Dustin Poirier (27-6) knocked out Conor McGregor (22-5) in the main event Saturday night at UFC 257 from Fight Island.
McGregor opened the first by walking down Poirier, landing a slew of strikes. Poirier went for the takedown less than a minute into the fight, taking McGregor down for momentary control on the ground. McGregor made his way back to his feet without expending too much energy and the two traded shoulder strikes from the clinch. Back in the middle of the Octagon, McGregor continued to walk Poirier down, landing at will and stuffing a takedown attempt before the end of the round.
Poirier opened the second attacking McGregor’s calf before turning his attention up top and knocking the former champion out.
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McGregor hadn’t fought since he TKO’d Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds in January. With no opportunity to make good on his promise to fight three times in 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, he settled with an opportunity to climb right back into title contention with his fight against Poirier.
This was Poirier’s second fight since losing via submission to retired lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in their titles unification bout in 2019. He earned a decision victory over Dan Hooker, who lost to Michael Chandler in the co-main event Saturday night, in his only other bout since losing to Nurmagomedov.
Poirier’s first fight against McGregor came in 2014, where he suffered a first-round knockout at the hands of the former two-division champion.
With the win, Poirier is in contention for a bout against lightweight champion Nurmagomedov, who said he wanted to be impressed by the UFC 257 contenders before thinking about returning. Should Nurmagomedov chose not to step back into the Octagon, Poirier is a choice for UFC president Dana White should the organization vacate the title, with a potential showdown against Chandler or Charles Oliveira, who dominated Tony Ferguson in December.
