He was making his comeback in an octagon in the lightweight category, a year after his last appearance.
And it didn't go well.
Irish mixed martial arts (MMA) superstar Conor McGregor was knocked out by American Dustin Poirier in the second resumption of their UFC fight on Sunday in Abu Dhabi.
Poirier surprised him with a leg kick, followed by a flurry of blows with his hands that knocked him down, before referee Herb Dean ended the fight, after 2 minutes 32 seconds. , in the second round.
From beginning to end, all class this time 🤝
[# UFC257 |
#InAbuDhabi |
@VisitAbuDhabi] pic.twitter.com/E5TFQvCChA
- UFC (@ufc) January 24, 2021
"It's hard to be inactive for that long," pleaded the 32-year-old Irish fighter, after what was only his third cage fight in over four years.
"I'm going to dust myself off and come back"
Brought to the entry floor, a field where he is less comfortable, then destabilized by Poirier's regular low kicks,
The Notorious
McGregor seemed to find the thread of the fight in the first round before collapsing on the sequence with the fatal fists of the American in the following recovery.
"His low calf kick was very good, but Dustin is a real fighter," admitted McGregor, limping but fair.
“I'm going to dust myself off and come back, because that's what I always do.
I will take these blows, ”promised the Irishman.
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Opposite him, Dustin Poirier, 32, showed a very different version of him from 2014 when, outmatched, he was knocked out by McGregor in 109 seconds.
A mark that the Irishman had boasted of lowering under the minute, all week before the meeting.
“First of all, I want to say that Conor took this result with professionalism.
We are at 1-1 and maybe we will have to do it again, ”said Poirier.
Second in the UFC lightweight category, the American is in a strong position to inherit or fight for the belt, held by Russian Khabib Nurmagomed (29-0), but now retired.
1-1
Maybe we'll see these two share an Octagon again some day ... # UFC257 pic.twitter.com/lBWg63ynik
- UFC (@ufc) January 24, 2021
“I think it was a title fight.
I am the champion now, ”Poirier said after his victory in the“ Fight Island ”bubble, set up in Abu Dhabi to avoid the risks associated with the coronavirus.