Conor McGregor has made numerous questionable decisions throughout his personal and professional life, shaping both his career and public image. Even so, fans immediately think of him when they think of MMA. More than four years have passed since McGregor last fought, yet he continues to dominate headlines, sometimes for his role as a BKFC co-owner and other times because of his personal life.

Fans are eagerly counting down the days as Conor McGregor could reportedly return to the UFC next year. Amid the return buzz, UFC commentator Joe Rogan recently weighed in on one of the Irishman’s controversial past fights, saying that if he were a friend, he would never have allowed McGregor to take it.

Joe Rogan sheds light on the actual bitterness

Joe Rogan believes Conor McGregor put everything on the line by taking the trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. According to the podcast, ‘The Notorious’ entered the bout with a compromised leg. Still driven by his desire for revenge after his previous loss to Poirier, the Irishman went ahead, which resulted in a horrific leg break in the opening round.

On The MMA Show, Rogan reflected on the severity of the situation.

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“If there’s ever a fight where I think a guy should’ve pulled out that didn’t, and if I was his friend, I would’ve told him, ‘You cannot fight,'” said Joe Rogan. “It’s Conor when he fought Dustin. The third fight with Dustin when his shin snapped in half.”

The podcaster also noted that Conor McGregor’s team was aware something was wrong before the fight.

“They knew that he had some sort of hairline fracture in his shin. He already had MRIs and everything — they knew something was wrong with it,” he explained. Joe Rogan recalled how Dustin Poirier immediately noticed Conor McGregor’s injury during the fight.

“If you watch that fight, there is one time where Dustin checks a kick, and he looked at him, pointed at him and was like, ‘I know that hurt you b**,'” Rogan said. Poirier was reacting to McGregor’s jabs at him and his family during the fight buildup, which had stoked anger and frustration.

Joe Rogan added that UFC 264 marked a noticeable change in McGregor’s demeanor compared to their previous fights.

“It was weird because in the first fight, it was like nice guy Conor. It was nice guy Conor, even after the fight. After the fight, he was being cool, he got KOd, his leg got f***ed up from those calf kicks, and after the fight, he was so respectful, and everyone was like, ‘Look, Conor turned a corner!'”

What had started as a friendly rivalry between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor took a sour turn after their rematch at UFC 257. Poirier publicly revealed that the Irishman failed to fulfill his $50,000 donation pledge to Poirier’s charity.

Since that moment, their rivalry has remained tense, and the incident continues to cast a shadow over their relationship.

Dustin Poirier shares his take on McGregor after the trilogy clash

Whenever Conor McGregor’s rivals step into the spotlight, his name automatically comes up. Naturally, Dustin Poirier, who faced the Irishman the most in their trilogy, takes the center of the conversation. Poirier fought two very different versions of McGregor. The first fight came in 2014, when ‘The Notorious’ was a rising UFC prospect just starting to make a name for himself.

Since then, their careers followed different paths. Over time, Conor McGregor became a global two-division champion, while Poirier rebuilt his lightweight career, became a fan favorite, and gradually set the stage for their trilogy.

Despite everything, Poirier still considers McGregor “special.” When asked by Patrick Bet-David about Conor McGregor.

“Conor McGregor, no doubt about it,” Poirier said in reference to the hardest puncher he’s fought. “As the biggest puncher I’ve fought? Yeah. He’s a special individual for sure. Fought him in 2014 – lost. That was when his trajectory was… sky’s the limit. He was on his way up, tore through everybody and he became a two-weight world champion.

“But, then I fought him twice in 2021. It was still the same [his power], it’s very dangerous, it’s just I felt differently mentally going into it.”

So, what’s your take on Poirier’s view of McGregor’s two versions? What do you think changed the Irishman the most? Drop your opinion in the comments section down below.