Conor McGregor returns to the octagon next Sunday with his must-see trilogy clash with Dustin Poirier, the headline bout at a sold-out UFC 264 in Las Vegas. Here’s the details.
What is it?
The latest pay-per-view event from the world’s lead mixed martial arts organisation. UFC 264 is topped by McGregor’s third fight with Poirier and comes less than six months after the American levelled the series at 1-1 via an emphatic TKO at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi.
When is it?
Sunday July 11 (July 10 in United States). The early prelims kick off at 2:15am UAE time, the prelims at 4am, and main card at 6am.
Where is it?
T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas. The events marks the first time the UFC have put on a sold-out show in Las Vegas since before the pandemic.
Who’s fighting?
Undoubtedly, the blockbuster attraction is McGregor-Poirier 3. The pair first met in 2014, at featherweight at UFC 178, when McGregor ended a heated build-up by knocking out Poirier in the first round. However, some seven years later, at lightweight, the American exacted revenge, triumphing in the second round at Etihad Arena – the curtain closer to Fight Island 3 in the capital. The loss represented the first knockout defeat of McGregor’s 27-fight professional mixed martial arts career.
If the pre-fight back in January was congenial, the Irishman vowed in the aftermath that there would be “no more Mr Nice Guy”. That has certainly rang true the past week: the pair have been busy exchanging barbs on social media. Poirier sits currently as the lightweight division’s No 1-ranked challenger (McGregor is No 5), with the winner expected to next take on champion Charles Oliveira for the belt.
Elsewhere on the card, former welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns returns for the first time following his championship defeat to Kamaru Usman in February. The Brazilian, the division’s No 2-ranked contender, takes on 4th-ranked Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in the prelude to McGregor-Poirier.
Meanwhile, Mexico’s Irene Aldana looks to bounce back from her defeat last October to Holly Holm in Abu Dhabi when she faces fellow bantamweight Yana Kunitskaya, while fan favourite Sean O’Malley will hope to edge closer to bantamweight title contention with a match-up against newcomer Kris Moutinho. The UFC debutant is a late stand-in for the injured Louis Smolka.
Full Card *subject to change
Main
Dustin Poirier v Conor McGregor (lightweight)
Gilbert Burns v Stephen Thompson (welterweight)
Tai Tuivasa v Greg Hardy (heavyweight)
Irene Aldana v Yana Kunitskaya (women’s bantamweight)
Sean O’Malley v Kris Moutinho (bantamweight)
Prelims
Carlos Condit v Max Griffin (welterweight)
Niko Price v Michel Pereira (welterweight)
Ryan Hall v Ilia Topuria (featherweight)
Trevin Giles v Dricus Du Plessis (middleweight)
Early Prelims
Jennifer Maia v Jessica Eye (women’s flyweight)
Omari Akhmedov v Brad Tavares (middleweight)
Zhalgas Zhumagulov v Jerome Rivera (flyweight)
Hu Yaozong v Alen Amedovski (middleweight)
How to watch in UAE
Fight fans can watch all the action through the UFC Arabia app.
Jetour T1 specs
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Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
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THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
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Australia (15-1): Israel Folau; Dane Haylett-Petty, Reece Hodge, Kurtley Beale, Marika Koroibete; Bernard Foley, Will Genia; David Pocock, Michael Hooper (capt), Lukhan Tui; Adam Coleman, Izack Rodda; Sekope Kepu, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Tom Robertson.
Replacements: Tolu Latu, Allan Alaalatoa, Taniela Tupou, Rob Simmons, Pete Samu, Nick Phipps, Matt Toomua, Jack Maddocks.
Company name: Farmin
Date started: March 2019
Founder: Dr Ali Al Hammadi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: AgriTech
Initial investment: None to date
Partners/Incubators: UAE Space Agency/Krypto Labs
SM Town Live is on Friday, April 6 at Autism Rocks Arena, Dubai. Tickets are Dh375 at www.platinumlist.net
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AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
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.”
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
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Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
The%20specs
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Racecard
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Disability on screen
Empire — neuromuscular disease myasthenia gravis; bipolar disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Rosewood and Transparent — heart issues
24: Legacy — PTSD;
Superstore and NCIS: New Orleans — wheelchair-bound
Taken and This Is Us — cancer
Trial & Error — cognitive disorder prosopagnosia (facial blindness and dyslexia)
Grey’s Anatomy — prosthetic leg
Scorpion — obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety
Switched at Birth — deafness
One Mississippi, Wentworth and Transparent — double mastectomy
Dragons — double amputee
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
Fixtures (all in UAE time)
Friday
Everton v Burnley 11pm
Saturday
Bournemouth v Tottenham Hotspur 3.30pm
West Ham United v Southampton 6pm
Wolves v Fulham 6pm
Cardiff City v Crystal Palace 8.30pm
Newcastle United v Liverpool 10.45pm
Sunday
Chelsea v Watford 5pm
Huddersfield v Manchester United 5pm
Arsenal v Brighton 7.30pm
Monday
Manchester City v Leicester City 11pm
CHELSEA'S NEXT FIVE GAMES
Mar 10: Norwich(A)
Mar 13: Newcastle(H)
Mar 16: Lille(A)
Mar 19: Middlesbrough(A)
Apr 2: Brentford(H)
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
