The UFC 264 main event between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor ended in wild fashion – but perhaps in a way not many anticipated.
After a high-action, high-output first round, Poirier (28-6 MMA, 20-5 UFC) defeated McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) when the Irishman suffered a nasty leg injury in the final seconds of Round 1. The fight was waved off, at the advice of the cage-side physician, in between rounds 1 and 2.
The lightweight bout was the UFC 264 main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
The first round began and McGregor came out flying with kicks. Poirier answered with kicks of his own. The two slugged it out before Poirier got McGregor against the cage. McGregor pulled for a guillotine choke, which was unsuccessful.
Once the fight hit the canvas, Poirier rained down ground-and-pound while McGregor threw upkicks in an attempt to cause damage while keeping Poirier from landing strikes.
With about 15 seconds left in the round after the fight returned to the feet, McGregor rolled his ankle after both men threw punches at the same time. His leg bent under him backward at a grotesque angle and he never got up off the canvas through the official announcement.
The win for Poirier tilts the lifetime series in his favor. The two fighters first faced off at UFC 178 in September 2014. The featherweight fight ended 1:46 into Round 1 when McGregor flattened Poirier with a series of punches.
Seven years later, McGregor and Poirier squared off again – this time at lightweight. The fight was the main event of UFC 257 in January 2021. After a competitive first round, Poirier battered the leg of McGregor. The damage rendered McGregor hobbled and Poirier finished him with a barrage of punches at 2:32 of Round 2.
Prior to UFC 264, promotion president Dana White declared the winner will be the No. 1 contender at 155 pounds. With that, Poirier punches his ticket to face UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira for the title.
Entering his second undisputed UFC title fight, Poirier rides a three-fight winning streak with a victory over Dan Hooker and two over McGregor. “The Diamond” unsuccessfully challenged for the UFC title in September 2019 when he was submitted by then-champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
As for McGregor, the loss is his third in four fights. Since his UFC featherweight title win against Jose Aldo, the Irishman has gone 3-4 in the UFC.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 264 results include:
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Dustin Poirier def. Conor McGregor via TKO (doctor stoppage) – Round 1, 5:00
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Gilbert Burns def. Stephen Thompson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
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Tai Tuivasa def. Greg Hardy via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:07
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Irene Aldana def. Yana Kunitskaya via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:35
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Sean O’Malley def. Kris Moutinho via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 4:33
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Max Griffin def. Carlos Condit via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
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Michel Pereira def. Niko Price via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
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Ilia Topuria def. Ryan Hall via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 4:47
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Dricus Du Plessis def. Trevin Giles via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 1:41
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Jennifer Maia def. Jessica Eye via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
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Brad Tavares def. Omari Akhmedov via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
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Zhalgas Zhumagulov def. Jerome Rivera via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 2:02
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Twitter reacts to Dustin Poirier’s TKO of Conor McGregor after leg injury in UFC 264 trilogy bout
