The highly-anticipated UFC 264 trilogy bout between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier unceremoniously concluded due to a shocking freak accident. The Irishman suffered an apparent broken leg after awkwardly planting his left foot onto the canvas in the closing seconds of the first round.
After thorough deliberations, referee Herb Dean called the fight off as the severely injured McGregor grimaced in pain. Defiant to the end, 'The Notorious' screamed at the officials to make sure that the final result was announced as a doctor's stoppage instead of a regular technical knockout.
Dustin Poirier was able to dominate Conor McGregor on the ground for a long stretch of the first round. McGregor attempted to put Poirier away with a guillotine choke, but Poirier was able to escape and regain a dominant position.
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Towards the end of the opening round, McGregor successfully got back up into a standing position. The Irishman tried to evade Poirier's punch but when he stepped back, he rolled his ankle and snapped his leg.
After the horn went off, McGregor appeared to have signaled that there was something wrong with his leg. Shortly thereafter, officials came to his aid and called for a stoppage.
Due to the unfortunate turn of events, Poirier came away with his third straight victory while McGregor suffered back-to-back defeats at the hands of his rival. The Irishman stayed on the ground as Poirier was declared the victor.
Dustin Poirier taunts Conor McGregor
In the lead-up to UFC 264, Dustin Poirier remained quiet while Conor McGregor stayed on-brand by talking an enormous amount of trash. But once the dust had settled, it was Poirier who had the final say.
Adding insult to injury, 'The Diamond' called Conor McGregor out for his antics in and out of the octagon. During the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Poirier said:
"There's no holds barred with a trashtalk, right? But murder is not something you don't clown around, there's no coming back from that. This guy was saying he's gonna murder me; he was telling me he was gonna kill me."
"He was putting his fingers on my glove and pulling me down to throw the upkicks. I was trying to let Herb know that. This guy is a dirtbag, man."
The trilogy fight ended with Dustin Poirier standing tall.