Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 3 analysis
The trilogy of Dustin Poirier versus Conor McGregor concluded last Saturday as the main event of UFC 264. This was a fight that lasted only one round due to McGregor snapping his ankle as he was attacking Poirier after he attempted to hit him with a punch. The referee Herb Dean, called the doctor on-call to come into the ring to examine McGregor’s ankle, and told him he could not fight anymore, giving Poirier the TKO (technical knockout) win and his second win over Poirier after beating him in their second fight, as McGregor won the first bout. The T-Mobile Arena crowd in Las Vegas was loud and roaring, it was a great atmosphere, but the fight was seemingly over to Pittstop in the first few minutes, as McGregor was basically losing the entire fight, with Poirier being the younger athlete and picking spots when to be the aggressor and when to lay back.
Throughout the round, McGregor was able to land several lower-leg kicks, a kind of kick Poirier used to set McGregor up for the January knockout in their second fight, and McGregor was even able to connect with one hard left hand, his dominant hand. Most of this however only came in the first minute, because as the round wore on, the fight tilted toward Poirier in a huge way. After McGregor came out as the aggressor and sorta tired himself out for a while, Poirier made him a scrambler and a grappler by striking McGregor with a succession of punches at the center of the cage, turning McGregor's trademark forward-moving aggression into cautious retreat, then Poirier really took the fight to the canvas. After McGregor tried a choke move that never really succeeded, Poirier seized the top position and pummeled McGregor with punches and elbows as I along with the fans on television shouted in excitement.
And then the snap happened. As McGregor and Poirier both unleashed big punches that just missed, McGregor stepped into his follow-through and his lower left leg buckled, suffering what UFC later called a broken tibia. He fell back against the fence, and Poirier pounced on the moment, attacking him profusely. As more and more shots landed on McGregor, Dean stood by, watching closely. The horn sounded before the ref could jump in. After the horn sounded and the doctor ran to McGregor’s corner, he examined his leg for a few minutes before ruling him unfit to fight the rest of the bout.
Will McGregor ever again be the elite fighter he showed himself to be during his magnificent climb to the top? He had his moments in this year's two fights against Poirier, but have these deflating losses reduced McGregor to just a box-office and pay-per-view attraction, still relevant but people don’t take him seriously as a fighter? Personally, I believe so. He once was one of the best fighters in the world, but lately, with loses piling up, he is losing his edge and his intimidation factor for other fighters going against him. I wish the best for Conor, but I think his best days are behind him.
