McGregor Wasn’t The Same After Poirier Loss – ‘It Was The Nail In The Coffin’

Matt Brown believes Conor McGregor lost his aura when he lost to Dustin Poirier in their third fight.

Their rivalry was tied at 1-1 before Dustin stopped McGregor at UFC 264 on July 10, 2021, to win the trilogy. McGregor suffered a broken leg, something he has not come back from. The Notorious pulled out of his UFC 303 scheduled fight for June 29, 2024, against Michael Chandler, while Poirier’s retirement ended any hopes of Conor getting revenge. While McGregor has reentered the UFC testing pool, his future is uncertain, despite having two fights left on his UFC contract.

“Now his identity kind of got ripped apart by Dustin Poirier. Dustin took his soul. Khabib [Nurmagomedov] probably first, but Dustin kind of put the nail in the coffin on that. Now he’s not a winner with that identity. Now he’s not even competing anymore. That’s a lot to deal with for anyone. So you’ve got to have a little bit of sympathy on that side. It is a lot to deal with,” Brown said 

Implications

After the defeat, McGregor said to Joe Rogan that it wasn’t over, indicating his desire for a fourth fight. The Irishman even targeted Poirier’s wife, saying she was sending him DMs on his social media. This created immense anticipation for a fourth fight. A defining characteristic of McGregor’s persona was his ability to always bounce back, but his leg injury has made that impossible.

Meanwhile, his public appearances and social media posts lack the same confident ferocity they once had. McGregor has been seen regularly partying and smoking, hardly the lifestyle of an elite athlete. He has also been found liable in a civil sexual assault lawsuit after having lost his appeal against Nikita Hand. Just like Conor was unable to avenge the Khabib Nurmagomedov defeat, McGregor will have to deal with the Poirier loss, knowing he failed to perform when it mattered most. 

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