Watch: Conor McGregor leaves the octagon on a stretcher as irony prevails at UFC 264

Conor McGregor had promised to send out Dustin Poirier on a stretcher after he was done with him in their rivalry-settling trilogy fight at UFC 264. However, as fate would have it, it would be the Irishman who would leave the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on a stretcher. The Dublin native was seen writhing in pain and bitterly disappointed about the outcome of the fight.

McGregor started brilliantly, giving Poirier a taste of his own medicine with brutal leg kicks. However, towards the end of an explosive first round, McGregor rolled his ankle, ending up breaking the lower part of his shin. The contest was stopped thereafter, and Poirier was announced the winner via TKO due to doctor's stoppage.

Conor McGregor leaves the TMobile arena on a stretcher after #UFC264 pic.twitter.com/4WFc325mJD

— Carlos Contreras Legaspi (@CCLegaspi) July 11, 2021

According to Poirier, he checked one of those hard leg kicks, and that's what led to McGregor breaking his leg later in the fight. Although Poirier couldn't finish Conor McGregor, he was certainly inflicting a great deal of damage from the top position. Poirier's powerful ground-and-pound strikes busted up the Irishman, and it would have been interesting to see how the second round would unfold.

Poirier swears McGregor cracked his ankle on a Conor kick that he checked #UFC264 pic.twitter.com/g9NwuBYUrd

— Tony Cordasco (@TonyDasco) July 11, 2021

Conor McGregor had his moments in the fight with leg kicks, a good cross early on, and later some meaty elbow strikes from the bottom. However, his decision to go for a guillotine backfired as he wasted precious energy and ended up on his back. This is the same mistake Poirier made when he fought Khabib Nurmagomedov, so he knew exactly how to deal with the situation.

Khabib Nurmagomedov adds insult to Conor McGregor's injury in the aftermath of UFC 264

Conor McGregor's arch-rival Khabib Nurmagomedov has taken a dig at him following his TKO loss to Poirier at UFC 264. Congratulating Poirier on the win, Nurmagomedov claimed that 'good always defeats evil'. Khabib also said he hopes Poirier will fight for the lightweight title by the end of the year.

"Good always defeats evil. Very happy for Dustin Poirier. I hope you will get the belt end of the year," Nurmagomedov tweeted.

Good always defeats evil.Very happy for @DustinPoirier I hope you will get the belt end of the year

— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) July 11, 2021