Poirier stuns McGregor with 2nd-round TKO

Dustin Poirier exacted his revenge in the main event of UFC 257.

The lightweight contender stunned the MMA world Saturday night, finishing Conor McGregor via TKO at 2:32 of the second round in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

After the victory, Poirier said he deserves to be the lightweight champion.

"If Khabib (Nurmagomedov) is not coming back, me and Conor are the two best guys," Poirier said in his postfight interview. "I think this was a title fight. I'm the champion."

McGregor pressured Poirier up against the fence midway through the second round, but "The Diamond" eventually reversed the position. He started teeing off on the former two-division champion and dropped him with a brutal right hand. Referee Herb Dean stepped in after Poirier landed a couple of follow-up shots on the ground.

Saturday's main event was a rematch from 2014 when McGregor knocked out Poirier in the first round at featherweight. Poirier suggested that a trilogy fight could be in the cards.

"We're 1-1, maybe have to do it again," he said.

McGregor returned from a 12-month layoff against Poirier. His last bout was a 40-second win over Donald Cerrone. And before Saturday, the Irishman had only competed twice since 2016.

"It's hard to overcome inactivity over long periods of time, and that's just it," McGregor said in his postfight interview, also crediting the leg kicks Poirier landed.

"(My) leg was dead," McGregor said. "I just wasn't as comfortable as I needed to be. It's the inactivity, and that's it. But Dustin's some fighter."

With the victory, Poirier extended his winning streak to two. He is now 7-1 (1 NC) in his past nine bouts.

McGregor fell short for the first time since a submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2018. The 32-year-old is 1-2 in his past three outings.