‘Weird Things Happen’-Joe Rogan Explains Why Conor McGregor Lost to Dustin Poirier at UFC 257

Dustin Poirier shocked the world when he knocked out Conor McGregor at UFC 257 back in January. Prior to that, McGregor had never been knocked out in MMA. Interestingly, many reasoned that McGregor lacked motivation because of the vast riches that he had accumulated. However, UFC commentator and analyst, Joe Rogan, dismissed those suggestions.

The UFC’s color commentator pointed out two factors as the main reason for the Irishman’s downfall. He believes McGregor’s inactivity inside the Octagon and the fact that ‘The Diamond’ has improved so much since they first fought at UFC 178 in 2014 caused the outcome.

While speaking to Kevin Holland and his coach Travis Lutter in an episode of his podcast, JRE, Rogan said, “I don’t think it’s necessarily a rich thing, I don’t know if that affects him that much. I do think it’s inactivity and I do think Dustin has gotten a lot better. At 145, Dustin was depleted and diminished. At 155, he’s f*cking huge. He doesn’t even look like a 155er. He looks like a 170. His back is f*cking gigantic.”

The UFC is looking to book a trilogy between ‘The Notorious’ and ‘The Diamond’ later this year. Rogan doesn’t want to count out McGregor to win that fight.

“You never know, because Conor did have moments in that fight. He had moments in the first round. Dustin said there was a moment in the first round where he got his bell rung and he was in trouble. Imagine if Conor connects again. That’s how fights are. Weird things happen,” he added.

Can Conor McGregor bounce back from his loss?

‘The Notorious‘ remains one of the finest fighters across the UFC roster. He has fought only 3 times since achieving the unprecedented simultaneous double champion status in 2016.

Not surprisingly, he has lost 2 of those fights. Inactivity is a big factor in MMA and especially in the UFC as the game is constantly evolving. Hence, regardless of how skilled a fighter is, he needs to constantly evolve his game.

With proper adjustments and a well-executed gameplan, McGregor can certainly bounce back from the loss. But he needs to stay active for that. Otherwise, it might be the same story again as he has lost 2 of his last 3 fights.

What did you make of Joe Rogan‘s assessment? Can ‘The Notorious’ win the trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier?