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The much-anticipated trilogy between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor ended with an anti-climax in the main event at UFC 264. Conor McGregor became a victim of a freak injury and broke his leg, bringing an end to the contest at the end of the first round.
While McGregor's striking looked sharp and precise early in the fight, Dustin Poirier started to inflict serious damage in the standup. This forced the Irishman to clinch Poirier and surprisingly jump into a guillotine attempt. While there have been various discussions about the unusual move from McGregor, Dustin Poirier recently provided his opinion on the topic.
According to 'The Diamond', the failed guillotine attempt from Conor McGregor was a desperate move to save himself from Poirier's overwhelming strikes. Dustin Poirier recently told boxing legend Teddy Atlas in an episode of The Fight:
"Yeah, he definitely didn't wanna be in that position. But he knew at that same time he wasn't being punched, he was protected. maybe it's not a good position but it's a better position than he was in. And as a fighter we know those little battles that happen inside the fight. There are small battles that happen in the big battle. And that's what that was. It was him protecting himself. Maybe you know (Conor thought),'I might be on my back for a little bit this round but I'm not gonna get finished on my feet.' He was hurt and he was protecting himself, that's what I really think happened there."
Dustin Poirier wanted Conor McGregor to squeeze
Dustin Poirier realized that the bout swayed in his favor when Conor McGregor desperately tried to sink in the guillotine. A talented Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Poirier fought his way out of the choke and started mounting offense from top position.
According to 'The Diamond', he wanted McGregor to strain himself with the guillotine attempt in order to impact the Irishman's performance in the later rounds. Dustin Poirier further told Teddy Atlas:
"But in the back of my head I was thinking that, when he was sqeezing the choke, like I knew his arms were gonna be tired cause I felt how hard he was squeezing. As the fight goes on, that pop, that counter-punching ability is gonna get affected when your arms are filled with blood from squeezing. So, I knew everything was going in my favor. I felt like I was in the driver's seat. I wanted him to squeeze, to strain, let's get worked up. Cause I have a lot of confidence in my cardio."
