Win or lose, Conor McGregor will always have plenty of options.
At UFC 257, “The Notorious” Conor McGregor fell to Dustin Poirier via second-round TKO in a major upset. McGregor was over a 3-to-1 favorite heading into the bout, perhaps in part because he already held a victory over Poirier. McGregor defeated Poirier convincingly at UFC 178, and it was onwards and upwards for him ever since. This was over six years ago, however, and UFC 257 saw an opposite result, with Poirier having his hand raised as McGregor lay vanquished on the canvas.
This is not the first time Conor McGregor was stopped in the UFC. That honor of course would belong to Nate Diaz, who submitted Conor McGregor at 196 to hand McGregor his first loss in the promotion. Following the loss, McGregor did not want to hear of anything else other than a rematch against Diaz. He got that rematch in his very next fight in what would go down as one of the greatest fights in MMA history. McGregor was able to get the victory in a hard-fought, five-round war that saw him win the bout via majority decision.
Which Trilogy Fight Is Bigger?
Conor McGregor has always maintained that there would be a trilogy fight between him and Diaz. It would seem a no-brainer due to the massive financial success of the first two bouts plus the simple need to break the tie to determine who is the better man. But now, there is another trilogy staring McGregor in the face, that of Dustin Poirier. At the UFC 257 post-fight press conference, Conor McGregor was asked which trilogy fight would be the fight to make next.
“I think they’re both pretty big,” McGregor said. “Two southpaws as well, which is interesting. They’re both there. So we’ll see what happens.”
McGregor was then pressed on which of the two he would be more interested in, and he would have to confess to recency bias in his decision.
“Right now, I’d probably say Dustin, obviously. It’s fresh.”
Dustin Poirier also has options after defeating Conor McGregor. As the #1 contender in a division where there is likely going to be a vacated title, he is certainly in the driver’s seat at potentially fighting for the title next. As for Nate Diaz, he most recently loss to Jorge Masvidal in a BMF championship match in Madison Square Garden at UFC 244. White has said that Diaz already has a fight lined up for him, though, so this could possibly delay any potential trilogy pairing between Diaz and McGregor.
Which trilogy fight would YOU be more interested in? McGregor vs. Diaz III or McGregor vs. Poirier III?
