Islam Makhachev is targeting a move to welterweight to secure his "legacy" after the lightweight champion successfully defended his title with a final-round submission of Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 on Saturday night.
Russian Makhachev extended his winning streak to 14 fights, the third-longest in UFC history, while potentially sending American Poirier into retirement at the Prudential Center in New Jersey.
Overcoming one of the sport's accomplished veterans and a crowd — including former President Donald Trump — that was against him from the start, Makhachev improved his professional MMA record to 26-1 and said he may move up in weight for another challenge. “This is my dream,” Makhachev said.
There's certainly not much left for him at 155 pounds, where he defended his title for the third time and showed again why he is ranked as the pound-for-pound best in the UFC.
Poirier (30-9) fell short in his third attempt for the undisputed title, all three ending by submission. At 35, he is considering retirement. “I’ve got to see. I think this could be it,” he said.
He battled back after Makhachev controlled the first round and bloodied the champion's face later, but Makhachev took him down midway through the fifth and quickly pounced, with Poirier unable to escape the choke hold.
“Incredible fight. Both guys dug deep,” UFC President Dana White said.
Makhachev, while respectful of the challenger’s accomplishments, noted this week that Poirier did well against boxers but was exposed against fighters with wrestling backgrounds — which Makhachev lists as his strength.
The champion seemed on his way to a 12th victory by submission in the first round when he took Poirier down in the opening minute and kept him on the mat the rest of the round.
Fans roared when Poirier, the No 4-ranked lightweight, escaped a couple of takedown attempts in the second, growing even louder when he made it to the horn at the end of the round.
The fighters had good exchanges in the third and fourth and both were bloodied, but Makhachev didn't have to worry about taking any more punches.
“Happy to finish him, but this guy is still one of the best in the world,” Makhachev said of Poirier.
Though Mackhachev spoke of his desire after to move up to 170 pounds, White seemed more interested in making a match with Arman Tsarukyan, another Russian who is the No 1-ranked contender at lightweight. But Makhachev seems intent on challenging for another belt.
“If you want to create a legacy you have to get a second belt,” he said.
Poirier, who ranks in the UFC's top five in career victories, knockouts and finishes, ran into arguably the best fighter in the world at present. The American choked out by Charles Oliveira and Khabib Nurmagomedov in his other title shots, and while White said that gave Poirier knowledge he could use for this fight, it wasn't enough.
Though he sounded at times like retirement was the plan, he certainly didn't sound sure, adding: “I still feel like I want to be world champion."
In the co-main event, former middleweight champion Sean Strickland got back in the win column with a split decision over Paulo Costa.
Strickland appeared to be controlling what he called a boring fight against the Brazilian, who spent much of it backpedaling away from exchanges.
Strickland (29-6), who lost the title in his last bout, also by split decision to Dricus Du Plessis in January, said afterward he wants another shot. “I want to fight for the belt,” he said.
Trump entered to a loud ovation just as the preliminary portion of the event was ending. Days after becoming the first former US president to be convicted of felony crimes in New York, he shook hands with the announcers and waved his fists to supporters who cheered him before sitting to watch the action with White.
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Griselda
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ARGENTINA SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Franco Armani, Agustin Marchesin, Esteban Andrada
Defenders: Juan Foyth, Nicolas Otamendi, German Pezzella, Nicolas Tagliafico, Ramiro Funes Mori, Renzo Saravia, Marcos Acuna, Milton Casco
Midfielders: Leandro Paredes, Guido Rodriguez, Giovani Lo Celso, Exequiel Palacios, Roberto Pereyra, Rodrigo De Paul, Angel Di Maria
Forwards: Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Lautaro Martinez, Paulo Dybala, Matias Suarez
SPECS
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PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Kamindu Mendis bio
Full name: Pasqual Handi Kamindu Dilanka Mendis
Born: September 30, 1998
Age: 20 years and 26 days
Nationality: Sri Lankan
Major teams Sri Lanka's Under 19 team
Batting style: Left-hander
Bowling style: Right-arm off-spin and slow left-arm orthodox (that's right!)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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