Conor McGregor claims that Dustin Poirier is not a future Hall of Famer and hasn’t done enough to deserve it.
Following his recent KO defeat at UFC 291, Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier appeared on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. During the interview, Poirier explained that although he is proud of his career and accomplishments to date, the BMF belt would have really meant something to him. Poirier expressed his disappointment at not being able to take the BMF belt home to his family and proceeded to show respect to Justin Gaethje, giving props for an impressive performance and highlight reel finish.
Mutual Respect.
Conor McGregor defeated Poirier by TKO during his featherweight title run back in 2014. The pair then met again in 2021. The atmosphere between the two seemed to be one of mutual respect. McGregor promoted Poirier’s “Louisiana Style Hot Sauce”, whilst Poirier returned the favour for McGregor’s “Proper 12”. With an agreement in place that McGregor would contribute to Poirier’s “Good Fight Foundation”, the two appeared to be cordial, sharing laughs, jokes and handshakes along the way.
McGregor Vs Poirier 2
Despite the build-up to the fight being respectful, the fight itself lived up to the hype surrounding it. Poirier got his revenge and became the first man to TKO McGregor in his MMA career. The two met after the fight and again showed some mutual respect for one another. Both men were seen agreeing to a trilogy bout in the future.
McGregor Vs Poirier 3
The build-up was a complete contradiction to the second fight. There appeared to have been a misunderstanding over McGregor’s pledge to contribute to Poirier’s “Good Fight Foundation”. This set up the pair for their trilogy bout with an animosity that captured the imagination of the MMA world. The build-up to the fight was intense, with the pair trading verbal blows to one another.
The fight was itself a cagey affair with both being more calculated with scores from their previous bouts sitting at 1-1. Then disaster struck. McGregor stepped back from an exchange on the feet and fell to the ground. Poirier jumped on McGregor and the fight was stopped. When the replays showed, the crowd around the arena gasped as it watched McGregor’s leg snap from underneath him.
The Aftermath
As McGregor sat with his back to the octagon looking at his broken leg, it was clear he was becoming irritated by Poirier celebrating the victory. McGregor began shouting verbal attacks at Poirier which led to Poirier walking towards McGregor in the “Billi-strut”. When the official announcement was read out by Bruce Buffer, McGregor began shouting “doctor stoppage” repeatedly. This was to ensure that the defeat didn’t state Poirier had won by TKO.
McGregor sat in agony on the octagon floor as doctors attended to his leg. Joe Rogan sat down beside McGregor and delivered one of the most bizarre post-fight octagon interviews ever seen. The interview saw McGregor accuse Poirier’s wife of being in his DM’s and threatened that he would take the fight outside the octagon if he had to.
No Love Lost
There is still absolutely no love lost between Poirier and McGregor, at least from Conor McGregor’s side. Whilst speaking to Ariel Helwani on the MMA hour, Poirier said that he was disappointed not to be able to add the BMF belt to his legacy. Helwani stated that Poirier was already a Hall of Famer in the waiting.
McGregor on the other hand clearly disagrees. In a Twitter post released after the interview clip had aired, McGregor wrote:
“Never won an undisputed title. 0-3 in title fights. I disagree on Hall of Fame. All due respect he has one solid win over me, where he was getting pucked around the cage before he got it, and then the second off a leg break. He’s done fuck all Ariel. Not Hall of Fame, no way.”
Quote direct from McGregor’s Twitter account @TheNotoriousMMA.
Hall of Fame Credentials
The Hall of Fame conversation is one that often stirs up mixed opinions amongst the MMA community. The lack of a clear indication as to what gets a fighter inducted leaves it open to each individual’s interpretation of what a Hall of Famer really is.
Dustin Poirier made his debut at UFC 125 back in 2011. With a 29-8 record with one no-contest, Poirier has certainly been value for money in the UFC. With signature wins over Max Holloway x 2, Eddie Alvarez, Anthony Pettis, Justin Gaethje, Michael Chandler and Conor McGregor x 2 it is fair to say that Dustin Poirier has helped to raise the profile of the UFC as a whole throughout his career. Poirier won the interim lightweight title against Holloway before losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov for the undisputed title. He again fell short of championship gold when beaten by Charles Oliveira. “The Diamond” then attempted to be crowned BMF champion at UFC 291 against Justin Gaethje but again fell just short.
Poirier has racked up eight “Fight of the Night” bonuses and four “Performance of the Night” bonuses during his UFC tenure.
McGregor may feel that Poirier doesn’t deserve to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and without a full championship belt, he may well be correct but personally, I believe when Dustin Poirier calls time on his career, I very much believe that he should be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Poirier has been an ambassador for the sport. His work with the “Good Fight Foundation” and the way he carries himself is something that all upcoming fighters should look up to.
Do you disagree? Should Dustin Poirier deserve to be inducted into the HOF? Leave your comments below.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images and Embed from Getty Images
