Conor McGregor speaks out after abnormal leg injury in loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264

Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor

It’s here. Great. The stakes in this fight seem insanely high for McGregor, but they still do. Every fight.

As I mentioned above, it’s almost impossible to call this fight. I choose McGregor because he seemed to win the last fight until he didn’t. But honestly, it could play out exactly the same as the last fight.

I have the butterflies for this one. Let’s go.

Round 1

Man, this is intense. McGregor looks amplified, the opposite of relaxed, which is when he’s doing his best. Let’s see how this plays out.

McGregor takes out a heavy kick. The fight is taking place at a breakneck pace. Poirier somehow cuts McGregor and brings him to the ground after McGregor attempts a guillotine choke. After a barrage of land and punches, the fight returns to the feet and after a trade McGregor rolls his ankle

And it looks like he broke his ankle? The doctor calls him. The fight is over.

Wow. What a strange ending.

McGregor is furious. He shouts “Doctor stop”.

Whatever the outcome, McGregor was losing this fight completely. It was ultimately called a doctor’s shutdown. Afterward, Joe Rogan conducted an interview with McGregor while he was taking care of his leg. He said it was “not over.” But realistically, it’s hard to say when McGregor will be back – if he will be back. Poirier referred to karma playing a role here, given how much McGregor leaned into the lead.

There was a real poisonous atmosphere in this whole scene. It reminded me a lot of the Khabib vs McGregor fight. Left a bad taste in my mouth.

Dustin Poirier wins thanks to doctor’s stop

Gilbert Burns vs. Stephen Thompson

I’m really looking forward to this one. Stephen Thompson is perhaps the best technical forward the UFC has ever seen, Gilbert Burns is a jiu-jitsu specialist with hammers for his hands. The winner of this fight will almost certainly get a title shot at some point in the future.

I choose Thompson here. He’s one of the toughest and most unique fighters on the list, and he’s outclassed almost everyone he’s faced in the Octagon.

I can not wait.

Round 1

I can’t blog anymore, I made a drinking game where I shoot whenever Joe Rogan says “karate style” and I’m dead.

Burns seems to be trying to take that down, which is smart, but Thompson has a great strikeout defense. Much of the first part of this tour takes place on the fence. Not exactly great for either fighter.

And of course, the crowd hoots.

But wow – surprise – Burns knocked him down. It could steal his sleeve and make Thompson a bit more hesitant through his world-class kicks.

Wonderboy does eventually get back on his feet, but a strong turn for Burns here.

CNET scores 10-9 for Burns

2nd round

A frantic 2nd round fought on a hair trigger. Really difficult to score. Thompson appeared to control the bout by foot, but Burns landed a strikeout in the final thirty seconds which could have stolen his sleeve. Hard to say. I think of Thompson, but who knows.

CNET scores 10-9 for Thompson

Round 3

Good start for Thompson, with a sharp straight over the top.

Whoa … Thompson cuts him off with a SWEET wheel kick that almost knocks Burns off his feet. Unreal. I thought we could finish, but Burns seems to be recovering. Now he’s got Thompson on the mat. Can Thompson get back on his feet? Time is running out here and Burns now has lateral control. It looks bad for Thompson.

CNET scores it 10-9 for Burns and 29-28 for Burns overall.

Official ruling: Gilbert Burns defeats Stephen Thompson via ruling (29-28 on all three scorecards)

Tai Tuivasa vs. Greg Hardy

Oh man, nothing like a heavyweight slobberknocker. Tai Tuivasa, is famous for his victory shoes (a shoe is when you drink beer from a stranger’s shoe, after the stranger has spat in it – yes, I know, disgusting). Greg Hardy is known as a former NFL player with a tarnished history. Many are divided over whether he should fight in the UFC.

This fight should be absolute chaos. Tuivasa is explosive and cowardly and fun to watch, I choose him to do it tonight.

Round 1

Holy shit, Tai Tuivasa is going out at the Spice Girls. This is the best starter I have ever seen in my life. Please win Tai. I beg you.

Wow. What a crazy minute of combat. Tuivasa comes out, cutting off his legs. Hardy retaliates with a thunderous shot and CORRECTLY wobbles Tuivasa, but as Hardy arrives to finish he becomes completely molten by a left counter-hook. Incredible scenes. Tuivasa climbs up to the cage and heads straight for the babyyyyyyyyyyyyy! Astonishing. What a fight as long as it lasted.

Tai Tuivasa wins goes KO in the first round

Irene Aldana versus. Yana Kunitskaya

This is a big fight for the women’s bantamweight division, between two of her top contenders. Interestingly, Aldana comes out of a wrong lack of weight, hitting the scale at 139.5 pounds, down from 136. Will that affect this fight? Historically, fighters who are underweight have an advantage, but sometimes this struggle with weight loss can have a huge impact on stamina. Let’s see what’s going on. I choose Kunitskaya.

Round 1

Kunitskaya throws heat early on, landing big kicks in the legs. She moves aggressively and is really looking for that. But once Aldana settled in, she started throwing big punches, including one to the body that seemed to really affect Kunitskaya.

And then all of a sudden Aldana absolutely cracks Kunitskaya arrives with a heavy meter check hook that extends Kunitskaya. She tries to defend herself with kicks, but eventually Aldana gains the upper hand and lands bomb after bomb on Kunitskaya, who is struggling to defend herself. This one is finished.

Irene Aldana wins via TKO in the first round

Sean O’Malley vs. Kris Moutinho

If you’re new to “Suga” Sean O’Malley, brace yourselves. He’s one of the UFC’s rising stars and one of the most entertaining fighters on the list. There’s a reason he’s opening this map.

Sadly, his original opponent, Louis Smolka, was pulled out of this fight thanks to a staph infection. Replacement fighter Kris Moutinho represents something of a shift. He’s a last-minute substitute and not strong either. It would be a wild upset if O’Malley lost this fight, but stranger things have happened in the UFC.

Round 1

Moutinho absolutely walking forward trying to catch O’Malley with kicks in the legs. But O’Malley seems to land at will, probing forward kicks, precision jabs, straights. Percentage of land just amazing. At one point, O’Malley hurt him and … was pretending to play basketball? Unbelievable.

But Moutinho’s ability to absorb damage and move forward seems to cause problems for O’Malley. That said, O’Malley absolutely triggered it in the last second of the lap. One more minute and he would be out.

Incredibly, O’Malley broke the bantamweight record for most strikes in one round

CNET scores 10-8 for O’Malley

2nd round

O’Malley can’t miss and Moutinho has one of the craziest chins I’ve seen in a fight. It is again walking forward is crazy. O’Malley’s shots seem to have lost their sting. This guy fights like it’s his last day on earth. It’s crazy that he’s always there to take those pictures.

O’Malley landed with an accuracy rate of 84%. Anderson Silva levels here. But Moutinho is ALWAYS HERE.

CNET scores 10-9 for O’Malley

Round 3

Another crazy round where Moutinho just got through the shots and O’Malley just landed at will with crisp, sharp shots. Again, I have never seen anything like it.

Eventually, Herb Dean kidnaps him. O’Malley had a few exchanges where he was really playing with every strike you can imagine – knees, punches, kicks.

To be honest, I wish this had continued. Regardless, a savage fight. O’Malley landed huge shots with incredible speed and Moutinho took it all.

Sean O’Malley wins via TKO in the third round