Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) hosted its first pay-per-view (PPV) presentation of 2021 with UFC 257 taking place inside the Etihad Arena on “Fight Island” yesterday (Saturday 23 January) in Abu Dhabi. In the main game of the evening, Dustin Poirier stunned Conor McGregor by stopping him in the second round via strikes (see it again here). Michael Chandler made an explosive UFC debut by knocking out Dan Hooker in the first round (summarized here).
Biggest winner: Dustin Poirier
Poirier got a popular revenge against McGregor by stopping him in an extremely impressive performance in the second round by strikes. Thus, Poirier tied the series to one piece, meaning he would probably set up another big payday if a trilogy fight ensued. For now, The Diamond has put itself in an excellent position to fight for what one might assume the lightweight band that will be evacuated soon, as Khabib Nurmagomedov apparently has no plans to fight anytime soon. . This is undoubtedly Poirier’s biggest win, which can only be surpassed if he demands the 155-pound official band on his next outing.
Runner-up: Michael Chandler
Chandler silenced all the nerds and critics who said he did not need to hang out with the big boys of the UFC, by completely wiping out Dan Hooker in the very first round and notifying the entire lightweight division . The former 155-pound Bellator MMA champion took time early and waited for the right opportunity to unload his power. And he did just about halfway through the opening frame and marked ‘The Hangman’ with a sneaky left hook that put him on the floor. From there, the wrestling power station descended on Hooker and unleashed a series of strikes that forced the shutdown. By taking Hooker out that way, Chandler did something Al Iaquinta, Poirier and Felder could not do. He also went home with another $ 50,000 in his pockets. A great debut throughout.
Biggest loser: Conor McGregor
McGregor’s long-awaited return did not work out as he would have hoped, losing to Poirier by technical knockout (TKO). Although ‘Notorious’ looked good early on, Poirier made the adjustments and the calf kicks were just too much for ‘Notorious’, which ended up on the receiving end of ‘The Diamond”s devastating strikes. The loss is McGregor’s second in the last two heats, with his lone win during that time against Donald Cerrone in Welterweight. Has ‘notoriety’ been done? Highly unlikely. However, he will have to go back to the drawing board and find out what his next step is. Luckily for the fiery Irishman, he has several options as the biggest star of the promotion. The loss – which is the first KO / TKO in his career – will be difficult for him to swallow, and there is no question of his thoughts in the coming weeks.
For full UFC 257 results and coverage click here.