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Saturday night marked the return of MMA’s biggest superstar, Conor McGregor, but things did not go as planned for the Irishman. “Notorious,” who is ranked No. 4 in the lightweight division, took on No. 2 ranked Dustin Poirier in a rematch over six years in the making.
The fight went two rounds, with both fighters finding success in the opening frame. In the second, however, Poirier’s gameplan of landing powerful leg kicks paid off. McGregor’s right leg was compromised, opening him up to the vicious boxing of “The Diamond.” He was finished via strikes halfway through the second round.
With the loss, McGregor plans to heal up, go back to the drawing board and come back again this year. During the post-fight press conference, Notorious expressed interest in a trilogy fight with Poirier. He also had another name in mind, Nate Diaz.
McGregor and Diaz have fought twice, and like McGregor and Poirier, they are 1-1. Notorious said during the presser he’s interested in fighting Diaz for a third time as well.
The next day, Diaz took to Twitter. Although he didn’t mention the Irishman by name, it appears he took a shot at his foe.
“These guys all get finished all the time,” Diaz wrote, including the face-palm emoji.
These guys all get finished all the time 🤦🏻♂️
Later in the day, Diaz posted to Instagram, writing, “The last of real martial arts in the game.” See below:
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Diaz Could Have a Major Fight Coming Up In the Lightweight Division
While promoting UFC 257 last week, UFC president Dana White revealed that he has an opponent in mind for Diaz. Interestingly, White said the fight would take place at lightweight, a division Diaz hasn’t competed in since 2016.
The UFC president didn’t reveal the identity of the opponent he’s thinking of, though he did confirm there were would be major stakes for the winner of the bout. Since the announcement, there has been a lot of speculation in the MMA community that the fighter is No. 1 ranked Justin Gaethje, but nothing has been confirmed and Diaz hasn’t responded publicly about the offer.
Gaethje vs. Diaz would ensure fireworks, as the fight would likely be contested on the feet, pitting Diaz’s boxing and volume against Gaethje’s fearsome power.
Diaz last fought in November 2019, losing to Jorge Masvidal via doctor’s stoppage. Gaethje fought in October 2020 for the undisputed lightweight title and was finished by champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in the second round.
UFC 257 Results
See the results from Saturday’s UFC 257 below:
Main Card
Lightweight: Dustin Poirier def. Conor McGregor via second-round TKO
Lightweight: Michael Chandler def. Dan Hooker via first-round TKO
Women’s Flyweight: Joanne Calderwood def. Jessica Eye via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Middleweight: Makhmud Muradov def. Andrew Sanchez via third-round TKO
Women’s Strawweight: Marina Rodriguez def. Amanda Ribas via second-round TKO
Preliminary Card
157-Pound Catchweight: Arman Tsarukyan def. Matt Frevola via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Middleweight: Brad Tavares def. Antonio Carlos Junior via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Women’s Bantamweight: Julianna Pena def. Sara McMann via third-round rear-naked choke
Light Heavyweight: Marcin Prachnio def. Khalil Rountree Jr. via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Early Preliminary Card
150-Pound Catchweight: Movsar Evloev def. Nik Lentz via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Flyweight: Amir Albazi def. Zhalgas Zhumagulov via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
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