Poirier on McGregor’s insults before the first fight: “I wanted to beat him at weigh-ins”

Already this Sunday, the first battle island of 2021 will take place on the “battle island” in Abu Dhabi. UFC UFC 257 pay-per-view tournament, in the main fight of which we will see the former Irish champion from two different weight classes return after a year off. Conorą McGregorą (22-4) and former American weightlifting champion Dustiną Poirier (26-6).

These fighters had already met in the UFC cage in 2014 in September. C. McGregor then justified his status as a favorite and in just 1 minute. 46 sec. knocked out by D. Poirier. It is true that that fight took place in the lightweight category (up to 65.8kg) and now it will be fought at lightweight (up to 70.3kg). A lot has changed since then. Both athletes have improved both as fighters and personalities, forming families and developing mutual respect.

Meanwhile, before the first fight, McGregor spilled a lot of “dirt” on Poirier. The American admits that then the Irish words confused his mind and he still wanted to beat C. McGregor in the deliberations.

“I wanted him to retract his words. I remember wanting to hit him while he was still weighing, which now probably sounds crazy. Right at that moment, he was in a very strange psychological state. I felt like the whole world wanted Conor’s victory over me. UFC wanted his victory, the media wanted new stars. It seemed that everything was being done to lose. “I thought the fans came to the arena just to see my loss,” Poirier told ESPN.

American anxiety was not unfounded. The fight ended in the first round and D. Poirier found himself knocked out for the first time in his life.

“It just came to our notice then. All the energy in the crowd scared me. It was difficult to stand there and see what he had to endure,” recalled Poirier’s wife, who watched the tournament among the spectators. Jolie.

After the defeat, Poirier did not want to become a mere forgotten victim of C. McGregor. The American did not give up and soon began the best stage of his career, losing only once in 11 UFC fights and after a victory against Maxą Holloway turned temporary world champion.

“He told me that now no one could call him a loser. That phrase still worries me as much as the first time I heard it. I didn’t think he felt that way. He hugged me after the victory and said that there was no one left and that tonight had become something, ”said Poirier’s mother. Jere chaisson.

At the moment, Poirier is probably one victory away from a chance to fight for the world champion belt again. If he defeats C. McGregor, no one can ignore the American.

[email protected]

The reproduction of the information of the news portal sportas.lt in the media and on the Internet pages without written consent is prohibited.