LAS VEGAS – Dustin Poirier now owns two victories over the greatest star in mixed martial arts history. This didn’t end in the cleanest possible way, however.
Poirier met Conor McGregor with a combo at the end of the first round of the highly anticipated UFC 264 main event on Saturday night. McGregor went to set his left foot up and his leg buckled and sent him to the mat. Poirier followed with punches to the ground as the time ran out.
Since McGregor’s leg was clearly injured, referee Herb Dean called the lightweight fight. The official result was Poirier from TKO (doctor standstill) at 5:00 a.m. of the first round. A stretcher was brought in to transport McGregor to the hospital.
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The finish left the sold-out audience disappointed. There was a mixture of boos and cheers as Poirier’s name was announced as the winner.
“Anyone who boos, you can kiss all my a – h —-,” said Poirier in his post-fight interview. “I hit the guy.”
Poirier stated that he injured McGregor’s ankle on a checked kick and then buckled his ankle at the end of the first round. McGregor denied it was a checked kick.
“It’s not over yet,” said McGregor.
This was one of the most anticipated trilogy fights in UFC history. Aside from the bad blood, UFC President Dana White said the winner would next fight champion Charles Oliveira for the UFC lightweight title. .
Poirier stopped McGregor in January at UFC 257 via TKO in the second round. In 2014, McGregor defeated Poirier at UFC 178 in less than two minutes.
Poirier (28-6, 1 NC) has won three times in a row and has only been beaten once since 2016, a loss in an easy title fight against undefeated all-time greats Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Poirier is 11-2 (1 NC) since he rose from featherweight to lightweight in 2015. The Louisiana native, who fights on the American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, is the former UFC interim lightweight champion. ESPN has Poirier, 32, ranked 2nd in the world in lightweight.
McGregor (22-6) has only won one win in four fights since defeating Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title in 2016. He was the first UFC fighter to hold two titles in two divisions at the same time
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