UFC 257 Reaction: What's Next For McGregor and Poirier?
(Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty) via bleacherreport.com
I’m at a loss for words. I don’t think anyone in their right mind would have predicted Conor McGregor to get knocked out in the 2nd round of UFC 257, but Dustin “Diamond” Poirier shined bright to solidify himself as a legit title contender in the lightweight division.
As always, there was a ton of hype surrounding Conor’s return to the octagon. The Irish champ-champ closed as a -330 favorite and received over 90% of public bettor’s support. Vegas wins again... those bastards.
Don’t get me wrong, Poirier is no scrub, I had just fallen for the McGregor hype train leading up to the fight and failed to consider how talented of a stand-up fighter Poirier is. He’s legit. Even though Max Holloway claimed himself as “the best boxer in the UFC” during his last bout, Poirier has the better claim to the title considering he has now beaten Holloway twice and knocked out the so-called king of the UFC.
Despite Poirier spoiling countless parlays last night, this wasn’t as shocking of an upset as the media paints it to be. Poirier has now won six of his last seven bouts only losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov back in 2019.
It’s a tough go for McGregor, who has expressed his desire to break the UFC record and take on seven fights in the next 18 months. He got his ass beat, but handled it like a champ. One of my favorite aspects of MMA has always been the mutual respect between the fighters once the fight is over. It’s just cool.
The fight series is now evened at 1-1, and I am PRAYING for a trilogy. A rematch won’t come anytime soon, though I am curious as to what Dana White plans to do with these guys next.
For Conor? I would absolutely love to see a trilogy against Nate Diaz considering that series is tied 1-1 as well. Of course this is assuming McGregor decides to bump up a weight class rather than attempting to climb the ranks at the lightweight division. If McGregor decides to stay in lightweight, where he is now 1-2 in his UFC career, I would also want to see him take on Max Holloway. The only trouble with that is Max is likely in line for a title shot at 145 lbs, so we’ll have to wait and see if that’s even a possibility.
I’ll throw in Jake Paul as a dark horse. This kid is a fully-automated cringe factory. I mean seriously, who does he think he is? Paul offering McGregor $50 million to box him in a massive pay-per-view event is tomfoolery, but as a simple-minded spectator like myself would say -- “me want fight.” McGregor would embarrass Paul in front of his audience full of 9-year-olds, beating him to a bloody pulp. Not to get graphic, but fuck Jake Paul.
For Dustin? Michael Chandler makes the most sense to me. Chandler looked phenomenal in his UFC debut against Dan Hooker and lost me a shit-ton of money in the process (damn you Hooker). Even though Chandler had the balls to call out McGregor one fight into his UFC career, I don’t think Dana will match them up quite yet. McGregor wasn’t the newcomer's only call out of the night, Chandler claims he’s ready to take on Khabib…
I get it. Chandler just won his UFC debut in emphatic fashion against a proven fighter, he is making a name for himself, and the fans seem to love him; but calling out Khabib is the dumbest shit I’ve seen in a long time. Khabib is a bad motherfucker, and I guarantee the second they step in the octagon (if the fight were to happen) Chandler would eat his words.
There is a lot of speculation and rumors going around right now, but it looks like we are setting up for a fan-fucking-tastic lightweight title fight. Dana White has mentioned Justin Gaethje vs Charles Oliviera is “likely next,” so if this Poirier vs Chandler matchup comes to fruition, it’s essentially a semi-final for the belt. Ideally, a Gaethje vs Poirier matchup would come out of that which would be a ton of fun.
Whatever’s next, the lightweight division is lining up to be one of the most entertaining in the UFC.