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Daniel Cormier believes that Dustin Poirier's actions following the closing bell of round one in the Conor McGregor rematch were a little more than a casual interaction.
In a recent video posted on his Twitter account, former two-division champion and UFC color commentator Daniel Cormier deciphered the meaning of a short interaction between the two fighters. The video is a part of an ESPN+ show called 'Detail', where Cormier analyses finer details of UFC fights.
The video begins with a short clip of the UFC 257 rematch between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor. Poirier punches McGregor's gut gently in a gesture of camaraderie and as an acknowledgement of a well-fought round before going back to their respective corners. As the video continues, Daniel Cormier compares Dustin Poirier's actions with retired professional basketball player Kevin Garnett. He makes the argument that Poirier's action was a part of the mind games he played with Conor McGregor to assert his control over the battle.
"Such psychological warfare by Dustin Poirier... I know it seems like nothing. But go watch a basketball game. Go and watch when there's a fall. The guy with the ball on the wing tries to shoot a three-pointer or something. Watch Kevin Garnett. He was giving you nothing. Even if the play was over, Kevin Garnett jumps up and just grabs the ball... You get nothing free, you don't get nothing extra... Dustin Poirier, that little slight punch to the body, that's him playing the game constantly with Conor McGregor," Daniel Cormier said.
UFC 257 PPV event took place on January 23, 2020, at Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The event was headlined by a rematch between lightweight contenders Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor. Dustin Poirier won the fight via second-round TKO and avenged his loss against McGregor in their first meeting back in 2014. The event also featured the much-awaited UFC debut of former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler against No. 6 ranked fighter Dan Hooker. Chandler won the fight via first-round knockout.
Dustin Poirier may not agree with Daniel Cormier's assessment of his actions in the Conor McGregor fight
Daniel Cormier's assessment of Dustin Poirier's actions in the Conor McGregor fight is based upon body language analysis. In his appearance on the Morning Combat show, Dustin Poirier dismissed the analysis by some experts and fighters who believed Dustin Poirier's body language in the UFC 257 fight week indicated that he was losing the mental warfare against Conor McGregor.
"Fighting is the only part that I like about this whole process... Because everybody's an expert, everybody's a body language expert, everybody's a coach, everybody's a technician on everything," Dustin Poirier told Luke Thomas
