Last Saturday, the combat world witnessed in real-time the razor-thin line between soaring ambition and tragic collapse. It’s a tale as old as Icarus. At UFC 329, Conor McGregor’s five-year comeback odyssey came to a crashing, catastrophic halt in just over a minute, the casualty of a freak knee blowout due to an awkward flying roundhouse kick that immediately forced the Irishman off the canvas and straight onto a surgeon’s table for an ACL tear.

While the ambitious return fell apart the same way as Icarus’ wings, in the aftermath of the loss to Max Holloway, speculation began to gain wind across social media that the former two-division champion had intentionally quit. However, his long-time rival Dustin Poirier isn’t buying that theory. Despite one of the most bitter rivalries in UFC history that saw them fight thrice, the former interim lightweight champion defended Conor McGregor during a conversation with a veteran boxing coach.

“I’ve had a lot of time with Conor over the past 12 years, and I just don’t think he’s a quitter like that,” Poirier told Teddy Atlas. “That’s tough for me. I don’t know if that’s possible with him. If he wanted a built-in excuse, a storyline that’s already wrote itself, and he can blame it on his leg, do something dumb, I don’t know if he’s that type of guy, you know? I’ll say a lot of bad stuff about him, but a quitter, I’m not sure.

“He’s a real competitor and wants to win 100%. And I doubt he needed the money. It wasn’t like he was showing up for a paycheck. I really don’t understand what went on.”

There haven’t been many occasions in the past where Poirier has publicly defended Conor McGregor. As such, his current defense of the Irishman matters. Even UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier defended the 38-year-old after the fight, stating that “we need to be careful when we judge because there have been times when people have done crazy things to start fights, and they’ve worked.” Cormier argued that had the flying roundhouse kick “landed,” McGregor would have been praised instead of being blasted by conspiracy theories claiming he threw the fight.

While Poirier defended the Irishman against the quitter narrative, he did acknowledge that Conor McGregor looked physically different leading into the bout.

“Definitely he looked bloated,” he told Atlas. “I thought his face looked a little shiny, under his eyes looked a little full. His cheeks looked full. Could be because he’s been living an unhealthy lifestyle. Also, he is fighting up at welterweight. You know, that’s 15 pounds heavier than his normal weight class at 155. But I don’t feel like 15 pounds would make your face that bloated. I don’t know what’s going on. His body looked fit. His face looked unhealthy.”

Still, the 37-year-old stopped short of suggesting McGregor intentionally entered the fight compromised. Even the 22-7 fighter pushed back against this narrative in an X post, declaring, “The talk of me being off while walking into the fight is nonsense.”

So, it stands to reason that Conor McGregor, in all likelihood, was neither injured nor did he look for an easy way out.

Defending Conor McGregor didn’t stop Dustin Poirier from calling his injury ‘karma’

Although the Louisiana native defended McGregor against accusations that he quit, he made it clear he had little sympathy for the injury itself. Appearing hours later on the UFC on Paramount show, the former interim UFC champ described McGregor’s ACL injury as karma.

“I thought it couldn’t have happened to a better guy. You know, that injury couldn’t have happened to a better guy,” Poirier said on the UFC on Paramount show. “I saw earlier this week he said karma is a mirror, and it definitely is, man. This guy’s a dirtbag.”

Poirier also questioned Conor McGregor’s decision to begin a five-round fight with an aggressive jumping roundhouse kick.

“I don’t know if it was nervous energy. I don’t know why you would start a fight like that, he added. “They’re saying this was planned to start the fight like that. There’s footage of him like training to open the fight with this jump kick, but I just don’t understand why you would do that.

“That’s like a Hail Mary. You’re throwing a Hail Mary to start the fight, start a 25-minute fight. I don’t understand what was going on with that.”

While many, including Joe Rogan, have called his decision to open the fight with the roundhouse kick “crazy,” many UFC fighters in the past have opened fights with kicks.

Justin Gaethje has opened fights with kicks, though they haven’t been jumping roundhouse kicks. Most famously, Jorge Masvidal sprinted directly across the cage at the opening bell and launched a flying knee at Ben Askren, knocking him out cold in just 5 seconds at UFC 239. While most choose to open their fights with low kicks to maintain distance with their opponents, Conor McGregor’s decision to open with a roundhouse kick in that context does appear reckless.

But as Cormier stated, had it worked, people would have likely praised him instead of the flak he’s receiving now. Regardless, the 38-year-old now has to deal with the ramifications of an ACL tear that will likely keep him out of the Octagon for probably a year. With one more fight left in his UFC contract, it remains to be seen if 2027 will see him come back once again and if he’ll fight Max Holloway for a third time or someone else entirely.