Conor McGregor lost his return fight notoriously to UFC veteran Dustin Poirier.
It only took two rounds for Poirier to set McGregor up.
PAID IN FULL pic.twitter.com/7LjnVoToP2
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) January 24, 2021
Poirier landed crushing low kicks that injured his opponent’s leg and finished him with a flush right hand that flattened the former champ-champ.
"I felt bad. I felt flat. I felt like I didn't want to be here really. The only time I enjoyed this day is whenever I got into the Octagon."@DustinPoirier felt flat in the locker room, but "the madman" came out in the cage 💎 #UFC257 (via @bokamotoESPN) pic.twitter.com/A50s8ESII1
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 24, 2021
The fight came highly anticipated after McGregor’s absence from the sport for two years. However, early on, McGregor did not disappoint.
”The Notorious” started, landing crisp shots at unusual angles. He stopped Poirier’s takedown attempts and seemed to be winning the first strikes.
But Dustin’s secret weapon was his kick game. Vicious low kicks came from Poirier by the pound, and their blistering effect came to a head in round two.
Coach @mikebrownmma had a perfectly simple answer for why he thought calf kicks would be a key for @DustinPoirier against Conor McGregor at #UFC257 😅
(via @bokamotoESPN) pic.twitter.com/v5hpQaFe0A
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 24, 2021
McGregor’s return to MMA was heralded as the most significant occurrence to happen to the sport in a while. With Fight Island in Abu Dhabi now becoming the UFC’s home away from home, a McGregor level event complemented by the glow of the desert.
McGregor arrived on a superyacht, pulled up the hotel in a Rolls Royce sans shirt with silken pants holding his baby son.
After becoming one of the most successful athletes in MMA history, McGregor has been an incredible asset to the UFC.
Although a loss is damaging to any fighter’s brand, McGregor has been pretty bulletproof with his audience. Through Floyd Mayweather’s failure in 2017 to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 back in 2018, the McGregor fan is a diehard.
Conor told Khabib to come back and fight him after the champ criticized Conor’s #UFC257 performance. pic.twitter.com/zPNwGQ9ii5
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 24, 2021
After the Poirier loss, McGregor felt his performance was a result of a lack of cage time. He contended that he needs more rounds to return to his former glory and claimed to be committed to continuing to fight for the UFC.
“If he wants to have his disrespectful comments, come back and let’s go again my man.”
—Conor McGregor responded to Khabib’s comments after #UFC257@espnmma pic.twitter.com/NmcbMAlWe9
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 24, 2021
With Michael Chandler having a successful UFC debut at lightweight and Khabib Nuramagomedov relinquishing the lightweight title, Dustin Poirier has the game at his feet after the win.
