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Conor McGregor went to war with Dustin Poirier for all the marbles of their trilogy fight at UFC 264 on Saturday, July 10, 2021.
After the contests the two have delivered on their previous two encounters, expectations were high from Saturday night's outing. However, it culminated in an anti-climactic finish as Conor McGregor broke his left ankle by stepping on the foot wrong after missing a punch.
Dustin Poirier was announced the winner of the trilogy bout by TKO via doctor's stoppage.
Here's a close-up of the moment Conor McGregor sustained the injury.
Following the fracture, referee Herb Dean immediately stepped in to separate Dustin Poirier from a fallen Conor McGregor and waved off the fight. Conor McGregor was seen and heard shouting at officials to make sure the result was declared a doctor's stoppage.
It was not a finish to the fight that anyone wanted or expected, least of all the fighters involved. In the post-fight interview, where Conor McGregor was visibly in a lot of pain, he claimed that this was not over.
'The Notorious' had to be carried out of the octagon on a stretcher, which is ironic since that is the fate Conor McGregor predicted for Dustin Poirier ahead of the event.
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Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier - A Trilogy for the Ages
A rivalry that UFC fans thoroughly enjoyed but almost did not see coming, Conor McGregor's feud with Dustin Poirier is seven years in the brewing.
The Mystic Mac scored a comfortable first-round knockout win in the first bout, just as he predicted he would. But for the second fight, 'The Diamond' had an ace up his sleeve in the form of vicious calf kicks, which successfully disarmed Conor McGregor once the fight went past the first couple of minutes when the Irishman was at his most explosive self.
But when it comes to the rivalry outside of the octagon, what started as a raging affair at UFC 178 mellowed down to a mutually respectful build-up ahead of UFC 257. However, at UFC 264, both southpaws came all guns blazing at each other, trading shots right up until the dramatic pre-fight press conference.
If Conor McGregor is the king of mind games, he surely found his match in Dustin Poirier this time around.
Conor McGregor started it, as is expected from his 'Notorious' persona, by throwing Dustin Poirier's Louisiana hot sauce bottles into the crowd. 'The Diamond' maintained his cool but stated in a warning to Dana White that he would slap McGregor if the Irishman got any closer to his side of the stage.
But at the end of the day, once the door of the cage closes, what matters is the battle that goes down inside the octagon, and in that battle, Dustin Poirier emerged victorious on Saturday night.
