Off the wire
MIXED MARTIAL ARTS Poirier knocks out McGregor
Dustin Poirier stopped Conor McGregor with a flurry of punches midway through the second round early this morning, avenging his loss to the Irish superstar with a knockout victory at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Poirier (26-7) caught McGregor with a series of shots to the head before buckling his knees with two left hands. Poirier then sent McGregor to the canvas with a short right hand and finished it swiftly, setting off stunned excitement among the few thousand screaming fans allowed inside the Etihad Arena on Yas Island. In his first fight in a year, McGregor (225) had a strong first round before he was stopped by punches for the first time in his mixed martial arts career. McGregor, whose previous four losses all came by submission, stayed on the canvas for several moments afterward, gathering himself after his second loss in three fights since 2016. In the co-main event at UFC 257, three-time Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler made a stunning UFC debut with a violent knockout of New Zealand’s Dan Hooker midway through the first round.
HORSE RACING Knicks Go wins Pegasus
Knicks Go went to the lead right out of the gate and dared the other 11 runners in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational in Hallandale Beach, Fla., to catch him. Nobody came close. Picking up by far the biggest purse of his career, and doing so with ease, the heavily favored Knicks Go won the fifth running of the Pegasus on Saturday — his fourth consecutive victory, one that pushed his lifetime winnings to about $3 million. “Great horses do great things,” trainer Brad Cox said. “And he just did something great.” Jesus’ Team was second and 25-1 long-shot Independence Hall was third. Knicks Go finished the 11/8 miles over the dirt at Gulfstream Park in 1:47.89 and paid $4.60, $3.60 and $3. Jesus’ Team paid $8.60 and $4.80. Independence Hall paid $10 to show.
FOOTBALL Lions look into trading QB
The Detroit Lions and quarterback Matthew Stafford are planning to part ways. The Lions and Stafford have mutually agreed to explore the possibilities of trading him, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation. The person spoke Saturday night to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team and Stafford did not announce the decision. Stafford expressed an interest in being traded after the season ended and the team responded by tabling the idea until a new general manager and coach were hired, the person said. Stafford was on a call with Lions General Manager Brad
Holmes and Coach Dan Campbell earlier this week, according to the person, and they discussed moving on without each other. Detroit drafted Stafford No. 1 overall in 2009 and he has two years left on a $135 million, five-year contract. Stafford surpassed the 45,000-yard mark in the 165th game of his career, the fewest games an NFL player has had to reach that number, during the finale of the 2020 season. He threw three touchdown passes in that game against Minnesota to raise his career total to 282 .
Falcons add assistants
New Atlanta Falcons Coach Arthur Smith is building his staff. He added four assistants Saturday, including veteran defensive line coach
Gary Emanuel. Emanuel coached the New York Giants’ defensive line in 2018-19. He has 38 years coaching experience, including 10 in the NFL. He coached the Indianapolis Colts’ defensive line from 2012-17. The Falcons also named Steve Hoffman as a senior assistant, Justin Peelle as tight ends coach and Matt Pees as a defensive assistant. Pees is the son of new Falcons defensive coordinator Dean Pees.
GOLF McIlroy grabs Abu Dhabi lead
Rory McIlroy will take a oneshot lead into the final round of the season-opening Abu Dhabi Championship after posting a 5-under 67 on Saturday. McIlroy holed out from 73 yards to eagle the 10th and added five birdies to go 13 under, wrestling control of the tournament from
Tyrrell Hatton (71), who trails by a shot. Hatton held a 5-shot lead when play was halted Friday because of fading light, but he finished the second round up by just a shot early Saturday before the third round started. Tommy Fleetwood (67) had six birdies to put himself two shots behind McIlroy and alone in third place.
Clarke wins in Hawaii
Darren Clarke won the Mitsubishi Electric Championship by two strokes Saturday for his second consecutive PGA Tour Champions victory, playing the back nine in 6 under in a closing 8-under 64. The 52-year-old former British Open winner from Northern Ireland started the back-nine run with birdies on Nos. 10-11, added two more on 13 and 14, made a 10-foot par save on 15 and birdied 16 and 17. He parred the 18th to cap the bogey-free round in the first event of the year. Clarke finished at 21-under 195 at Hualalai Golf Course in La’Upulehu-Kona, Hawaii. He won the TimberTech Championship in early November in his final tour start last year. Retief Goosen, tied for the second-round lead with
Jerry Kelly, closed with a 64 to finish second. Kelly had a 68 to finish third at 17 under. Fred Couples shot a 67 to tie for fourth at 15 with Scott
Parel (66), Kevin Sutherland (67) and Mike Weir (66).
BASEBALL Red Sox reach deals with two
The Boston Red Sox have agreed to terms with second baseman
Enrique Hernandez and righthander Garrett Richards, a person with knowledge of the deals told The Associated Press. Hernandez is a career .240 hitter who has hit 71 home runs with 227 RBI in seven seasons, most of them with the Dodgers. He played 48 games in the pandemic-shortened season last year and 17 more in the postseason, batting .308 with two home runs to help Los Angeles beat the Atlanta Braves in the NL Championship Series en route to wining the World Series. The Red Sox need a second baseman to replace
Dustin Pedroia, who has played in just nine games since injuring his knee in 2017. There has been no official announcement on whether he will return or retire. Richards is 47-41 with a 3.62 ERA in 10 seasons with the Los Angeles Angels and San Diego Padres. He went 2-2 with a 4.03 ERA last year.