Following the anticlimactic trilogy bout that took place at UFC 264 last Saturday in Las Vegas, Conor McGregor has kept the rivalry fuelled through an increasing number of online posts.
McGregor who is now 22-6 in MMA lost his third match with Poirier 28-6 after the fight was abruptly stopped due to McGregor’s leg injury. Regardless of the injury and the fact that two of the three judges scored the first round 10-8 to Poirier, McGregor remains insistent that if the fight had continued, that he would have had his hand raised no problem.
It is no news to fight fans, that a lot of animosity grew between both fighters, most of which was initiated by McGregor and his now not-so-witty remarks and comments. McGregor often targeting personal topics in the hope of provoking Poirier. The week leading up to UFC 264, many fans could see the hatred both fighters had for one another, however, whilst McGregor’s hate was purely emotionally fuelled, Poirier was able to remain composed and use the negativity as his motivation. Saturday night was not just a chance for Poirier to prove he was the better of the two, but also a chance to humble McGregor, the self-proclaimed ‘Fat Cat’.
Saturday’s trilogy match-up opened up with an intense pace with both fighters pushing to control the centre of the octagon, this time with Poirier staying on his feet, confident in his boxing abilities and ability to out strike McGregor. As the round progressed, it became evident that McGregor was throwing anything just to land, there was lack of combos to set up the kicks, if anything, most of his shots were thrown with hope and in return not much landing. Many fans were quick to give credit to McGregor’s utilisation of the low kicks however upon watching the fight back, many of the kicks didn’t land clean or in fact made contact with the knee of Poirier. The lack of precision on the kicks ultimately was what lead to McGregor’s injury.
As the first round progressed, Poirier was able to press forward through the kicks and force McGregor into a boxing brawl, this was where McGregor truly looked past his best. The head movement was all off, he looked dazed and confused and rather than dodging the punches thrown by Poirier with his head movement, instead he bobbed into the shots and instead had to opt for a clinch to avoid anymore unnecessary damage. As the fight progressed to the floor, McGregor was able to steal the show with his guillotine attempt.
(McGregor had previously stated that nothing is final in this game other than knock-outs, so why did he even attempt a submission?)
Anyone who is familiar with McGregor will know that he has no submission wins and has no experience when it comes to initiating submissions over former rivals. It was clear as the round went on that McGregor was desperate for the win and was using everything in his arsenal.
Poirier was able to remain composed on top, swallowing only a couple of elbows from McGregor before leading the fight back to the feet.
Poirier was then able to capitalise on McGregor’s fatigue and ultimately unloaded on McGregor which lead to the backward step which caused McGregor’s broken tibia, ultimately ending the fight.
The way in which the fight ended, devastated many fans as well as the fighters, whilst it was clear who was dominating the first round, both fighters were not able to gain the closure they had so hoped for.
Whilst Poirier remained calm and composed in his post-fight interview with Rogan, McGregor was sat in the corner of the octagon shouting abuse, with recent footage emerging yesterday of McGregor threatening to kill Poirier and his wife.
“In your sleep you’re getting it, in your sleep you’re dead! You and your MRS, it ain’t over!”
Even though many fans and athletes of the sport were quick to critique Conor McGregor’s antics, McGregor has had complete disregard for his critics, instead opting to continue the abuse over social media.
Earlier this morning, McGregor posted photo’s on his Twitter of both Poirier and his daughter with the caption “Gonezo”.
These tweets were followed by similar ones which read
“I’m a nasty dude” and “I’m a dangerous man”, which are actually phrases from Poirier which he had used in the build-up to their UFC 264 trilogy bout.
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