Conor McGregor’s UFC257 upset

BY MARCEL MARIAK

Everyone knows that combat sports can be unpredictable. At its core, fighting is mayhem: things rarely go to plan in the ring, and when they do, your opponent likely has an answer. Despite the melee, you can usually depend on the best and most famous fighters to be consistent in the octagon on most nights. UFC 257 was not that night.

UFC 257’s main event saw The Notorious Conor McGregor stepping into the ring with Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier. With the fight happening at UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, the fight only had an attendance of around 2,500 fans. Despite this, the event had an incredible virtual attendance of around 1.6 million pay-per-view buys! Fight fans from around the world were interested in seeing how a rematch between Conor and Dustin would play out.

After finishing their last fight in less than two minutes with an emphatic knockout, McGregor, as well as many fans felt confident that he would once again be able to defeat Dustin. Unfortunately, his night would not go to plan, and Conor would instead be served with his first-ever defeat by KO.

The fight
Walking into the octagon, Poirier looked strong and laser-focused on the fight. McGregor’s behaviour, on the other hand, was incredibly inconsistent with his past fights. Not only did he dispose of his usual, hype-creating trash talk, he simply looked awkward in general. His usually loose and controlled pre-fight movements were replaced with twitchiness and pacing around the ring. From before the first bell, it became clear that McGregor wasn’t ready for a war.

Once the fight started, McGregor adopted an awkward game plan which, for a short time, seemed to work in his favour. Instead of trying to finish the fight fast by engaging in quick, powerful striking exchanges, Conor opted to clinch up and wrestle Dustin against the cage. For the first round, while McGregor was still fresh, the clinching strategy was working for him. He was consistently controlling Poirier against the cage and wearing him down with shoulder strikes. Unfortunately, his victory was brief as McGregor quickly became tired and his clinch-work loosened up.

Dustin Poirier took McGregor’s tiredness as an opportunity to start landing a series of devastating calf-kicks that severely wore down McGregor’s mobility.

By the middle of the second round, McGregor was in bad shape. He was gassed from the intense clinching, limping on his front leg, and Poirier was continuing to mount pressure. Finally, at 2:32 of the second round, it happened. Poirier backed Conor up to the cage and unloaded with a swift but precise barrage of strikes that put the Irishman onto the mat and ended the fight.

After the battle
Despite his dominant performance, Dustin Poirier was humble in his post-fight interview. He made sure to recognize McGregor’s skill as a fighter, “Conor took this result very professionally,” commented Poirier, “he’s a pro and there’s nothing but respect.” Dustin also mentioned that he wasn’t surprised with the result, saying that he put a tremendous amount of work into preparing for the fight.

Conor also stuck around to be interviewed after the fight. He attributed his loss to a lack of activity in the octagon (the last time he fought was in January 2020 against Donald Cerrone). “It’s hard to overcome inactivity over long periods of time,” explained Conor, “I just wasn’t as comfortable as I needed to be. You don’t get away with being inactive in this business.”

What’s next?
After his win, Dustin Poirier looks like the best candidate to challenge for the UFC Lightweight championship. Poirier’s future looks bright; with a potential championship fight on the horizon, and a 1-1 score with McGregor, Dustin has some tough fights coming up in the next few years. As for McGregor, many worried that if he lost against Dustin, he would be retiring. Luckily, McGregor stated that he’ll be back in the octagon looking for a fight soon! While it’s uncertain who McGregor and Poirier will be fighting next, one thing is guaranteed: both of these modern gladiators will put on a show regardless of who stands across from them in the ring!