[ad_1]
ABU DHABI – For Dustin Poirier, everything was different in his rematch with Conor McGregor.
Poirier, who had previously lost to Mcgregor by TKO in 2014, avenged his loss by placing the Irish superstar in the second round of their main bout at Saturday’s UFC 257 event in Abu Dhabi. Poirier became the first man to stop McGregor with strikes and tie the score.
The result, weight class, preparation and a lot of other things were different this time around around the McGregor fight. But perhaps most important was how Poirier felt inside the octagon.
“That first was so long ago,” Poirier told reporters at the UFC 257 post-fight press conference. “But I felt that – and maybe that’s right. my growth too – but I felt his presence less, his aura less.
“I just saw another fighter tonight. I think the first time I was deer in the headlights you can tell. This time I was fighting just another man – another bleeding man like me, and I knew it.
But that wasn’t the only intangible difference. Poirier’s mind was in a different place for the second fight as well.
“I just felt in the moment. I felt conscious and I felt here, ”Poirier said. “I was in the moment and ready to take any opportunity I might have. It was good tonight. When I walked into the octagon and the air hit me, the lights were on me, and Bruce (Buffer) was introducing us, that was right.
Poirier now has back-to-back wins over McGregor and Dan Hooker since his loss in a championship fight to lightweight title holder Khabib Nurmagomedov in September 2019. Nurmagomedov retired in October, but has yet to be stripped of his belt of light weights.
Poirier knows that a trilogy fight against McGregor has now opened and has also named Nate Diaz as a possible opponent for his next UFC fight. He wouldn’t be averse to fighting Charles Oliveira next for the vacant title, but he knows one thing for sure – he’s not fighting Michael Chandler, who won his UFC debut on Saturday.
“I don’t know what’s next, honestly,” Poirier said. “I have to come home, talk to Dana (White), talk to the UFC and see what makes sense. I can guarantee I’m not fighting Michael Chandler. They can do whatever they want with the division, but if something happens that makes sense, we will.
[ad_2]
Source link