Dustin Poirier reacts after his knockout victory over Conor McGregor of Ireland in a lightweight fight during the UFC 257 event inside Etihad Arena on UFC Fight Island on January 23, 2021 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Conor McGregor felt the brunt of some brutal Dustin Poirier leg kicks in his loss at UFC 257
Dustin Poirier used a ton of devastating leg kicks to nullify Conor McGregor’s movement at UFC 257.
This was an incredible technique, especially with McGregor not checking the kicks, and it paid off in the second round.
McGregor was already hobbling a bit after the blows and Poirier knocked down his rival in the second round. Calf kicks are always difficult to deal with and Poirier was asked by Bruce Buffer and TJ De Santis if this was one of his secret weapons against the Irishman.
Poirier was on the “It’s Time” podcast of Buffer’s and confirmed this was an actual plan:
“This was one of the big ones we wanted to use. You know, every fight’s different. I don’t really put a whole lot into single things when it comes to fighting, I like to keep an open mindset but this is something Mike Brown and my coaches have talked about and something I was working through training camp.”
Poirier also opened up on how this might have backfired, especially if McGregor checked the kicks:
“The thing with putting so much into a technique like if this was our game plan to tear his leg up. What if I got in there and he’d have checked started checking my kicks and hurt my foot. I wouldn’t be able to throw that then I would have been scrambling and thinking of what I was gonna do.”
However, the Diamond went on to say that he was always looking to fight and that was the real plan:
“The game plan was to fight and damn I am good at that.”
Poirier and McGregor are now 1-1 in their meetings, and it will be interesting to see what is next. The Diamond added that he wanted to throw McGregor off his rhythm and get into one of his own at UFC 257.
Poirier’s performance was possibly one of the best of his career, and he is in the hunt for a title shot. McGregor, for his part, might have been hurt by the leg kicks. However, it seems that not a lot of serious damage was done and he was already back on his feet.
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