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There was a time when Dustin Poirier was not considered a match for Conor McGregor. Regardless of who the Irishman was put up against, he was always considered the favorite. But while 'Notorious' has earned a reputation for being one of the greatest UFC fighters ever, he now stands bested by Dustin Poirier.
Conor McGregor is arguably one of the best things to happen to MMA. The UFC superstar has ridiculed some of the best mixed martial artists as if they were amateurs, both inside and outside the octagon. The Irishman was the first fighter in the UFC to hold two titles simultaneously and the first in the organization to earn a million dollars in a single fight.
However, 'Diamond' has put blood and sweat into his craft to come out bigger and better than McGregor. Let's see why.
Here are three reasons Dustin Poirier is a better fighter than Conor McGregor.
#3 - Dustin Poirier is a workhorse
Dustin Poirier started his MMA career for the love of combat, but after more than a decade of thrashing people, he has truly carved himself into 'The Diamond.' While Conor McGregor kept dominating until he became the "champ-champ" in 2016, the story is not the same anymore.
'Notorious' was stripped of his lightweight title in 2016 due to inactivity. Conor McGregor has taken a hiatus from MMA for boxing and has even retired a few times. Meanwhile, Dustin Poirier has evolved inside the UFC octagon and is even considered a better boxer than Conor.
Also Read: Ranking the top 10 boxers in the UFC.
Since 2017, 'Diamond' has had ten outings in the UFC octagon compared to Conor's four. He has been a true workhorse, and that is considered a major reason for Dustin Poirier's domination of Conor McGregor of late.
UFC referee John McCarthy admitted that being away from the fight game for considerable periods had set Conor McGregor towards a decline. It is also being explained as one of the reasons that caused 'Notorious' to suffer the freak injury in a TKO loss at UFC 264.
#2 - Dustin Poirier has been significantly more successful than Conor McGregor since 2017
Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier met for the first time in the UFC in 2014. 'Mystic Mac,' who predicted a first-round knockout against Poirier, proved to be correct. Over the next two years, McGregor became one of the biggest stars in the UFC, conquering featherweight and lightweight gold.
Dustin Poirier, though, moved to the lightweight division and built himself back from scratch. Following his loss against Conor at UFC 178, Poirier went on a four-fight winning streak, scoring three first-round knockout wins in the process.
Also Read: 5 unknown facts about Dustin Poirier.
With one losing a bout at UFC Fight Night 94, and another becoming the promotion's first-ever double champ at UFC 205, 2016 ended on different notes for both fighters.
2017 marked a new start for Dustin Poirier. He picked up an excellent record of 8-1-1 on his way to becoming the lightweight title contender, putting away every competitor he faced except Khabib Nurmagomedov. Conor McGregor fought four times in the same period, going 1-3.
And while the Irishman's sole win came against Donald Cerrone, Dustin Poirier has defeated former champions and MMA legends like Anthony Pettis, Max Holloway, Justin Gaethje and even Conor McGregor.
No other fighter in the UFC lightweight division has been as dominant as Dustin Poirier in the past five years, apart from former UFC champ Khabib 'The Eagle' Nurmagomedov. In terms of performances in recent years, Conor McGregor has not even come close to Poirier.
#1 - Dustin Poirier is 2-1 against Conor McGregor
When looking for statistics and arguments to see why Dustin Poirier is a better fighter than Conor McGregor, there's no better place to look than their head-to-head record. The two have now faced each other three times in the UFC, and 'Diamond' has come out victorious, with the score reading 2-1 in his favor.
Dustin Poirier avenged his 2014 loss against Conor McGregor at UFC 257 by becoming the first man to knock 'Notorious' out. The former UFC champion went into an outburst soon after, calling his rival's win nothing but a fluke. The Irishman also claimed that his UFC 257 loss was a result of him being more concerned about another boxing bout.
Ahead of UFC 264, Conor McGregor also promised to murder Dustin Poirier inside the octagon. He said at the pre-fight press conference:
"Tomorrow night, I’m gonna make this man (Dustin Poirier) pay with his life and I mean it. You’re dead in that octagon."
However, UFC 264 saw a completely different picture than predicted by 'Mystic Mac.' While McGregor entered as fiery as ever, landing relentless kicks on Poirier in the first minute or so, he ended up losing the round and broke his tibia.
Dustin Poirier executed a takedown, evaded a guillotine, and landed some vicious ground and pound on Conor McGregor. In the dying seconds of the round, 'Notorious' suffered a freak accident, possibly because of Poirier checking one of Conor's kicks. Although a doctor's stoppage marred the fight, 'Diamond' went home with a TKO win.
Dustin Poirier is now set on a path that leads to bigger and better things. 'Diamond' will fight Charles Oliveira for the UFC lightweight title, and deservingly so. After all, he has proven to be a better fighter than Conor McGregor.
Also read: 5 times Conor McGregor proved to be the cockiest fighter ever.
