ABU DHABI, UAE – Dustin Poirier stopped Conor McGregor with a flurry of punches in the middle of the second round on Sunday, avenging his loss to the Irish star with a knockout victory at UFC 257.
Poirier (26-7) caught McGregor with a series of shots to the head before bending his knees with both left hands. Poirier then sent McGregor to the screen with a short right hand and finished at 2:32 of the second, unleashing a dizzying excitement among the few thousand screaming fans allowed inside the Etihad Arena on Yas Island.
“I think it’s a title fight,” said Poirier of the lightweight fight. “I’m the champion.”
In his first fight in a year, McGregor (22-5) had a strong first round before being interrupted by punches for the first time in his mixed martial arts career. McGregor, whose four previous defeats were all by submission, stayed on the screen for several moments afterwards, composing himself after his second defeat in his three MMA fights since 2016.
“You know, it is difficult to overcome inactivity for long periods of time,” said McGregor, who has not fought since defeating Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds last January. “I was just not as comfortable as I needed to be, but Dustin is a fighter. If you invest time, you’ll be comfortable here. I have to dust off and go back, and that is what I will do. … I’ll take my licks, but I’m gutted. “
McGregor and Poirier met for the first time in September 2014 as featherweights, and McGregor won by knockout in just 106 seconds during his incredible early career success. McGregor was crowned featherweight champion 15 months later, while Poirier rebuilt his career with just one defeat in the next 11 fights.
With a second chance to hinder McGregor and raise his hopes of regaining the lightweight title, Poirier did not lose.
“We are 1-1, so we may have to do it again,” said Poirier.
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Sporting a shaved head and beard, McGregor pushed the action early against Poirier, who landed a fall before being leaning against the cage for long periods of the first round. But Poirier bothered and beat McGregor with kicks in the legs during the fight before throwing the punches that ended it.
McGregor has not fought regularly in recent years, but his popularity has not waned: UFC 257 must be one of the most popular pay-per-view events in the history of the promotion, according to White, and distribution problems in the United States early in the game. The PPV part of the card led fans to bomb social media and ESPN with complaints.
The UFC returns to Las Vegas in two weeks for yet another series of concerts at the Apex academy, without fans, on its corporate campus.