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‘He Mauled Conor’- Khabib Nurmagomedov on Whether Conor McGregor Could Have Beaten Dustin Poirier in Round 2

Published 07/13/2021, 10:02 AM EDT

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Former UFC interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier ended his trilogy clash with Conor McGregor with TKO win at UFC 264. However, he won’t be entirely satisfied with the victory as McGregor met with an unfortunate incident in the dying seconds of the first round. His leg snapped and he couldn’t fight further.

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If we put that aside for a moment, Poirier dominated him for the majority of that first round. Even the scoring revealed by the judges later showed ‘The Diamond’ won that round.

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But now, sports pundits and fans can only speculate what would have happened if McGregor had continued. A certain Khabib Nurmagomedov too, who has defeated both men, gave his opinion on the same.

 “What’s gonna happen? I don’t think something’s gonna happen,” ‘The Eagle’ said. “The judges gave Dustin Poirier 10-8. He mauled (McGregor) in (the first) round. If they fight 100 times, Dustin is gonna beat him 100 times.”

Khabib had also tweeted after Poirier won the match. He wrote,Good always defeats evil. Very happy for @DustinPoirier I hope you will get the belt end of the year.”

Khabib has seen both of them from close quarters. He met McGregor at UFC 229 for the lightweight gold and successfully defended his title after submitting the latter in round 4.

‘You Can See Where It Breaks’- Joe Rogan Breaks Down Conor McGregor’s Freak Injury at UFC 264

Meanwhile, Khabib met Poirier at UFC 242 for another defense of his gold. He defeated him after applying submission in round 3.

What’s next for Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor?

Poirier (28-6) can heave a sigh of relief after securing the trilogy win over McGregor. He can now turn his attention towards the biggest thing that has eluded him till now, the undisputed lightweight title.

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He has become the number one contender for Charles Oliveira’s title. Both the jiu-jitsu masters are expected to collide sometime later this year.

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Meanwhile, McGregor will be out for an indefinite time. After surgery, he needs time to rehabilitate and reassess what he has in his hand. It will be a long journey for him now, getting back to the top.

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Do you agree with Khabib’s statement?

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Written by:

Akshyay Srichandan Mahapatra

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Akshyay Mahapatra is a UFC author for EssentiallySports. He wished to combine his passion for the UFC (that he has been following since 2008) as well as his love for writing. This motivated him to enter the world of combat sports journalism.
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