Louisiana’s Poirier KOs Connor McGregor At UFC 257
The word "shocked" is being thrown around a lot. But for many Louisiana MMA fans, what Dustin Poirier did to Connor McGregor at UFC 257, the word might be "justified".
Last night at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi, Lafayette's Poirier got a rematch with worldwide superstar Connor McGregor that was years in the making. Back in 2014, McGregor was able to put Poirier down in their bout. But this time around, Poirier came into the match a different fighter, and a different man. By the 2:32 mark in the second round, everyone knew that, as Poirier became the first man ever to knock out McGregor in a UFC Fight...
Poirier evened the score between the two, and firmly staked his claim to a place at the table in the UFC's Lightweight Championship world.
That championship remains a bit of a mystery right now with Khabib Nurmagomedov's name always being floated around, and an interim Championship title being used. But Poirier may have helped put an end to a lot of that last night when he put McGregor down.
With Khabib and McGregor having bad blood, and the name recognition to make a massive money fight, if McGregor would have won, there might have been enough to get Khabib to come back for one more fight. But without McGregor being a viable opponent, it sounds like Khabib will stay away and allow an new champion to be crowned.
Insert Poirier...after wrecking McGregor, he has now elevated himself into the title pictures right away. UFC boss Dana White has tossed around a couple of names for a UFC Lightweight Championship fight for 2021, and no matter the combination, it always seems to include Poirier after that fight.