Dustin Poirier beat Conor McGregor after the Irishman suffered what looked like a broken ankle in the main event of UFC 264.
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In the end, the much hyped UFC 264 main event between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier certainly delivered a winner. But it didn’t quite live up to the hype. That is because the match ended due to doctor’s stoppage. The reason for doing so was understandable – McGregor suffered what seemed like a broken ankle towards the end of the first round. But it left fans feeling shortcharged, as what seemed like a potentially classic main even was derailed through no one’s fault. In the end though, there can be few arguments over the fact that the right man won the bout.
The previous bout between the two lacked the spark this one did. That time, McGregor was on the comeback trail and seemingly un-McGregor like. He paid respect to his opponent, admitted the right man won and vowed to come back stronger.
But this time he ended up resorting to every one of his classic verbal and psychological mind games. McGregor threatened to kill Poirier inside the Octagon. He then promised to be fighting for the title at the end of the year. He even dragged Poirier’s wife into the feud.
But instead of disarm his opponent, it only made him more determined to end the bout. Poirier came out all guns blazing. After a feeling out phase in the first few seconds, he countered McGregor’s submission attempt.
He then landed a number of punches on the Irishman, clearly dominating the bout. He checked McGregor’s kick attempts and landed his own blows.
While McGregor was on the canvas, he laid a few shots in and gave the Irishman a bloody ear. The definining moment of the match, however, came towards the end of the first round.
‘The Diamond’ Poirier landed a shot on McGregor’s head, with the Irishman’s ankle gruesomely buckling. It was clear the injury was bad and he could not get up after that. Thus, the fight was won by Poirier.
This trilogy bout at UFC 264 was expected to be the last between these two for the foreseeable future. However, the abrupt ending to this match means another might be on the cards.
McGregor certainly wants it, evidenced by him screaming “This is not over!” in a foul-mouthed post-match rant. Clearly, so does UFC president Dana White.
“The fight didn’t get finished. You can’t have a fight finish that way. We’ll see how this whole thing plays out. Who knows how long Conor is out? Poirier will do his thing until Conor is ready,” White said.
However, McGregor is set for a lengthy stint on the sidelines and Poirier will now face Charles Oliveira for the lightweight title. This match, if it has to be run back, will have to wait.
Early prelims results:
Jennifer Maia def. Jessica Eye via unanimous decision
Brad Tavares def. Omari Akhmedov via split decision
Zhalgas Zhumagulov def. Jerome Rivera via submission
Prelims results:
Max Griffin def. Carlos Condit via unanimous decision
Michel Pereira def. Niko Price via unanimous decision
Ilia Topuria def. Ryan Hall via KO
Dricus Du Plessis def. Trevin Giles via KO
Main card results:
Dustin Poirier def. Conor McGregor via TKO (doctor stoppage)
Gilbert Burns def. Stephen Thompson via unanimous decision
Tai Tuivasa def. Greg Hardy via KO/TKO
Irene Aldana def. Yana Kunitskaya via TKO
Sean O’Malley def. Kris Moutinho via TKO
