- Dustin Poirier hinted that he knew he had beaten Conor McGregor earlier in Saturday’s clash.
- The American knocked out the Irishman in the second round after attacking his legs early in the fight.
- He told reporters at a news conference after the event that calf kicks were a premeditated strategy.
- Visit the Insider home page for more stories.
FIGHTING ISLAND – Dustin Poirier knew that Conor McGregor was in a “bad position at the start” of Saturday’s fight, because he is well aware of how painful his calf kicks are at the end.
Lightweight number 2 heading to UFC 257, Poirier knocked out McGregor on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi after relentless attacks on his legs before blows to the head.
At the start of the second round, Poirier pushed McGregor against the fence, knocked him to the ground and forced a stop while the Irishman was lying on the tarp with blood dripping from his nose.
It took McGregor minutes to recover and even when he did, he limped out of the arena severely.
At the post-event press conference that Insider attended, Poirier told reporters that his coach Mike Brown taught him the importance of kicking his legs in the match against McGregor.
“We compromised his leg and he was in a bad position right after the repeated kicks,” said Poirier.
Poirier implied that as soon as the kick in the calf caught him cleanly, McGregor started to check the kick.
But regardless, the defensive maneuver was inefficient and he could tell that it was doing considerable damage to McGregor. “After the second kick, I knew he was in pain.”
McGregor called the defeat “painful” and said his leg was “completely dead [and] seriously compromised. “
Poirier said: “I only know from experience how much these things hurt. And I knew it was a five-round fight, so it would only get worse.”
It is not clear where Poirier is going from here. After consecutive victories over Dan Hooker and McGregor, he did enough to secure another shot at the UFC lightweight championship.
However, a trilogy fight involving McGregor, with or without a title at stake, can also take place.
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