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Poirier can’t wait for UFC to release footage of him practicing the right hook that finished Saint-Denis in their UFC 299 scrap.

While Dustin Poirier vs. Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299 may have looked like a wild brawl (watch highlights here), there was a lot of training and technique that came into play with many of the exchanges between the two. Following his second round knockout win, Poirier revealed he’d been sharpening the right hook that finished the fight all through training camp.

Speaking to UFC.com backstage, “Diamond” recounted the finish to his thrilling “Fight of the Night” bonus-winning victory.

“He dipped down to throw an overhand and I caught him, split his timing with an uppercut and his legs kinda went,” Poirier said. “Then he came back up and he was loose — chin up, hands down, trying to hurt me.

“We practiced this in the back, I know UFC has the footage because the camera was back there,” he continued. “We were practicing catch, catch, fire the hook, catch catch, fire the hook. He fought my buddy Thiago Moises, and when he got Moises against the fence he starts throwing these combinations from the hip, gunslinging, and his chin’s in the air.

“He’s a decent puncher and a big guy, but he throws everything into every shot with not the best technique,” Poirier concluded. “That’ll come, he’s still young. But, we saw a lot of openings, and I really felt that right hook was gonna be there. And boy was it.”

The win puts Poirier back in the win column after a disappointing head kick knockout loss to Justin Gaethje back in July 2023 (watch it). Win or lose, every Poirier fight delivers fireworks, and we can only hope UFC doesn’t leave him on the sidelines for another eight months.

He’s a legend.

For complete UFC 299 results and play-by-play, click HERE.

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Cory Sandhagen has accepted the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov’s callout, but he’s added a date, location, and event to put it all together.

Following his impressive decision win over Bekzat Almakhan at UFC Vegas 87 earlier this month, Nurmagomedov called for the UFC to rebook his scheduled matchup with Sandhagen — which was slated to headline UFC Nashville this past August before Nurmagomedov suffered an injury that forced him out of the fight. Sandhagen went on to dominate Rob Font instead, and now after recovering from an injury, the one-time interim title challenger wants Nurmagomedov at UFC 303 on June 29, which will be the main draw from the UFC’s International Fight Week.

“You want to call for higher opponents and choose your date? Come on, Umar,” Sandhagen said in response to a Nurmagomedov tweet during UFC 299. “International Fight Week against me, brother.”

Since losing his chance to become interim champ against Petr Yan at UFC 267 in October 2021, Sandhagen has won three straight, which includes a stoppage win over Song Yadong and a dominant decision win over Marlon Vera in main event bouts.

Nurmagomedov has won all 17 of his pro bouts, including a 5-0 start to his UFC tenure.

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Amid speculation throughout fight week regarding an apparent staph infection on his behalf ahead of his UFC 299 last night, lightweight contender, Benoit Saint-Denis confirmed he was fighting “with infection” en route to his second round knockout loss to Dustin Poirier in Miami.

Saint-Denis, who saw his stunning five-fight winning run halted by Lafayette striking ace, Poirier last night, succumbed to strikes in brutal fashion in the second round of their massive UFC 299 co-headliner last night in Florida.

Starting with an incredible pace and output against the former interim lightweight titleholder, French contender, Saint-Denis appeared en route to a stunning victory over Poirier toward the end of the first frame, threatening with numerous submission attempts as well as finding his range on the feet.

However, clearly compromised in the early goings of the second round despite a valiant effort, Saint-Denis was dropped to a knee after Poirier landed well with a left counter uppercut, before he was dropped once more soon thereafter – this time with a cannoning right hook shot from the former interim gold holder, rendering him unconscious.

Benoit Saint-Denis confirms battle with infection ahead of UFC 299

And releasing a statement in the immediate aftermath of his high-profile loss, Saint-Denis issued praise to Poirier and thanked the Louisianan for taking the fight with him, before confirming he was battling an infection, and was utilizing antibiotics during fight week – which fans speculated was the case ahead of UFC 299.

“Bonjour la France, unfortunately tonight I couldn’t fully express myself,” Benoit Saint-Denis wrote on his official Instagram page. “My body didn’t keep up after a qeek of antibiotics to fight an infection. Throughout I was present but my body was absent, it did not react as usual. I on;y had one round to give you”

“Sorry to disappoint you, I will come back stronger, thanks to Dustin (Poirier) for accepting this fight,” Benoit Saint-Denis explained. “It was impossible for me not to seize the opportunity of such a fight. Thanks everyone for the support. Thanks my team and family. BSD.”

Heralded for his victory over Saint-Denis last night, Poirier received praise from undisputed lightweight kingpin, Islam Makhachev – before the Russian’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz offered the former interim champion the chance to fight for gold against Makhachev as soon as June in a return to the Octagon. 

What’s next for Benoit Saint-Denis after his loss at UFC 299?

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UFC announced on Saturday that former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame’s ‘Modern Wing’ as a member of the Class of 2024. Joanna will enter the Hall of Fame as the second female inductee in UFC history and first from the strawweight division.

The 2024 UFC Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place as part of the 12^th Annual UFC International Fight Week, on Thursday, June 27, at T-Mobile Arena.

“Joanna is one of the greatest athletes in combat sports history,” UFC CEO Dana White said. “Joanna is an amazing person who has been an incredible champion, ambassador, and role model for women’s MMA, as well as an absolute killer inside the Octagon. She fought the best of the best in her division and never backed down from an opponent. Joanna is one of the toughest athletes we’ve ever seen, and it will be an honor to induct her into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer during International Fight Week.”

Joanna will enter the UFC Hall of Fame as the 13^th member of the Modern Wing, joining former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar as part of this year’s class. The “Modern Era” category includes athletes who turned pro on or after November 17, 2000 (when the first UFC event under the unified rules of MMA was held), are a minimum age of 35, or who have been retired for one year or more.

A veteran of 21 fights during her 10-year professional MMA career, Joanna compiled a record of 16-5 (10-5 UFC), securing victories over former UFC strawweight champions Carla Esparza and Jessica Andrade.

Joanna made her professional MMA debut on May 19, 2021, winning her first fight via unanimous decision. She would win her next five fights across five MMA promotions for the next two years before joining UFC with a 6-0 record.

Joanna made her UFC debut on the FIGHT PASS prelims of UFC On FOX: Lawler vs. Brown, which took place on July 26, 2014, at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. Joanna defeated Juliana Lima via unanimous decision to continue her winning streak.

She returned to the Octagon® five months later in December to face Claudia Gadelha on the prelims of UFC oN FOX: Dos Santos vs. Miocic in a strawweight title elimination bout.

Joanna defeated Gadelha via split decision to become the number-one contender of the division and face then-champion Carla Esparza at UFC 185: Pettis vs. Dos Anjos.

UFC 185: Pettis vs. Dos Anjos took place on March 14, 2015, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Tex. Joanna took control of the fight early and scored TKO in the second round to become UFC’s first Polish-born champion and first female European UFC champion. She would defend the strawweight championship five times over the next two years, setting a record for most title defenses in the division and decisively winning each fight.

Joanna would lose her next two fights against former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas in the co-main events of UFC® 217 and UFC® 223, ending a streak of 14 consecutive victories as a professional MMA athlete.

Joanna returned to the Octagon on July 28, 2018, to face Tecia Torres on the main card of UFC nN FOX: Alvarez vs. Poirier 2. She would defeat Torres via a unanimous decision and move to flyweight to vie for the vacant title against Valentina Shevchenko.

Joanna would lose to Shevchenko and return to strawweight to face Michelle Waterson-Gomez, headlining UFC FIGHT NIGHT: Joanna vs. Waterson on October 19, 2019, at Amalie Arena in Orlando. Fla. She would win via unanimous decision and earn a title shot against then-UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili in the co-main event at UFC 248: Adesanya vs. Romero.

UFC 248: Adesanya vs. Romero took place on March 7, 2020, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Both athletes consistently traded punches back and forth for five rounds, with Zhang winning via split decision in what is widely considered to be one of the greatest fights in UFC history. During the fight, Joanna landed 186 significant strikes on Zhang, which marks the third-most in UFC strawweight history. She retired in June 2022 after losing her rematch to Weili at UFC 275: Teixiera vs. Prochazka.

Joanna enters the UFC Hall of Fame with an impressive resume that includes:

UFC:

• Most significant strikes landed in UFC women’s history – 1,754

• Most title fight wins in UFC strawweight history – 6

• Highest rate of significant strikes per minute in UFC strawweight history – 6.59

• Highest significant strike differential per minute in UFC strawweight history – +3.37

• Longest winning streak in UFC strawweight history – 8

• Tied for most wins in UFC strawweight history – 10

• Recorded six of the top 10 most significant strikes landed in a fight in UFC strawweight history

• 225 vs. Andrade (UFC 211)
• 220 vs. Letourneau (UFC 193)
• 186 vs. Zhang (UFC 248)
• 180 vs. Waterson – Gomez (UFC FN: Joanna vs. Waterson)
• 176 vs. Gadelha (TUF Finale: Joanna vs. Claudia 2)
• 171 vs. Kowalkiewicz (UFC 205)

A native of Olsztyn, Poland, Joanna began competing in Muay Thai at the age of 16. She competed in 40 amateur Muay Thai fights, compiling a 37-3 record before turning pro. Her only three losses were to future UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko. As an amateur, she captured four consecutive gold medals (2009-13) and a silver medal (2008) during the IFMA World Championships. As a professional Muay Thai and kickboxer, she fought in 31 matches, registering a 27-3 record with one draw, and became the World Kickboxing Federation’s European champion in 2010.

A philanthropist in her native Poland, Joanna is an ambassador for several children’s hospitals and food banks, raising funds and awareness for families in need.

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Following months of matchmaking, the UFC 300 card is now finalized, including the bout order for the pay-per-view main card and the prelims.

Before everything was settled, the promotion added one more matchup that was announced during UFC 299: Renato Moicano faces Jalin Turner in a lightweight bout that serves as the final fight booked for the historic event on April 13 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

UFC CEO Dana White said the bout order was only determined recently, with company settling on a lineup and sticking to it – at the risk of constant changes until the event took place.

The main event was already set in stone with Alex Pereira defending his light heavyweight title against Jamahal Hill in a five-round fight to cap off the night. The co-main event sees reigning UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili clash with Yan Xiaonan.

Justin Gaethje puts his “BMF” title up for grabs against Max Holloway in another five-round fight on the UFC 300 main card. Highly touted middleweight prospect Bo Nickal also gets a slot on the main card for a fight with Cody Brundage.

Lightweights Charles Oliveira and Armen Tsarukyan kick off the main card when they meet in a fight that will likely determine the next title contender at 155 pounds.

All told, UFC 300 features 12 current or former champions, not to mention two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison making her long awaited debut on the card as well.

Here’s the full lineup with the main card and prelims for UFC 300 on April 13.

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)

MAIN EVENT: Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill

CO-MAIN EVENT: Zhang Weili vs. Yan Xiaonan

Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway

Bo Nickal vs. Cody Brundage

Charles Oliveira vs. Armen Tsarukyan

PRELIMS:

Jiri Prochazka vs. Aleksandar Rakic

Calvin Kattar vs. Aljamain Sterling

Holly Holm vs. Kayla Harrison

Sodiq Yusuff vs. Diego Lopes

Jalin Turner vs. Renato Moicano

Jessica Andrade vs. Marina Rodriguez

Bobby Green vs. Jim Miller

Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Cody Garbrandt

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