It was fun while it lasted but the ending was somewhat anti-climactic. The fight was exciting as one could ask, no one hypes in the build-up better than McGregor. As expected, the stadium was packed and a lot of celebrities were present to watch UFC’s biggest star, Conor McGregor steps inside the Octagon.
Unlike the rematch where both were respectful and it was a humble McGregor, this fight had a lot of bad blood. McGregor saying that he is ready to kill Poirier come fight night and a lot more of other trash talks.
McGregor opened up with more kicks similar to his featherweight run, while Poirier was a bit more cautious. As usual, McGregor started aggressively but this time he had a more well-rounded striking and did not only throw his hands. It was a great showing of McGregor’s adjustments.
Dustin Poirier managed to land a bit of combos to McGregor that forced McGregor to step back and initiate a clinch.
Unfortunately for McGregor, once the clinch started Poirier’s momentum started. McGregor attempted a guillotine choke on Poirier but was unsuccessful. Poirier was aware and knew how to escape the submission.
During that point, McGregor had his back on the canvas and Poirier just having the upper position advantage. It certainly did not stop McGregor from throwing strikes of his own, and as for Poirier he also landed his own elbows. It was certainly a dog fight and the fight delivered. It was a back and forth to McGregor landing an up kick and Poirier also landing his barrage of strikes.
Poirier then let McGregor up as he claimed that McGregor was holding his gloves to land the up kick which is an illegal move. Once they had their position reset, both were ready to strike but then McGregor rolled his ankle that made him unable to continue. He couldn’t even stand up which led to a doctor stoppage win for Poirier.
Many would say the fight was still breaking to become one of the best fights of the year but due to an anti-climactic ending, it is indeed unfortunate. At the end of the day, whether it was luck or not, Poirier still managed to get his hands raised and will likely fight Charles Oliveira for the belt.
