UFC President Dana White doesn’t consider the rivalry between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor to be over after UFC 264. But how and when a fourth fight materializes is up in the air.
Initially, White indicated McGregor would get another shot at Poirier after the former interim champ fought for the undisputed belt now held by Charles Oliveira. But then he walked back any definitive plan for the immediate future of the lightweight division.
With Poirier and Oliveira set to meet in the near future and McGregor’s recovery timeline uncertain due to a broken leg, there are too many variables in play.
“It sucks,” White said at the post-UFC 264 press conference. “It’s brutal. It’s not the way you want to see fights end. Dustin Poirier will fight for the title, and when Conor is healed and ready to go, you do the rematch, I guess. I don’t know.”
UFC fighters have suffered bone fractures in three of the past four pay-per-view events; at UFC 261, ex-middleweight champ Chris Weidman suffered a broken leg when his opponent Uriah Hall checked a low kick. At 262, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza had his arm broken by an armbar.
McGregor’s injury occured near the end of the round after he and Poirier got back to their feet and both threw punches. Poirier said he caused the injury when he checked an early kick from McGregor and the bone later gave way.
White said the former two-division champion will go into surgery on Sunday morning to repair his leg. Weidman is still recovering from his injury and said he could be sidelined from training for up to one year, so it seems likely McGregor is in for an extended layoff.
“The fight didn’t get finished,” he said. “You can’t have a fight finish that way, so we’ll see how this whole thing plays out. Who knows how long Conor is out, so Poirier will do his thing until Conor’s ready.”
Even the general trajectory of the fight didn’t convince White that the result would have been the same without the injury. Poirier had McGregor trapped against the fence and was raining down heavy elbows near the end of the first round, but the UFC exec said the Irish star wasn’t out of the fight.
“He got back up on his feet and started throwing punches,” White said. “His ankle snapped from throwing punches. He was fighting back. It wasn’t like he was up against the cage and defenseless and was unloading on him.”
Poirier scoffed at the idea of an immediate rematch with McGregor if he was successful against Oliveira; the former two-division champion’s record – one win was enough to disqualify him from a shot at the title. He also acknowledged that any big McGregor win would probably set up a title shot.
For White, Saturday’s ending was as much about the perception of what happened in the octagon as the actual outcome.
“The storyline is, oh, Conor broke his ankle instead of Dustin looked good,” he said.
When the circumstances are right, the UFC exec will try to bring a more emphatic ending to the lightweight rivalry.
“The rematch is there,” he said. “You’ve got the rematch with him like you’ve got the rematch with [Nate] Diaz. It’s always going to be there. I don’t know what the landscape’s going to look like when he’s ready, so to say definitively, I can’t, right here, right now. But you always have that rematch.”
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
