Dustin Poirier says Conor McGregor’s injury during UFC 329 was “karma” for being a “dirtbag.”
Poirier spoke about the injury on Monday’s episode of “Deep Waters” after the fight was called off 69 seconds into the first round.
McGregor landed awkwardly on his right knee while trying a flying head kick and could not plant on that foot or move around the ring.
“I thought it couldn’t have happened to a better guy,” Poirier said. “That injury couldn’t have happened to a better guy. Earlier this week, he said karma is a mirror, and it definitely is.”
The injury raised questions from the fans who felt cheated out of McGregor’s first fight since 2021.
According to UFC CEO Dana White, though, the injury was not pre-existing, and McGregor and his team had planned on starting with a head kick for weeks — practicing and landing it multiple times in the days leading up to the fight.
“This guy is a dirtbag, and I don’t know if it was nervous energy or what. I don’t know why you would start a fight like that,” Poirier said. “… It’s like a Hail Mary, you’re throwing a Hail Mary to start a 25-minute fight. I don’t understand what was going on with that.”
Poirier continued saying McGregor isn’t 25 year old anymore and if his ACL is torn, which was the suspected injury post-fight, he won’t ever fight again.
Chris Weidman disagreed with Poirier and said fans will see McGregor in the octagon again, but he’s lost all of his juice and showmanship.
“I don’t think it’s going to be the same,” Weidman said. “I don’t think the excitement and the expectations are going to be the same ever again.”
However, following the fight, McGregor’s opponent Max Holloway praised the Irishman for his toughness and asked for a rematch when he’s ready.
McGregor has one more fight on his UFC contract and is now knotted at 1-1 in a two-fight series with Holloway.
They last fought in 2013 when McGregor won by unanimous decision.
Poirier’s animosity for McGregor comes from their three-fight series spanning from 2014-21.
The American beat McGregor twice in 2021, but he fell to him in a round-one knockout in 2014.
McGregor broke his leg in their final meeting.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
