When Conor McGregor went into the fight yesterday as a heavy favorite despite being lower-ranked and also having a prolonged period of inactivity, I was a bit perplexed. I foolishly did not place a bet on this one even though doing so would have had a really nice return on it. This is how it works for me all the time though I am afraid and as they say, the house always wins. The only reason the betting odds were looking that way is because so many people were pre-betting on McGregor.
The man has a way with words and even though he and Poirier were a LOT more friendly with one another coming into this fight than McGregor is known for, Conor still managed to get a few verbal jabs in there by saying "Dustin is a great fighter, but great is still several steps below me."
Well it certainly didn't look that way in the Octagon yesterday.
I was glued to the screen like most fight fans last night and no, I did NOT pay $80 for the fight. The first round of the fight looked about even between the two and it would have been a tough call for the officials. I think that most of the Tweets that were coming in were probably accurate about McGregor winning round one 10-9 but anyone who gets excited about a first round performance doesn't really understand how this game works.
For one thing, Conor would have been ahead on points because of one punch and one punch only. He hit Dustin with a sharp about mid-way through the round that Poirier would later admit "flash KO'd me." He said in the post-fight interview that if Conor had followed up, the outcome of the fight could have been very different.
But as I sat in my spot at the bar between rounds 1 and 2 I noticed something that is never a good sign for a fighter at any level of MMA: Conor looked tired.
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This is the left that Dustin said he could have been finished by if McG had followed up
In a 5 round fight, one of the biggest aspects of the game is conservation of energy or in the case of people that are more human than human, having such incredible cardio that they just seem to have a never-ending supply of energy. Nate Diaz comes to mind when I think of this. That guy just never seems to run out of gas.
As Conor sat on his stool between round 1 and 2 taking very deep breaths, he already looked defeated. Poirier on the other hand looked just as fresh as he did at the start of the fight. Could it be that Conor had been neglecting his cardio because he had already defeated Dustin back in 2014? I suppose.
Around the middle of the fight Conor seemed to be running away while in round one he was the one doing most of the pursuing. There's some grey area here about whether or not you agree with this sentiment but that was the way it looked to me.
Conor was about as gracious in defeat as I have ever seen him be and he didn't make any excuses immediately after the fight but did sort of deflect the loss to lack of preparation later in the day.
When he exited the arena, he was hobbling with a cane which is a testament to the leg kicks that he didn't check well enough, particularly in round 2.
So Dana White is probably a bit upset at the moment because there is no doubt that he was really hoping for a McGregor win so that he could lure Khabib out of retirement for a fight of massive proportions later on in 2021. As it stands now, it wouldn't make any sense to give this chance to McGregor and Khabib hasn't really shown much interest in humbling anyone else in the division.
This convincing loss to Poirier could result in Conor getting pushed down a few slots in the lightweight division but then again, maybe not seeing as how both Tony Ferguson and Dan Hooker have also lost their latest fights. In other news, Michael Chandler truly shined in his debut and I will have to go into analysis of that particular fight in a bit more detail later.
Conor doesn't need any more money and after being basically dismantled by Dustin Poirer yesterday I can't really imagine a big fight in his future unless he uses his mouth to make it happen. Even if he talks mad trash towards Khabib (perhaps at Dana's behest) it would be exceptionally unfair of the UFC to grant this fight when there are so many others that should have "first dibs" at that honor.
McGregor is not one to want to be anything but a headliner, and the only thing in my mind that would make any sense would be for him to go up in weight and be a headliner in welterweight. Not that this would necessarily do him any favors since that division is absolutely stacked with talent at the moment.
Would Conor even be willing to headline a non Pay Per View? It seems unlikely to me. I think the future could look rather bleak for McGregor unless he can swallow his pride and make an absolutely stunning show later on in the year perhaps as a co-main event.