Utd Open Talks to Sign ‘One of the Best Midfielders in the World’
Man Utd are pushing to sign a new midfielder.
Man Utd Eyeing Bundesliga Star
According to reports in Germany, Manchester United are one of the sides showing an interest in signing Dortmund defender Waldemar Anton in the summer transfer window.
Michael Carrick, in particular, is believed to be a big fan of the 29-year-old, but Dortmund have no intention of letting him leave in the summer.
Anton isn’t believed to be pushing for an exit at the moment, while he is also tied down to a contract until 2028.
Anton, described as ‘every coach’s dream’ by Stuttgart head coach Sebastian Hoeneß, played 32 times in the Bundesliga for Dortmund last season and also made nine Champions League appearances.
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Centre-Back Unlikely to Be a Priority
Signing a centre-back is likely to be low down on United’s shortlist heading into the summer transfer window. Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Leny Yoro, Ayden Heaven and Matthijs de Ligt are Carrick’s current options at the back. It makes little sense to prioritise a move for a new defender unless somebody is set to leave.
Heaven and Yoro are young talents who are yet to reach their full potential, but they are still more than capable of being squad players and making an impact regularly.
If the opportunity arises to bring in a new defender, United might take it, but it feels unlikely that they will go all out to bring one in this summer.
A 2026 World Cup commentator has been banned by FIFA after completely losing his head during the match between Paraguay and Turkey.
Paraguay needed to pick up at least a point after facing defeat to the United States in their opening match of the competition.
They kept their hopes of qualifying for the knockout rounds alive after beating Turkey 1-0 in a hard-fought match. They managed to triumph despite Miguel Almiron being shown a straight red card in first-half stoppage time.
The former Newcastle United midfielder was given his marching orders after covering his mouth during a confrontation. The rule was introduced in this summer’s tournament to stop players concealing racist, discriminatory, or abusive language.
Paraguayan commentator Jorge Vera unleashed an incredible rant on ABC Cardinal after Almiron was shown his marching orders. He started by calling referee Ivan Barton a ‘thief’ before taking aim at FIFA president Gianni Infantino. He raged, per the Mirror:
“Thief, thief, Barton. They killed football. FIFA, you killed football. [Gianni] Infantino, you’re responsible for this. FIFA, take responsibility for turning football into this. A disgrace. You should be ashamed, Infantino.”
He then hit out at CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez. “Alejandro Domínguez, less photos with Infantino. Grow a pair. You f****** thieves!
“What kind of racism could Miguel Almiron possibly use against the Turkish player? Show me some common sense.”
FIFA have reacted to Vera’s outburst by taking away his accreditation for the remainder of the tournament. ABC Cardinal have condemned that decision. They said:
“We believe that the permanent cancellation of a credential for the entire duration of the tournament constitutes an extreme and manifestly disproportionate sanction for a primary infraction that was immediately acknowledged, for which formal apologies and concrete mechanisms for redress were offered.
“The apologies were presented, the error was admitted, and corrective measures were immediately implemented… Correcting errors is necessary. So is ensuring that sanctions are reasonable, proportionate, and compatible with basic principles of justice.
“No sanction should disregard a professional career based on an isolated incident that has been acknowledged and rectified. We trust that FIFA will review its decision and allow proportionality and dialogue to lead us to justice.”
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Vera has taken to social media to apologise for his comments. He said:
“To the public opinion. During the live transmission of the Paraguay-Turkey match, in the heat of the moment and the tension of the broadcast, I made comments that exceeded the limits.
“I used strong expressions and personal attacks against the referee and FIFA officials, which I deeply regret. I recognise that I went too far with my words. I have already sent a formal note of rectification and apologies directly to the FIFA accreditation team, acknowledging the verbal excess caused by the pressure of the live broadcast.
“I want to apologise publicly to FIFA, to the refereeing team, to my colleagues, and especially to the audience for any offense my words may have caused. It was never my intention to attack anyone personally. I got carried away in the emotion of the moment. I take full responsibility for my mistake. Thank you.”
Paraguay are next in action on Thursday, June 25, when they take on Australia at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium. A point would likely be enough to see them progress to the knockout rounds.
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