標籤: aura

Dustin Poirier believes Khamzat Chimaev’s status in the middleweight division took a meaningful hit at UFC 328 in Newark on Saturday night, and he believes whoever faces Chimaev next will walk away with less psychological damage than previous opponents.

Speaking on UFC on Paramount+ after the show, Poirier also took direct aim at the post-fight moment between Chimaev and Sean Strickland, suggesting that the reconciliation revealed some uneasiness about the entire buildup.

“In the next fight, no matter who he faces, it will be hard to scare him because his aura has been damaged this week,” Poirier said. “With the back-and-forth, I thought it was real. I think it affected his whole aura this week. And putting the belt on Strickland — like, come on, man. He definitely worked for us.”

Poirier’s point lies in the fact that Chimaev created a unique figure in the sport. The undefeated record was an important part of his mystique, but there was also a sense of danger that surrounded him in preparation for every fight.

The conversation between Strickland and Chimaev before UFC 328 turned into some of the harshest pre-fight trash talk in recent memory, touching on religion, ethnicity, and physical threats, which made the confrontation truly unsettling.

In Poirier’s view, Chimaev’s willingness to make peace with Strickland immediately after the final bell rang, diminished the authenticity of everything that preceded it. The entire fight was competitive. All three judges scored the contest two rounds each and the fifth round before two of them awarded the fight to Strickland in the final round and by split decision, giving Chimaev the first loss of his MMA career and stripping him of the middleweight championship.

Whether Chimaev gets an immediate rematch or Strickland defends against another challenger has not yet been confirmed by the UFC.

Now that the All-Star Game is over, Cade Cunningham will turn his attention to helping the Detroit Pistons maintain their dominance in the Eastern Conference.

Cunningham helped Team Stars win the All-Star Game on Sunday at the Intuit Dome by defeating Team Stripes 47–21 in the mini-tournament finals. He averaged 14 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals in three games.

The 24-year-old guard played in his second consecutive All-Star Game, which underlined the fact that he has become one of the best players in the NBA. His confidence is at its peak and it has affected the Pistons.

When a reporter asked Cunningham where he got his aura, he explained a grassroots response.

“I get my aura from Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, and God blessed me with parents who raised me in a way that I wouldn’t trade for the world,” Cunningham, who grew up in Arlington, Texas, said in a video posted by Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press.

Cade asked where he gets his aura from: “I get my aura from Jesus Christ and my Lord and Savior, and God blessed me with parents who raised me in a way that I wouldn’t trade for the world.” pic.twitter.com/XRaZLsl7vL

– Omari Sankofa II (@omarisankofa) 16 February 2026

He does not shy away from talking about his faith in public. He mainly sees this in how he views life, how he handles pressure, and how he tries to make a positive impact.

When Cunningham suffered a season-ending calf injury in 2022-2023, only his second year in the NBA, he relied heavily on his faith. He was limited to only 12 games. Since his return, he has only gotten better, stronger, and wiser.

The Pistons are on top of the Eastern Conference at 40-13, including 8-2 in their last 10 games.

He returns to action on Thursday against the New York Knicks.