UFC 257: Dustin Poirier knocks out Conor McGregor in 2nd spherical, Khabib reacts

Dustin Poirier stopped Conor McGregor with a flurry of punches halfway via the second spherical Sunday, avenging his loss to the Irish famous person with a knockout victory at UFC 257.
Poirier (26-7) caught McGregor with a sequence of photographs to the pinnacle earlier than buckling his knees with two left fingers. Poirier then despatched McGregor to the canvas with a brief proper hand and completed it at 2:32 of the second, setting off shocked pleasure among the many few thousand screaming followers allowed contained in the Etihad Arena on Yas Island.

“I think this is a title fight,” Poirier stated of their light-weight bout. “I’m the champion.” In his first struggle in a 12 months, McGregor (22-5) had a powerful first spherical earlier than he was stopped by punches for the primary time in his combined martial arts profession. McGregor, whose earlier 4 losses all got here by submission, stayed on the canvas for a number of moments afterward, gathering himself after his second loss in his three MMA fights since 2016.
“You know, it’s hard to overcome inactivity over long periods of time,” stated McGregor, who hadn’t fought since beating Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds final January. “I just wasn’t as comfortable as I needed to be, but Dustin is some fighter. If you put in the time, you’re going to get cozy in here. I have to dust it off and come back, and that’s what I will do. … I’ll take my licks, but I’m gutted.”

“Great job.”
Even behind closed doorways, the respect stays.
[ #UFC257 | #InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/qshtjNgEMJ
— UFC (@ufc) January 24, 2021

Conor McGregor left the locker room with a single crutch after #UFC257 pic.twitter.com/pbOiKhm52f
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 24, 2021
McGregor and Poirier met for the primary time in September 2014 as featherweights, and McGregor received by knockout in simply 106 seconds throughout his unbelievable early-career success. McGregor turned the featherweight champion 15 months later, whereas Poirier rebuilt his profession with only one loss in his subsequent 11 fights.
With a second probability to derail McGregor whereas boosting his personal hopes of regaining the light-weight title, Poirier didn’t miss.
“We’re 1-1, so maybe we have to do it again,” Poirier stated.
Sporting a shaved head and a beard, McGregor pushed the motion early in opposition to Poirier, who landed an early takedown earlier than getting backed in opposition to the cage for stretches of the primary spherical. But Poirier bothered and battered McGregor with leg kicks all through the struggle earlier than throwing the punches that ended it.
After his struggle, former UFC champ Khabib Nurmagomedov reacted to the outcome and wrote-

This is what occurred, if you change your group, depart the sparring companions who made you a champion and sparring with little children, far-off from actuality.
— khabib nurmagomedov (@WorkforceKhabib) January 24, 2021
In the co-main occasion at UFC 257, three-time Bellator light-weight champion Michael Chandler made a surprising UFC debut with a violent knockout of New Zealand’s Dan Hooker halfway via the primary spherical.
Chandler could possibly be the following matchup for Poirier in a struggle for the light-weight title apparently vacated by long-reigning 155-pound champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, who introduced his retirement after his closing victory final fall. Nurmagomedov has crushed each McGregor and Poirier up to now 2 1/2 years.
UFC President Dana White thus far has been unable to steer Nurmagomedov to return on his vow to his mom to give up the game after his father’s dying, not even for a wildly profitable rematch with McGregor, who repeatedly vowed to struggle on after this loss to Poirier.
McGregor has not fought repeatedly in recent times, however his recognition was undiminished: UFC 257 is anticipated to be one of the vital widespread pay-per-view occasions within the promotion’s historical past, in response to White, and distribution issues within the U.S. early within the PPV portion of the cardboard led followers to bombard social media and ESPN with complaints.
Chandler’s long-anticipated UFC arrival was well worth the await his twenty seventh skilled struggle in a profession that started in 2009.
After a deliberate begin, Chandler (22-5) jabbed to the physique as he lunged ahead and caught Hooker with a left hand to the face that crumpled his opponent. Chandler completed a dazed Hooker with punches on the bottom earlier than climbing atop the cage and doing a full standing backflip into the octagon from atop the fence.
And Chandler was nonetheless fired up in his post-fight interview, calling the bout “the greatest moment of my professional life.”
“Conor McGregor! Surprise, surprise, there’s a new king in the lightweight division,” Chandler added. “Dustin Poirier, your time is coming. And Khabib, if you ever do see fit to grace us with your presence back here in the UFC octagon in your quest for 30 (victories), you know you’ve got to beat somebody, so beat me — if you can!”
Marina Rodriguez opened the pay-per-view portion of UFC 257 by upsetting fellow Brazilian strawweight contender Amanda Ribas. Rodriguez received a second-round stoppage with a flurry of punches and a knee within the opening minute.
UFC 257 concluded a run of three reveals in eight days with a number of thousand followers allowed contained in the promotion’s coronavirus bubble within the Middle East. The promotion hadn’t held reveals with followers since earlier than the pandemic started final March.
The UFC returns to Las Vegas in two weeks for an additional run of reveals on the fan-free Apex gymnasium on its company campus.