Conor McGregor is the biggest star in mixed martial arts. But he’s been busier
being a star outside the cage than a fighter in it in recent years, and it
caught up to him Saturday night at UFC 257.
Dustin Poirier (27-6), meanwhile, has been steadily picking off the best
fighters in the lightweight division, and it paid off for the Lafayette, La.,
native with a fantastic finish of McGregor at the 2:32 mark of the second
round in their bout in Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
“The goal was to be technical and pick my shots and have a big finish,”
Poirier said.
Dublin’s McGregor (22-5) got off to a flying start in the opening round,
finding a home with his patented left hand, and also connecting on stiff right
jabs. Poirier tried to wear him down in the clinch, only to be met with sharp
shoulder shivers by McGregor.
But Poirier found his footing by the end of the round and ramped it up in the
second.
Repeated kicks to McGregor’s lead leg slowed his attack, and the heavy-hitting
Poirier turned up the heat, with a big left to the jaw, setting up the final
flurry which deposited a glassy-eyed McGregor to the mat and ended the bout.
Poirier’s win was also retribution of sorts, as it avenged a loss in their
first encounter at UFC 178 in 2014, a bout McGregor won in less than two
minutes.
Poirier has now won two fights and is 7-1 in his past eight, with the only
loss in that span to undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov. McGregor has dropped two
of three and has only won once since 2016.
In the evening’s co-feature bout, former Bellator lightweight champion Michael
Chandler (22-5) made a sensational splash in his UFC debut. The San Diego
resident swarmed New Zealand’s Dan Hooker (20-10), landing a right to the
body, a huge left to the jaw which dropped him, and a flurry of ground strikes
before the bout was waved off for a TKO at the 2:30 mark of the opening round.
–Field Level Media
