"The plan was to be a mixed martial artist" - Dustin Poirier reveals the preparation behind his win over Conor McGregor

Dustin Poirier has revealed that the plan was to be a mixed martial artist in his UFC 257 fight against Conor McGregor. Poirier asserted that he was preparing to use his full arsenal of weapons against McGregor.

Poirier’s first fight against Conor McGregor, which transpired at UFC 178 in September 2014, ended with McGregor defeating Poirier via first-round TKO.

Their rematch, which transpired at UFC 257 (January 23, 2021), witnessed Dustin Poirier defeating Conor McGregor via second-round TKO. Poirier’s multi-pronged strategy in the rematch was praised by many.

Conor McGregor’s greatest strength is known to be his boxing. And what Poirier did was utilize a healthy mixture of takedowns, clinch-work, leg kicks (calf kicks in particular), as well as boxing to weaken and eventually knock McGregor out. In an appearance on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, Dustin Poirier stated:

“Me and my team know I’m dangerous in the dirty boxing in the clinch. So, I thought I’ll be able to land good shots there. And we also thought if it got there, we’ll make him strain and get his arms full of blood and maybe take away some of the pop when we got back in the middle of the Octagon. The plan was to be a mixed martial artist. The plan wasn’t, ‘go out there. Kick his leg. Get a takedown’. It was to do whatever’s available, to use all of my weapons, that was the main thing preached throughout this whole training camp. To kick when I saw an opening, to punch when I saw an opening, throw elbows, use my takedowns, to use my trips; to just show my full arsenal and try to beat him everywhere. Chip, chip, chip away, until an opportunity presents itself to end the fight. And in this one, it just presented itself a little sooner than I expected.” (*H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)

Conor McGregor left the locker room with a single crutch after #UFC257 pic.twitter.com/pbOiKhm52f

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 24, 2021

Furthermore, Dustin Poirier reiterated that the leg kicks – something that severely compromised McGregor’s lead leg and limited his mobility – were just a part of the plan and he didn’t rely solely on them.

Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor 3 is one of the biggest fights to make in 2021

Dustin Poirier (left); Conor McGregor (right)

The aftermath of UFC 257 has seen Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor, and their respective teams suggest that they’re open to the trilogy fight.

"We'll do it again!"All respect between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier after #UFC257.You can see the damage those leg kicks did 😳 pic.twitter.com/6m9SJeCpkg

— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) January 24, 2021

The consensus in the combat sports world is that with their series tied at 1-1 – both fights being truly exciting clashes – a third fight between Poirier and McGregor would be an excellent matchup from both a sporting and business perspective in 2021.