- Dustin Poirier just knocked Conor McGregor out cold Saturday at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
- It took a while for McGregor to recover, and when he was finally on his feet again, the Irishman could only limp around the Octagon.
- Poirier has gone through a gauntlet of opponents but the McGregor win is one of the best in his career.
- Watch a highlight of the action below.
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FIGHT ISLAND – Few things are as electrifying in the modern combat sports era as a Conor McGregor fight night.
And, on Saturday, the popular Irishman had another crowd in the palm of his hand, this time partial fan allowance at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
The stage was set for a back-to-back win in the McGregor 2.0 era … only his opponent Dustin Poirier had his own plans.
Poirier inflicted a stunning second-round loss onto McGregor after a shellacking of strikes against the fence forced a knockdown, and then a knockout.
McGregor had performed well in the opening round, though. He occupied the middle of the cage from the opening bell, asserted his authority, and forced Poirier to circle around him.
Though Poirier nailed a takedown, McGregor stood up after absorbing little damage, and, in the clinch, hit the American with the shoulder strikes he refined in training camp in recent years - the same ones that stunned Donald Cerrone so effectively in 2020, that helped contribute to the Cowboy's 40-second loss.
McGregor's southpaw jab was accurate in a point-scoring way but, unperturbed, Poirier fired leg kicks from the outside.
In the second round, Poirier again circled around the Octagon, lashed kicks at McGregor's calves, and, when he had him against the fence, pounded the 32-year-old until he wilted and fell to the canvas.
From there, Poirier just didn't stop punching until McGregor was out cold, in a bad way, and beaten conclusively.
Long after the fight was over, McGregor still hadn't recovered, and when he had finally risen to his feet he was only able to limp on the canvas - likely a result from all Poirier's leg kicks.
Watch it here:
—ufcespanol (@UFCEspanol) January 24, 2021
Poirier has defeated a bunch of killers of late, including Justin Gaethje, Max Holloway, and Dan Hooker, but the McGregor stoppage is one of the best of his lot.
With the win, Poirier advanced his pro MMA record to 27 wins (13 knockouts, seven submissions, and seven decisions) against six losses.
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