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Conor McGregor\u2019s hopes of luring Khabib Nurmagomedov into a rematch are in tatters after he was stopped by Dustin Poirier in a seismic upset at UFC 257 at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\nConor McGregor\u2019s hopes of luring Khabib Nurmagomedov into a rematch are in tatters after he was stopped by Dustin Poirier in a seismic upset at UFC 257 at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n
McGregor had beaten Poirier inside two minutes in September 2014 and was overwhelming favorite to see off his lightweight rival again in a bid to get fierce adversary Nurmagomedov to reverse his retirement decision.<\/p>\n
But the American managed to gain revenge, surviving one or two nervy moments in the first round and then gaining the upper hand in the second round with some savage kicks to McGregor\u2019s lead leg.<\/p>\n
Poirier forced McGregor back with a flurry of punches, flooring him with a short right hook before a couple of blows to the defenseless Irishman led to the end of the fight after two minutes and 32 seconds of the second round.<\/p>\n
This was McGregor\u2019s first fight in a year when he stopped Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds. Before that he had not stepped inside the octagon since October 2018 when he lost to Nurmagomedov.<\/p>\n
The Dubliner admitted his long stretches on the sidelines had come back to haunt him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you put in the time in here, you\u2019re going to get cozy in here and I just have to dust it off and come back and that\u2019s what I will do. I need activity, you don\u2019t get away with being inactive in this business,\u201d McGregor said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll take my licks. I\u2019m gutted and I put so much work in. Well done Dustin: 1-1, good man. It\u2019s a tough one to swallow, I put in a lot of work, I\u2019m proud of my work. We\u2019ll get to go again and that\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n
McGregor had warned Nurmagomedov \u201cthe world knows this war is not over\u201d, despite the Russian bowing out of the sport last October after extending his perfect professional record to 29-0 with a win over Justin Gaethje.<\/p>\n
UFC president Dana White has held talks with Nurmagomedov and revealed he could be tempted to make a comeback if he saw \u201csomething spectacular\u201d between the two headliners at the Etihad Arena.<\/p>\n
But it was Poirier who delivered an emphatic statement in front of around 2,000 socially-distanced fans in a fight that took place on Sunday morning local time.<\/p>\n
Nurmagomedov hit out at McGregor on Twitter afterwards, saying: \u201cThis is what happened, when you change your team, leave the sparring partners who made you a champion and sparring with little kids, far away from reality.\u201d<\/p>\n
After an early feeling out process, Poirier managed to get the takedown in the first round but McGregor was soon back on his feet and landing shoulder strikes that proved so effective in his welterweight victory over Cerrone.<\/p>\n
A sharp elbow momentarily buzzed Poirier, as did a counter right uppercut although he responded with a smart check hook and was regularly kicking out at McGregor\u2019s right calf in an attempt to stifle his rhythm.<\/p>\n
It was a tactic McGregor praised afterwards, saying a dead leg meant he \u201cjust wasn\u2019t as comfortable as I needed to be\u201d as Poirier capitalized on his opponent\u2019s uneasiness midway through the second round.<\/p>\n
McGregor slipped to his fifth defeat in 27 professional mixed martial arts contests while Poirier improved his record to 27 wins and six defeats.<\/p>\n
The mutual admiration between the pair, both 32, has been evident in the build-up to this fight \u2013 Poirier even gave McGregor a bottle of his signature hot sauce at Friday\u2019s weigh-in \u2013 and the respect continued after the bout.<\/p>\n
Poirier said in the octagon afterwards: \u201cI\u2019m happy but I\u2019m not surprised, I put in the work. Conor took this result very professionally and nothing but respect. We\u2019re 1-1, maybe we have to do it again.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal was to be technical, pick my shots, not brawl at all. I felt like I was boxing pretty well with Conor, he hit with some good counters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like this was a title fight. If Khabib\u2019s not coming back then me and Conor are the two best guys. I\u2019m the champion.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the co-headliner, former three-time Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler marked his UFC debut with a sensational first-round stoppage of New Zealand\u2019s Dan Hooker.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the greatest moment in my professional life,\u201d Chandler said afterwards.<\/p>\n
\u201cDustin Poirier: your time is coming and Khabib: if you do see fit to grace us with your presence back here in the UFC octagon in your quest for 30-0 you\u2019ve got to beat somebody, so beat me if you can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier, Joanne Calderwood outworked Jessica Eye, with the Scottish flyweight landing more than 200 strikes as she claimed a unanimous decision win as two of the judges scored the bout 30-27 and a third 29-28, all in her favour.<\/p>\n
\u201cI beat her and she\u2019s got no excuses,\u201d Calderwood said.<\/p>\n