July on BT Sport and BT Sport Box Office: UFC 264 - Poirier vs McGregor 3, Joyce vs Takam and cricket in the West Indies

We are in the depths of summer but there is still plenty to get excited for this month on BT Sport. 

We've got the return of Conor McGregor on BT Sport Box Office, as The Notorious faces Dustin Poirier in the trilogy, Joe Joyce looks to build on his win over Daniel Dubois and there's plenty of cricket heading your way from the West Indies.

Read on for a full rundown of some of the sensational events you can’t afford to miss in July...

UFC 264: Poirier vs McGregor 3 on BT Sport Box Office

In the early hours of Sunday 11 July, BT Sport Box Office will bring you one of the cards of the year as Conor McGregor meets Dustin Poirier in the octagon for a third time, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Arguably the most entertaining fighter in UFC history, McGregor is a man who loves putting on a show and the former two-weight champion knows he must do just that to overcome The Diamond and settle a score.

The Notorious first met Poirier way back in September 2014, when McGregor came out on top via TKO en route to his remarkable rise to the very top of the sport.

But after the incredible highs of 2015 and 2016, controversy has followed McGregor and his performances have suffered as a result.

The Irishman has tasted defeat in two of his previous three fights - an ill-tempered bout against Khabib Nurmagomedov and most recently a shock defeat to his upcoming opponent at UFC 257 in January.

That night saw Poirier become the first man to knock out McGregor when a flurry of strikes downed his opponent via TKO in the second round.

With a lightweight title loss to the insurmountable Khabib the sole defeat in his previous eight, Poirier is in rare form and knows a win in the trilogy fight will propel himself back into title contention.

After a largely amicable build-up to their previous clash, things have soured between the two men after McGregor's promise to donate $500k to Poirier's Louisiana charity was never honoured and the Irishman instead sent his money elsewhere.

It all tees up a tantalising main event in prospect in Nevada, between two of the promotion's most exciting fighters, and it's one fans will not want to miss.

A jam-packed card also sees former welterweight title challengers Gilbert Burns and Stephen Thompson meet, while the vivacious Sean O'Malley takes on ex-NFL player Greg Hardy in the bantamweight division. The UFC 264 prelims will be available to subscribers from 1am on BT Sport 2HD on the morning of Sunday 11 July.

Check out our upcoming UFC Schedule here

Joe Joyce vs Carlos Takam

Joe Joyce returns to the ring for the first time since he won the British, Commonwealth and vacant European heavyweight titles against Daniel Dubois last November.

The 35-year-old is well positioned for a world title shot and a win over Takam would strengthen his case.

Takam, 40, lost in a world title bout with Anthony Joshua in 2017 and was beaten by Britain’s Derek Chisora a year later but still poses a threat to Joyce’s unbeaten record as a professional.

He has since won four consecutive bouts and the Cameroon-born Frenchman would propel himself up the rankings with a win.

“It is a testament to Joe’s character that he’d take a fight as difficult as this when a world title fight is waiting,” said promoter Frank Warren.

Joyce said: “I only want competitive fights but everyone wants to avoid me. Carlos Takam didn’t even want to spar me in Las Vegas, so I’m surprised he’s taken the fight.

“He has operated at a high level for a long time but on July 24th the Juggernaut will be activated and I will run him over.”

West Indies Cricket

Our cricket coverage continues with the remainder of West Indies’ T20 clashes against South Africa, followed by the Men In Maroon’s battles with Australia and Pakistan.

Having lost out to South Africa in a Test series, West Indies are midway through a five-match T20 series against Temba Bavumba’s men. The fourth and fifth T20s are on Thursday 1 and Friday 2 of July from Grenada.

Kieron Pollard’s side are then afforded a week off before beginning a five-match T20 series against Australia in St Lucia, beginning in the early hours of Saturday 10 July, before three One Day Internationals on the July 20, 22 and 24.

Australia, who are touring the West Indies for the first time in 10 years, are looking to bounce back from Test defeats to New Zealand and India when they visit the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground.

And finally, West Indies are once again on BT Sport screens in further T20 clashes late in the month as they start a third five-match T20 series on Tuesday 27 July – this time against Pakistan.

With the first three T20 clashes falling in July and the remaining two on August 1 and 2, West Indies will be looking to end a miserable run of 11 defeats in 14 Twenty20 matches against The Falcons.

Stay across all our cricket via our What's On page

Lyndon Arthur vs Davide Farici

King Arthur makes the first defence of his WBO Inter-Continental light heavyweight title, live on BT Sport on Saturday 10 July, against fellow undefeated fighter Davide Faraci.

Lyndon Arthur came out on top in the best of British bout in December 2020 when he defeated Anthony Yarde via a split decision in Westminster's Church House and established himself as the No 1 ranked contender for Joe Smith Jr's world title in the process.

The 30-year-old, who also holds the Commonwealth light heavyweight belt, puts an 18-0 record on the line against Italian Faraci at the Royal Albert Hall.

With a 15-0 record, featuring seven knockouts, Faraci is no slouch but Arthur represents by far the sternest test of his career so far and the Brit enters the bout as the favourite.

Elsewhere on the card, Yarde is back in action in the capital as he meets unbeaten German Emin Atra in a fight originally scheduled for April before a dental issue forced the Brit to delay the bout.

On the back of his narrow defeat to countryman Arthur in December, The Beast From The East knows nothing less than a win will do against Atra as he bids to propel himself back into contention for the WBO title. 

UFC Fight Nights: Makhachev vs Moises & Sandhagen vs Dillashaw

If MMA fans want more than the BT Sport Box Office offering of UFC 264, there are two huge Fight Nights coming up in July on back-to-back Saturday nights.

First up, the Sunday morning after Poirier vs McGregor 3, BT Sport bring you a thrilling lightweight clash as Islam Makhachev takes on Thiago Moises from the UFC Apex in Nevada. 

The event, which was originally headlined by Max Holloway vs Yair Rodriguez before Holloway suffered an injury, will see two fighters on the rise meeting in the octagon.

Hailing from Dagestan, the same region as the legendary Khabib, Makhachev holds a 19-1 record in the promotion and will enter the conversation for the lightweight title should he see off Brazilian Moises.

Yet Moises, with a 15-4 record, has notched three impressive victories on the bounce and most recently overcame Drew Dober at UFC 259.

The following week there's a barnstorming bantamweight showdown as former two-time champion TJ Dillashaw meets Cory Sandhagen. 

In Dillashaw's first fight since his two-year suspension for testing positive for a prohibited drug, the 35-year-old will be desperate to restore his reputation against his American compatriot Sandhagen. 

And much, much more...

There's WWE with regular SmackDown, RAW and NXT shows, plus a host of action from across the pond as we bring you MLB games in abundance including the All-Star events.

Tennis fans can look forward to UK Pro League action from the courts, while there's plenty for motorsport fans to rev their engines for as BT Sport bring you World Rally Championship, FIM CEV Repsol and Speedway. 

And football fans will enjoy action from the FA Disability Cup with five finals from St George's Park on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 July.