A REMATCH between Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua could be pushed back after the IBF ordered a heavyweight eliminator.

Dubois defended his IBF heavyweight title with a devastating knock-out of Joshua last month.

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He dominated the fight after landing a huge blow on AJ in the first round, knocking the former champion to the canvas.

Joshua was comprehensively beaten but he aims to return to the ring and he has the option of a rematch.

But that clash could be pushed back after the IBF ordered a fight between Agit Kabayel and Martin Bakole to decide who will become the heavyweight challenger to Dubois.

The fighters have been told to make their availability known in the coming days, and there is even a chance the bout could take place before the end of the year.

However it is more likely the fight will happen in 2025, meaning Dubois vs Joshua 2 may have to wait until spring or summer.

Alternatively, the IBF could decide to sanction a rematch before ordering Dubois to face his mandatory challenger.

Dubois, 27, was previously the IBF challenger before taking the belt after Oleksandr Usyk vacated in June.

He then defended it for the first time against Joshua, with some suggesting AJ ought to hang up his gloves after the loss.

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However the Brit, 34, said he will continue to fight as long there is an appetite amongst his fans, while promoter Eddie Hearn hinted at a decision being made soon.

Hearn said: “If it was up to AJ, straight rematch.

“But he will take the advice of me and 258 [Management] and Ben Davison and everybody and then he will make the decision.

“But it will be a decision that probably comes in the next couple of weeks.”

Dustin Poirier has quite the idea for his retirement fight.

Back in June, Poirier came up short in his bid for the lightweight title, losing to Islam Makhachev at UFC 302. In the buildup to the bout, there was rampant speculation that it could be the final fight of Poirier’s storied career, with “The Diamond” even saying that was possible. However, not long after UFC 302, Poirier walked that back, saying he definitely wasn’t ready to hang up the gloves just yet, and on Tuesday, the former interim lightweight champion confirmed that while speaking with MMA Today on Sirius XM.

“Realistically, I probably have five, six [fights left],” Poirier said. “But I’m not going to do that to my body. Here I’m about to have another nose surgery. What if I come back and crack it again? We’ve just got to see. It’s one fight at a time. But I definitely want to do one, and especially if there’s a possibility to come home and do it in Louisiana, that’s where I’d love to lay the gloves down.”

Poirier is set to have nose surgery soon which will keep him sidelined for a few months, but “The Diamond” confirmed he and the UFC have spoken about a card taking place in New Orleans sometime next year. If that ends up happening, it would obviously be a perfect opportunity for one final fight for the Louisiana native, and though it might be a pipe dream, there’s is a perfect opponent, or opponents, for his last dance: an old-school, one-night tournament for the “BMF” title.

“Now that excites me,” Poirier said. “Because that kind of stuff is for the dogs. That’s like old Pride days or Grand Prix. That’s a real ‘BMF.’ If you can fight a tournament in one night, multiple opponents, that’s the definition of ‘BMF.’

“That would be it,” Poirier added about retirement. “If they put that together and it was a one-night tournament, that would be it.”

The UFC has not put on a one-night tournament since UFC 23 in 1999, meaning it’s unlikely the promotion will actually do this, but if by some miracle it does, Poirier has the perfect lineup for who should join him in it.

“[Justin] Gaethje, [Dan] Hooker, and Max [Holloway], maybe. That’s a bloodbath. Do it on Friday the 13th.”

Poirier has substantial history with Gaethje, Hooker, and Holloway, having a pair of fights with both Gaethje and Holloway, as well as a Fight of the Night battle with Hooker in 2020. Gaethje and Holloway recently faced off at UFC 300, with Holloway stopping “The Highlight” with a last-second knockout to claim the “BMF” title. Holloway now challenges Ilia Topuria for the featherweight belt at UFC 308 later this month. Hooker, meanwhile, recently won a split decision over Mateusz Gamrot to move into the top-five of the UFC’s lightweight division.

And while such an idea is still a long way from taking place, it does at least have the seal of approval from UFC CEO Dana White, who responded to Poirier’s pitch after the most recent episode of Contender Series.

“Sounds fun,” White said. “Never thought about it but yeah, I love it.”

Tragic. A number of fighters wrote letters of support for the UFC antitrust lawsuit settlement, outlining urgent need for money.

Return of the GOAT. Dana White responded to Amanda Nunes teasing a possible return.

Hospital. Kayla Harrison reveals she had to go to the hospital ahead of UFC 307, responds to Julianna Peña dismissing her.

Tsk Tsk. Larissa Pacheco wasn’t a fan of PFL mocking Kayla Harrison ahead of UFC 307.

Jeopardy. Daniel Cormier claims Alex Pereira was close to withdrawing from UFC 307 due to injury.

Contender Series. Four fighters earned UFC contracts at Contender Series, including Alex Pereira’s kickboxing rival Artem Vakhitov.

Dana White Contender Series scrum.

Contender Series contract announcement.

UFC 307 Fight Motion.

Dustin Poirier got jokes.

Fighter vs. Writer

Raquel Pennington statement.

Khalil Rountree, ouch.

Jon Jones training with Gable Steveson.

Alex Pereira and Artem Vakhitov chopping things up after Contender Series.

Fight! Fight! Fight!

Umar Nurmagomedov.

Sean O’Malley.

If you haven’t checked out the Contender Series stuff from last night, it’s worth your while. I don’t know if Artem Vakhitov will transition over to the UFC nearly as well as “Poatan” did, but anytime a guy who beat Pereira in kickboxing comes over, you’ve got to at least pay attention. Especially when Poatan himself gives that guy the seal of approval.

Also, and I cannot stress this enough, Poirier’s one-night tournament idea is the best idea in years. I need it to happen. Please, just one time let the UFC make this happen. We deserve it.

If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKlee or @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and like us on Facebook.

The addition of Lee Bonis to the Northern Ireland squad would appear to be a direct consequence of his goalscoring exploits for his new club ADO Den Haag in recent weeks as the former Irish League striker has settled in at his new club, culminating in that treble on Friday evening.

Northern Ireland’s strikers have found goals hard to come by, so the inclusion of the in-form Bonis, despite being untested at international level, adds some more potential firepower for boss Michael O’Neill while he awaits international clearance for prolific Ross County forward Ronan Hale.

Callum Marshall, Dion Charles, Josh Magennis and Jamie Reid, the strikers named in the original squad, have scored just 15 goals in 109 games for the national side.

O’Neill will be hoping for no further injury absentees, having already had to plan without first-choice goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell and defender Dan Ballard, while still getting accustomed to life without Manchester United’s Jonny Evans, who has retired from international football.

Balmer also moved from Larne to ply his trade in the professional game in England, and now Scotland. He is another in the latest of a number of promising young players keen to impress the NI boss and make his way on the international stage.

Former bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes sparked rumours of a UFC comeback this week by urging White to reach out to her via a video on social media.

Julianna Pena is the new bantamweight champion after beating Raquel Pennington at UFC 307 last Saturday.

Nunes appeared to be responding to Pena’s call out to her after her title win and White responded to the prospect of a return for the two-weight world champion.

“She looks like she’s still in shape,” White said of Nunes’ comments.

“She’s keeping an eye on who wins the title next. I think she’s teasing that she might be interested in coming back.”

Brazil’s Nunes has a loss on her record to Pena, but beat the American in their rematch in 2022 and then retired after her next fight in June 2023.

Kayla Harrison joined the UFC since Nunes’ retirement after years of back and forth between her and Nunes on social media.

Two time Olympic judo champion Harrison is considered the next in line to face Pena, should beaten champion Pennington fail in her bid to secure a rematch.

IT has been 18 years since England last faced Greece in a football match.

When the two sides last met, ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ by Shakira was top of the UK music charts, ‘Snakes on a Plane’ was just about to be released in cinemas and the IPhone hadn’t even been invented yet.

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The England squad, unsurprisingly, also looked completely different.

Gary Neville, John Terry, Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand were among the players named in the starting line-up on August 16, 2006.

It was Steve McClaren‘s first match in charge of the Three Lions and he got off to a flying start with a dominant 4-0 win.

Terry, Lampard and Peter Crouch all got on the scoresheet for England on the night.

It was a huge relief for McClaren, who raised eyebrows with his decision to drop national icon David Beckham just days prior.

Former Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson started between the sticks for England before being replaced by Chris Kirkland at half-time.

The back four was made up of Neville, captain Terry, Ferdinand and Ashley Cole.

Lampard, Stuart Downing, Owen Hargreaves and Steven Gerrard lined up in midfield.

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And former Liverpool striker Crouch partnered Jermain Defoe in attack.

Kieran Richardson, Aaron Lennon, Jamie Carragher, Darren Bent and Wayne Bridge were among the used substitutes in the friendly, while the likes of Ben Foster, Phil Neville, Michael Dawson and Jermaine Jenas remained on the bench.

Flash forward back to now, England interim boss Lee Carsley has a strong squad to pick from.

Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Harry Kane and Declan Rice are all expected to feature against Greece this week.

England will be looking to go top of Group B2 in the Nations League by the end of the international break.

Olivia Bell picks up Scotland’s first wicket with a brilliant diving catch to remove South Africa captain Laura Woldvaart in their Women’s T20 World Cup match in Dubai.

FOLLOW LIVE: Women’s T20 World Cup: South Africa vs Scotland

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