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‘It Was Crazy’ – UFC Octagon Girl Recalls Watching Conor McGregor Getting Knocked Out for the First Time in His UFC Career

Published 02/16/2021, 1:43 PM EST

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UFC Octagon girl, Red Dela Cruz, sat down in an interview with Brad Gilmore for his show on YouTube. Cruz was present cage-side for the biggest PPV of 2021 so far, UFC 257. While millions watched Dustin Poirier knocking out Conor McGregor in the second round of their fight, Cruz watched the same from one of the best seats in the house.

Gilmore quizzed the octagon girl about her experience of witnessing McGregor’s fall from grace.

I don’t know what to say. I was sitting there, I was really focusing on the fight, and I was just shocked. On the first round, he was doing really well, and then on the second round, I was just like, what happened?” Cruz replied.

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She expressed her shock and surprise and said, “I looked at it with my colleague Camila, and I’m like, what happened? It was crazy. The fans were crazy.”

The proceedings at the Etihad Arena could undoubtedly be described with that word as fans witnessed a shocker at the first PPV of 2021.

Red Dela Cruz on the presence of fans affecting the performance of Conor McGregor

Ever since the pandemic affected live sports last year, the UFC, just like all other sports, had been forced to continue with zero fans. However, the event on Fight Island last month showed signs of the old normal with a small portion of the fans in the Etihad Arena. However, Dela Cruz doesn’t believe that the fans were a reason behind McGregor’s capitulation.

Not at all, not at all. I’ve been to the other Conor McGregor fight last year in January with Cowboy, and still the same energy. I don’t think it affected them that much. It feels good to have the fans back there. The energy was just amazing.”

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The fight was incredible, with the underdog Dustin Poirier knocking out Conor McGregor in the second round. Despite taking the first round on the judges’ scorecard, ‘The Notorious’ paid a heavy price for not checking Poirier’s leg kicks.

Despite this comprehensive win, the UFC seems to be on track for having the trilogy in the summer. Given the status of the two lightweights, there will be no shortage of hype behind the fight.

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What do you think Conor needs to do to counter the leg kicks from Poirier? Let us know in the comments below.

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Written by:

Aniket Awasthi

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Aniket Awasthi is a UFC author at EssentiallySports. This STEM undergraduate combines an insatiable urge to write with his admiration for MMA and the UFC in general to enhance his journalism. He calls charismatic names like Chael Sonnen and 'The Count' Michael Bisping as his favorite fighters, but he is a great admirer of the rise of Israel Adesanya ever since he fought Rob Wilkinson at UFC 221.
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