By David Awopetu
Conor McGregor suffered a devastating defeat on his UFC lightweight return in Abu Dhabi last night.
The 32-year-old was stunned by American Dustin Poirier in the second round of their main event clash on Fight Island.
McGregor had beaten Poirier inside two minutes in September 2014 and was overwhelming favourite to see off his lightweight rival again in a bid to get Nurmagomedov to reverse his retirement decision.
The defeat left the Irish star’s hopes of a rematch with rival Khabib Nurmagomedov in tatters.
The UFC’s first simultaneous two-weight world champion was given a rude welcome back to the division after a year out of the octagon.
But American, Poirier, gained revenge, surviving one or two nervy moments in the first round and then gaining the upper hand in the second round with some savage kicks to McGregor’s lead leg.
Poirier forced McGregor back with a flurry of punches, flooring him with a short right hook before a couple of blows to the defenceless Irishman led to the end of the fight after two minutes and 32 seconds of the second round.
This was McGregor’s fifth defeat in 27 professional mixed martial arts contests while Poirier improved his record to 27 wins and six defeats.
The mutual admiration between the pair, both 32, has been evident in the build-up to this fight — Poirier even gave McGregor a bottle of his signature hot sauce at Friday’s weigh-in — and the respect continued after the bout.
A dejected McGregor said: “It’s hard to overcome inactivity over long periods of time. And that’s just it.
“The leg kicks were good. That low calf good was very good. The leg was dead and I just wasn’t as comfortable as I needed to be.
“It’s inactivity and that’s it. But Dustin is some fighter. If you put in the time in here, you’re going to get cosy in here and that’s it.
“I have to dust it off and come back and that;s it. And that’s what I’ll do.”
