Dustin Poirier Shocks Conor McGregor With Knockout at UFC 257

Dustin Poirier poured cold water all over Conor McGregor’s returned at UFC 257. A knockout that will have the fight world talking for years to come. The Lightweight Title Challenger was clear and the fight veteran has cemented his place in line. Both of these fighters have a long history with a previous meeting at UFC 178. That 2014 fight was one of the first stepping stones to McGregor being the giant star that he is today. Fans will absolutely remember the wild scene at the press conference where the two almost came to blows. But, that tension proved to be longer than their first fight with Notorious recording a first-round TKO in front of a raucous crowd. But, Poirier had kept grinding in the interim. Now, he has delivered the redemption story he’s been craving since things broke bad way back when. For McGregor, it’s a stunning defeat that will have him pondering his fight future. 

Poirier talked to ESPN about his mindstate coming off that wild fight. “I wanted to make the guy pay, you know? I was angry,” he said. “I remember wanting to fight him at the weigh-in, which is crazy to look back at. I was just in such a weird place in my mind.”

That’s got to be a big deal for the UFC, who had to be hoping that the former golden draw could recapture some of the magic. So many people tuned into the fight this evening to see what McGregor had left in the tank. But, what met them was Poirier absolutely laying waste to the combat sports celebrity. If that doesn’t get the upper management’s attention than nothing will at this point. When addressing the mercurial superstar, White told Stephen A. Smith that there’s no question that McGregor is a primetime box office draw. Especially after taking on Floyd Mayweather in that massive boxing event.

“He’s a massive superstar and that obviously was obviously a global massive fight. It’s the biggest pay-per-view of all time. It’s the biggest combat sports pay-per-view of all time. Not only did he help in growing the sport in the United States but throughout the rest of the world. Throughout the U.K., Europe, Australia. Conor McGregor is a massive superstar for us.”