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UFC fans flocked to social media after Conor McGregor’s shock loss to Dustin Poirier, with many taking the opportunity to poke fun at the Irishman’s unsuccessful return to the Octagon.
Poirier (26-7) on Sunday caught up to McGregor with a series of headshots before flexing his knees with two left hands. Poirier then sent McGregor to the canvas with a short right hand and finished it at 2:32 of the second, setting off stunned excitement among the few thousand screaming fans allowed inside the Etihad Arena on the island of Yas.
In his first fight in a year, McGregor (22-5) had a solid first round before being stopped by punches for the first time in his mixed martial arts career. McGregor, whose previous four losses were all due to submission, remained on the canvas for several moments afterward, rallying after his second loss in his three MMA fights since 2016.
“It’s hard to get over inactivity over a long period of time,” McGregor said after the fight.
“My leg was dead and I wasn’t as comfortable as I needed to be. It is inactivity.
“I have to dust it off and come back and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov was arguably the only fighter fans had hoped to see react after the fight, and he didn’t disappoint.
Nurmagomedov, who beat McGregor in 2018, made it more evident that a rematch between the two fighters likely wouldn’t happen when he took to Twitter to take a look at the Irish fighter’s prep.
“That’s what happened, when you change teams, let the sparring partners who made you a champion and argue with little kids, far from reality,” Nurmagomedov tweeted.
YouTuber Jake Paul also took the opportunity to poke fun at McGregor. Paul had previously made no secret of his desire to fight the UFC star, with offers of $ 50 million to bring McGregor back to the boxing ring.
“Hey, Conor! Hey, Conor!” he said in a video he tweeted.
“I have $ 10,000 for you, in cash! In cash, baby! Oh, you had $ 50 million!”
While others on social media thought Conor just wasn’t looking at himself, many wonder what he’ll do next.
– with AP
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