Two emphatic upsets close out UFC 257, and the lightweight division has well and truly been shaken up. Check out a full wrap here.
Conor McGregor v Dustin Poirier - Poirier wins via second-round TKO
6:44pm - McGregor puts his loss down to inactivity and pledges to be busier in 2021. Gives Poirier credit for the calf kicks that put him off his stride.
6:40pm - Unbelievable performance from Poirier, giving McGregor a taste of his own medicine with a brutal left hand to start the ending of the Irishman. Wow.
That makes it one apiece - is a trilogy fight on its way? Here's hoping.
Round two - McGregor lands a slick one-two to open the round, coming out of the gates aggressively. Poirier settling into a rhythm, tags McGregor with a jab, the American finding his range. Heavy left lands for Poirier! McGregor staggers, Poirier swoops, lands a barrage of shots and down goes the Irishman. This one is over!
Round one - We are officially on! Sounds like a fair few Irish fans made their way to Abu Dhabi for this one. McGregor immediately to the middle. Poirier counters a left with a big right hand, then shoots and completes a takedown. McGregor works his way back to his feet, doesn't take much damage. Poirier controlling the clinch now, has McGregor against the fence and stinging him with knees. Ppoirier working for a single leg takedown, McGregor defending well, reverses the position. Throws those trademark shoulder strikes, suprisingly effective. Now they separate, McGregor finds his mark with a right hand that snaps Poirier's head back. Lovely check hook from Poirier in response. Poirier throwing plenty of kicks, great back and forth here. Round one in the bag. That was close, probably a slight edge for McGregor.
6:26pm - Bruce Buffer takes the centre of the Octagon, he's saved a bit of extra gas for these introductions.
6:22pm - James Brown's 'The Boss' rings through the arena, and out comes Dustin Poirier. A significant underdog in this one. I suggest, unfairly so.
6:18pm - The Octagon is drowned in green, Biggie's seminal 'Hypnotise' drops - the 'Notorious' one is back. The Irish faithful find their voices inside Etihad Arena.
Dan Hooker v Michael Chandler - Chandler wins first-round TKO
6:10pm - Chandler calls out Khabib, McGregor, and Poirier in a slick post-fight promo. If anything can get Khabib out of retirement, it'll be that.
Round one - Here we go. Chandler takes the centre of the Octagon quickly. Feeling out process begins, Hooker throws and lands a leg kick. That height advantage distinct for the Kiwi. Chandler lunges with a right, Hooker isn't there for him, spinning out of range. Chandler lands to the body, Hooker to the leg. Chandler lands a pinpoint left hook! Hooker goes down. Chandler swoops, big follow up shots as Hooker is turtled on the mat. In comes the referee, this one is over.
Wow, what a UFC debut for Chandler. The American delivers on the hype. Mounts the cage and punctuates it with a backflip.
6:02pm - Bruce Buffer launches into his intros. Let's do this!
6pm - Heres comes 'The Hangman'! NZ flag draped over his shoulders, Six60 ringing through Etihad Arena.
5:57pm - Chandler makes his way to the middle, stars and stripes in tow. Hard to recall a more anticipated UFC debut than this one.
5:55pm - The Kiwi still a slight betting favourite in this one, and deservedly so. This should be a barn burner.
5:46pm - Dan 'The Hangman' Hooker will be making his walk to the Octagon very shortly. Stick around.
Meanwhile, the Notorious one has arrived at Etihad Arena.
Joanne Calderwood v Jessica Eye - Calderwood wins via unanimous decision
Round three - Eye comes out aggressively again, she knows she needs to close that distance. Has Calderwood where she wants her, against the fence, but the Scot defends well. Calderwood spins out of danger, catches Eye with a right hand and a knee. Eye shoots but Calderwood sprawls, no dice. Calderwood doing work in the Muay Thai clinch, knees to the body. They finish in the clinch, Calderwood closes with a monster knee. She should claim have done enough to sway the judges in this one. Entertaining fight.
Round two - Calderwood opens the second by landing a big right hand, and she's finding her groove on the feet now, chaining together shots. Eye trying to muddy up the fight, ducking within range with some knees. Calderwood unleashing some heavy kicks now, maintaining her distance, making Eye pay when she tries to close. Late takedown from Eye after a spinning back elbow misses. Not the smartest move. Think Calderwood still did enough to claim that round.
Round one - Lets see if the softly spoken Scot can get back in the mix with a win over the American, who's also coming off a loss. Eye comes out blazing and Calderwood is up to the challenge, both fighters bloodied early. Eye getting busy with some dirty boxing, Calderwood having success with her kicks. Eye pressing the action in the clinch against the cage. Fast pace here, both fighters busy on the feet. Eye likely edges that round.
5:15pm - One more fight before Dan Hooker is on deck - Jessica Eye v Joanne Calderwood.
Makhmud Muradov v Andrew Sanchez - Muradov wins via third-round TKO
Round three - Entertaining scrap here, this round may well decide it. Muradov really hunting with that right hand, but he's curiously abandoned the leg kicks he had plenty of success with early in the fight. Muradov with a huge right hand that has Sanchez doing the stanky leg! He pounces with a barrage of shots and the referee quickly steps in to put a halt to proceedings. Make it 14 in a row for the Uzbeki.
Round two - Neither fighter opts for the stool between rounds. Muradov is throwing some heat with his punches, Sanchez able to parry them to safety, so far. Sanchez changes levels, looks for the single leg takedown. Muradov works his way free and off the fence. Sanchez controlling the middle, Muradov lunges with a couple of right hands that land. Sanzhez responds with a left. Tight round, Muradov probably steals it with two heavy shots to close.
Round one - Sanchez shoots and Muradov defends and makes him pay with a heavy right hand. Muradov pressures on the back of a three-shot combo. Getting busy with leg kicks now, the damage to Sanchez's calves already starting to show. That round should go the Uzbeki's way.
4:40pm - A juicy upset to get the main card underway right there. Up next, we'll see if Uzbeki sensation Makhmud Muradov can keep his 13-fight win streak going against Andrew Sanchez.
Marina Rodriguez v Amanda Ribas - Rodriguez wins via second-round TKO
Second round - Rodriguez with a searing right hand and Ribas is down! Rodriguez swoops, throws a couple more and then backs off, thinking that Herb Dean had stepped in to stop the bout. Dean waves them on, and Rodriguez goes right back to work with a one-two that staggers Ribas, and this time Dean has seen enough. Huge win for Rodriguez.
First round - Ribas scores a takedown for the first genuine offence of the fight. Rodriguez defends in full guard, but Ribas works the body shots from the top. Ribas postures up, Rodriquez threatens from the bottom but eats plenty of shots for her troubles. One round in the bag for Ribas.
4:12pm - An intriguing women's strawweight bout to kick things off on the pay-per-view. Ribas is one of the most promising fighters in the division, let's see if she can make it six straight against fellow Brazilian Rodriguez, who's stepping in as an injury replacement for Carla Esparza.
Oh, and 'The Hangman' is in the building!
4:05pm - Here we go, fight fans - let's get this main card started. Nothing to write home about from the preliminary bouts, although Julianna Pena impressed with a submission win over Sara McMann.
***
Kia ora and welcome to live updates of UFC 257 from Abu Dhabi's 'Fight Island', where Kiwi Dan Hooker will try to press his claim for a lightweight title shot against promotional debutant Michael Chandler, before Irish superstar Conor McGregor's return in a rematch against Dustin Poirier.
Our coverage will begin with the main card from 4pm (NZ time).
At a rough estimate, Hooker will enter the Octagon at around 5:30pm.
TAB betting odds for the main card:
Amanda Ribas - $1.27 Marina Rodriguez $3.45
Andrew Sanchez - $2.50 Makhmud Muradov - $1.48
Jessica Eye - $2.02 Joanne Calderwood - $1.73
Dan Hooker - $1.65 Michael Chandler - $2.15
Conor McGregor - $1.28 Dustin Poirier - $3.40
Pre-fight banter:
Kiwi Hooker out to steal Chandler's shine, stake title claim at UFC 257
By Stephen Foote
Kiwi UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker has been around the game long enough to recognise a golden opportunity when it comes knocking.
While others in the division hesitated to taking on three-time Bellator world champion Michael Chandler for fear of sullying their ranking against the promotional debutant, 'The Hangman' leapt at the chance to lay out the most inhospitable of welcome mats at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi.
Recent comments from lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov that he's looking for a fighter to tempt him out of retirement one final time have only increased those stakes.
Add to that mix the pressure of raising the curtain for the UFC's biggest and most transcendent superstar - Conor McGregor - and sixth-ranked Hooker is faced with a potentially career-defining moment on 'Fight Island' this Sunday.
Be it the McGregor sweepstakes or the Khabib lottery, another eye-catching outing would see him cut near the front of the queue to face either.
"The guys above me - the Charles Oliveiras and the Justin Gaethjes - are only not here because they didn't want to take the risk," Hooker says. "I'm the guy who stepped up.
"I heard they were trying to get those fights done for this card and they didn't accept the fight. I took the challenge, I took the risk, that means that I get their reward.
"Look at the history of the sport - the man who takes the risk gets the reward. I'm here, I'm taking the risk, I definitely feel like my name will be back in the title conversation with a win here.
"Depending on how impressive that is - with Khabib's comments and with McGregor in the main event - you could definitely put yourself right back in the mix.
"I could be one first-round knee KO away from getting that shot."
Hooker has felt the magnitude of the occasion since he stepped off the plane, largely due to the unique buzz that surrounds the enigmatic McGregor, whose rematch with Dustin Poirier is the marquee act.
Over the past 18 months, he's been involved in some high-profile fights, finishing James Vick in front of a record-breaking crowd of more than 57,000 at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium and headlining an event in a Fight of the Year-contending clash with Paul Felder in front of a raucous Auckland home crowd.
Only a smattering of fans will attend Etihad Arena on Sunday, but this will undoubtedly be Hooker's biggest opportunity yet.
"This is huge," says Hooker. "I can definitely feel it.
“You feel it from the attention it's getting, there's an energy on the Fight Island around our card.
"Just being on a McGregor card, the build-up to it just has kind of a feeling that I've never felt around any other card.
"The interest, the excitement, the hype of the main event...me getting to welcome Michael Chandler to the UFC.
"It's the biggest fight, the biggest opportunity and the biggest show that I've ever been in."
The Irishman aside, Chandler's hugely anticipated promotional debut is the kind of drawcard worthy of main-event status.
Long touted as one of the world's best fighters never to have competed in the UFC, there's enormous interest in whether the 34-year-old American can justify his hype.
"The reality is I'm just as excited as the fans to see where he stands," Hooker says. "Let's see if he's as good as people say he is."
Hooker confesses he was largely unfamiliar with Chandler's body of work, until the fight proposition came his way.
But after diving into the American's back catalogue, he understands why UFC boss Dana White is so eager to bring him into the fold.
"He's a huge test, a huge challenge," says Hooker. "I was taking some shots at him early on, when he got called in as a back-up spot for the main event.
“I was calling him a fitness model and all sorts, because I genuinely hadn't watched him fight.
"Once they approached me about this fight and I started delving into his career, I would put him up there with the best, and I can feel the excitement and hype about him coming into the UFC is definitely warranted. He deserves to be in an opportunity like this."
The former NCAA All American wrestler's game is founded on his high-pressure grappling, which he complements with vicious ground-and-pound and slick submission skills.
Much like Hooker, he's forged a reputation for show-stealing scraps, which bodes well for fans, come the weekend.
Each fighter's resume suggests the 21-5 Chandler's quality of opposition pales compared to the Aucklander’s, who enters the bout as a deserved betting favourite.
"Stylistically, I think it matches up well - a guy that is a lot shorter than me. He's going to come to me - I don't have to chase him down - and he's going to shoot for takedowns.
"To be honest, that is what my game is built around - shorter guys trying to take me down. That's something that I've been dealing with since very early on in my career and I feel like those fighters bring out the best in me."
Coming off his relatively late-notice bout against Poirier in June - an instant classic he lost via decision - Hooker has been afforded the luxury of a full, eight-week fight camp at Auckland's world-renowned City Kickboxing, grinding right through the festive season to ensure his tools are as sharp as possible.
He will be without head trainer Eugene Bareman, who - after undergoing three mandatory 14-day quarantine periods in New Zealand over the past two months - needs to bide his time back home to help Junior Fa prepare for his heavyweight boxing clash with Joseph Parker on February 27.
The next morning, he departs for Las Vegas with Israel Adesanya for his UFC light-heavyweight title bid on March 7.
Instead, Hooker’s corner team will be led by former Tiger Muay Thai coach and seasoned grappling expert George Hickman, but believes all the hard work has already been done.
"My camp has been incredible,” he says. “I'm so confident in that, I feel like I'll be fine.
"The gameplan has been drilled into the back of my eyeballs. Because of the stylistic matchup, there's not a lot of new tools I need to reach into the bag for.
"I feel like a lot of the tried-and-true tested aspects of my game will perform very well against a guy like Chandler."
