GDT: UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2

[1specter]

I can't say I blame Poirier for not wanting to fight Chandler next, but I'm guessing it's because he's worried about the match up, not because Chandler's new to the UFC...

The guy's a former Bellator champion... he's put in his time

It also sounded like Dustin just wants to secure his finances and get out soon. That's why he mentioned Diaz and rematching McGregor

 

[m9]

a dude with a losing record in the division who just got KTFO is going to get an immediate rematch with the belt on the line is the fight to make?

it’s one thing if he he just lost the belt last night or if there weren’t other worthy contenders. Neither of these things are true. I get that the UFC doesn’t want to completely dull the shine off of McGregor by feeding him to another 155’er who will bury him but come on.

let him beat someone before throwing him back into the mix for a title. No more of this cutting the line BS, especially not when you’ve been finished two fights in a row at LW.

if he’s serious about sticking around, he should do the Diaz triology at 155 and then a top 5 opponent. We can talk title shot if he wins both fights.

I think it's the fight to make, yeah. Is it deserved? Of course not. But it makes sense for Conor, Poirier, and the UFC. If Conor wants to fight again this summer, I think it's the way they'll go.

 

[m9]

It also sounded like Dustin just wants to secure his finances and get out soon. That's why he mentioned Diaz and rematching McGregor

Poirier already said last week he just signed an 8 fight deal and will be fighting all of those fights before he thinks about retirement. Don't think this win changed that.

 

[Canes]

Once I saw his shin/leg swelling up basically in real time with Conor doing nothing to stop it until it was too late I knew it was only a matter of time before he would start hitting a wall.

 

[I am not exposed]

a dude with a losing record in the division who just got KTFO is going to get an immediate rematch with the belt on the line is the fight to make?

it’s one thing if he he just lost the belt last night or if there weren’t other worthy contenders. Neither of these things are true. I get that the UFC doesn’t want to completely dull the shine off of McGregor by feeding him to another 155’er who will bury him but come on.

let him beat someone before throwing him back into the mix for a title. No more of this cutting the line BS, especially not when you’ve been finished two fights in a row at LW.

if he’s serious about sticking around, he should do the Diaz triology at 155 and then a top 5 opponent. We can talk title shot if he wins both fights.

Yeah, Poirier vs. Conor 3 as the next fight for the title makes no sense.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

I think it's the fight to make, yeah. Is it deserved? Of course not. But it makes sense for Conor, Poirier, and the UFC. If Conor wants to fight again this summer, I think it's the way they'll go.

Theres no justification for it though. He just got stopped in pretty brutal fashion. I could see it if he lost a close split decision but he didn't.

If he gets a top 5 opponent, I think Gaethje would be the guy but I really don't think Conor wants that fight. Hes turned it down once already and JG is just a miserable experience for anyone, win or lose (and I think he'd be a pretty heavy dog in this fight en route to a brutal loss.)

Diaz 3 makes sense as that fights been sitting there for him and its a winnable fight for Conor. It'll give him time to work on other stuff to before jumping back into the shark tank that is the top 5 of that division. At the end of the day I don't think it will matter as those fighters in the top 5 have evolved to the point where Conor won't be able to catch up, but its what he should do if he wants to give himself the best chance at winning the belt again (and for the UFC to cash in on multiple fights. If he gets a top 5 guy and gets mollywhopped again? His brand in this sport will be dead.)

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Dana said at the post-fight presser that he think McGregor vs Khabib 2 would be the biggest fight ever...

Personally, I think more people would be interested in seeing GSP vs Khabib...

Am I wrong?

It would be the biggest fight ever.

But I'm not really interested in seeing that bloodletting again. They can fight 1000 times, Khabib will win every single time.

 

[I am not exposed]

Dana said at the post-fight presser that he think McGregor vs Khabib 2 would be the biggest fight ever...

Personally, I think more people would be interested in seeing GSP vs Khabib...

Am I wrong?

Yes. Conor is far bigger than GSP ever was. Conor vs. Khabib is a bigger fight than Khabib vs. GSP.

 

[TerminatorBlue]

I can't see Conor wanting to fight Justin gaethje, just imagine the damage Justin would do to Conor's legs.

Maybe Tony Ferguson or Dan Hooker both coming off loses might make for a good fight.

 

[pistolpete11]

Just my final thoughts after sleeping on it and seeing some of the post fight stuff from a couple different sources.

Poirier-Conor : I'll try to not rehash what I said last night. Perfect game plan and perfect execution from Poirier. Outside of Khabib, he's the best LW in the world. It's too bad they didn't make this for the belt just because Dana was holding out hope for Khabib-Conor. People trying to bury Conor, but he had his moments. Poirier said in the post fight presser that the one left hand stung him and if Conor had followed it up with another shot, he might have been in trouble. Conor lost fair and square and there were some red flags, but I think he can still compete at the highest level. He just lost to the better fighter. Also, gotta respect him for talking to the media instead of running away and hiding like we have seen some other superstars coughRondacough.

Poirier: whatever is next needs to be for the belt. The only guys near the top coming off wins are Chandler and Oliveira. Either would be OK with me. I don't completely understand Poirier's comments about Chandler. I get he wasn't in the UFC, but Chandler has been knocked down and had to pick himself back up. He's paid his dues. Maybe Poirier is just setting it up so that he has some more negotiation power?

Conor: I'd go with Nate. He wants more time in the cage, well, he's probably not putting Nate away quickly and Nate's probably not putting him away quickly. I'd imagine that fight looks similar to the rematch. I think it still is a massive draw, too, and I think you can put the winner immediately back into the title picture with their star power.


Chandler-Hooker: Not much to say about the fight other than Chandler's got serious power to put Hooker away like that. Thought Hooker looked tentative. Chandler, I think Poirier for the belt or Gaethje. For Hooker, I'd drop him back some. Maybe Dariush or something like that.


Eye-Calderwood: People talking like this was a good fight. I don't get it. I was bored every second of this fight and have no interest in their next fights. The only way that it was 'good' was that it was close.


Rodriguez-Ribas: Again, people are trying to bury Ribas, but come on. She lost to a girl who's only loss is to the former champ and current #4 contender AND she won the first round. She got caught. It happens. Her path to a title shot just got longer and she's not going to be on the rocket ship like Conor's initial ascent or Stylebender or something, but even a lot of champions have a stumble at some point. For Rodriguez, big win. Her defense on the ground looked pretty good and she's a good striker. Maybe put her against that Yan girl?


Overall, an OK night of fights. Some real duds, but the main and co-main delivered.

 

[m9]

Theres no justification for it though. He just got stopped in pretty brutal fashion. I could see it if he lost a close split decision but he didn't.

If he gets a top 5 opponent, I think Gaethje would be the guy but I really don't think Conor wants that fight. Hes turned it down once already and JG is just a miserable experience for anyone, win or lose (and I think he'd be a pretty heavy dog in this fight en route to a brutal loss.)

Diaz 3 makes sense as that fights been sitting there for him and its a winnable fight for Conor. It'll give him time to work on other stuff to before jumping back into the shark tank that is the top 5 of that division. At the end of the day I don't think it will matter as those fighters in the top 5 have evolved to the point where Conor won't be able to catch up, but its what he should do if he wants to give himself the best chance at winning the belt again (and for the UFC to cash in on multiple fights. If he gets a top 5 guy and gets mollywhopped again? His brand in this sport will be dead.)

He would hardly be the first guy to get an immediate rematch after getting knocked out like that. It's 1-1 now and he's the biggest star in the sport. It's the most profitable fight for the UFC, Poirier, and Conor.

I also don't think anyone else at 155 is in a spot where they must get that next shot. There are flaws in the case for Oliveira, Gaethje, and Chandler.. though don't get me wrong, they all deserve it more than Conor. This isn't a case of someone really being passed over, though.

You want to make stars at 155lb and move on from Khabib, Conor/Poirier for the belt is the fight to make. If Poirier wins again, he has so much hype for his first defense vs Chandler/Gaethje/Oliveira. I think you squeeze a bit more juice out of Conor here while you can.

 

[m9]

Just my final thoughts after sleeping on it and seeing some of the post fight stuff from a couple different sources.

Poirier-Conor : I'll try to not rehash what I said last night. Perfect game plan and perfect execution from Poirier. Outside of Khabib, he's the best LW in the world. It's too bad they didn't make this for the belt just because Dana was holding out hope for Khabib-Conor. People trying to bury Conor, but he had his moments. Poirier said in the post fight presser that the one left hand stung him and if Conor had followed it up with another shot, he might have been in trouble. Conor lost fair and square and there were some red flags, but I think he can still compete at the highest level. He just lost to the better fighter. Also, gotta respect him for talking to the media instead of running away and hiding like we have seen some other superstars coughRondacough.

Poirier: whatever is next needs to be for the belt. The only guys near the top coming off wins are Chandler and Oliveira. Either would be OK with me. I don't completely understand Poirier's comments about Chandler. I get he wasn't in the UFC, but Chandler has been knocked down and had to pick himself back up. He's paid his dues. Maybe Poirier is just setting it up so that he has some more negotiation power?

Conor: I'd go with Nate. He wants more time in the cage, well, he's probably not putting Nate away quickly and Nate's probably not putting him away quickly. I'd imagine that fight looks similar to the rematch. I think it still is a massive draw, too, and I think you can put the winner immediately back into the title picture with their star power.


Chandler-Hooker: Not much to say about the fight other than Chandler's got serious power to put Hooker away like that. Thought Hooker looked tentative. Chandler, I think Poirier for the belt or Gaethje. For Hooker, I'd drop him back some. Maybe Dariush or something like that.


Eye-Calderwood: People talking like this was a good fight. I don't get it. I was bored every second of this fight and have no interest in their next fights. The only way that it was 'good' was that it was close.


Rodriguez-Ribas: Again, people are trying to bury Ribas, but come on. She lost to a girl who's only loss is to the former champ and current #4 contender AND she won the first round. She got caught. It happens. Her path to a title shot just got longer and she's not going to be on the rocket ship like Conor's initial ascent or Stylebender or something, but even a lot of champions have a stumble at some point. For Rodriguez, big win. Her defense on the ground looked pretty good and she's a good striker. Maybe put her against that Yan girl?


Overall, an OK night of fights. Some real duds, but the main and co-main delivered.

Great post, agree with everything here.

The most annoying part of Eye/Calderwood is that it was predictably bad. We all knew what was coming. That kind of fight needs to be an ESPN co-main or something.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

He would hardly be the first guy to get an immediate rematch after getting knocked out like that. It's 1-1 now and he's the biggest star in the sport. It's the most profitable fight for the UFC, Poirier, and Conor.

I also don't think anyone else at 155 is in a spot where they must get that next shot. There are flaws in the case for Oliveira, Gaethje, and Chandler.. though don't get me wrong, they all deserve it more than Conor. This isn't a case of someone really being passed over, though.

You want to make stars at 155lb and move on from Khabib, Conor/Poirier for the belt is the fight to make. If Poirier wins again, he has so much hype for his first defense vs Chandler/Gaethje/Oliveira. I think you squeeze a bit more juice out of Conor here while you can.

Yes, that happens when champions, usually ones with multiple title defenses, Get KO'd. It doesn't happen when a non title holder with a losing record in the weight class gets KO'd.

The best way to squeeze juice of of Conor is to get as many fights out of him as you can. Giving him another title shot where he's undeserving and unlikely to win isn't the best way to do that.

 

[pistolpete11]

He would hardly be the first guy to get an immediate rematch after getting knocked out like that. It's 1-1 now and he's the biggest star in the sport. It's the most profitable fight for the UFC, Poirier, and Conor.

I also don't think anyone else at 155 is in a spot where they must get that next shot. There are flaws in the case for Oliveira, Gaethje, and Chandler.. though don't get me wrong, they all deserve it more than Conor. This isn't a case of someone really being passed over, though.

You want to make stars at 155lb and move on from Khabib, Conor/Poirier for the belt is the fight to make. If Poirier wins again, he has so much hype for his first defense vs Chandler/Gaethje/Oliveira. I think you squeeze a bit more juice out of Conor here while you can.

I can't think of any examples of a guy getting knocked out and then getting a title shot unless they were the champion when they got KO. I mean, it's an unwritten rule and the rules don't apply to Conor anyway, but it would be kind of weird.

I think it could go either way. If Conor were to lose his next fight, you probably lose that trilogy forever. If Conor wins his next fight and Poirier becomes the champion in the meantime, then I think that would be a bigger fight than just running it back right away.

 

[m9]

Yes, that happens when champions, usually ones with multiple title defenses, Get KO'd. It doesn't happen when a non title holder with a losing record in the weight class gets KO'd.

The best way to squeeze juice of of Conor is to get as many fights out of him as you can. Giving him another title shot where he's undeserving and unlikely to win isn't the best way to do that.

You don't really lose any fights with this trilogy though. First, a Poirier rematch could go either way. Second, even if he loses they can still do the Diaz trilogy. All he has to do is win one of those two fights and he comes out the other side fine.

 

[chicagoskycam]

Conor deserves no title shot unless he’s one of the few at the top available on short notice for a cancellation.

he needs to work his way back and despite what he said post fight, I’m not sure he’s going to be willing to do that

Dana also needs to move on from Khabib unless he commits to a fight.

 

[m9]

I can't think of any examples of a guy getting knocked out and then getting a title shot unless they were the champion when they got KO. I mean, it's an unwritten rule and the rules don't apply to Conor anyway, but it would be kind of weird.

I think it could go either way. If Conor were to lose his next fight, you probably lose that trilogy forever. If Conor wins his next fight and Poirier becomes the champion in the meantime, then I think that would be a bigger fight than just running it back right away.

Yeah, like you said I just don't think the rules apply to Conor. Plus we've seen some really weird title shots handed out recently (Romero, Aldo) so while the circumstances may be slightly different the UFC has no problem stretching a bit to make the fight they want.

I don't know, we'll see what happens. I don't think people should eliminate it as an option though when they are trying to figure out what happens next.

 

[chicagoskycam]

Espn+ didn’t work for a ton of people last night. Hey maybe putting all the fights on one ap that can’t handle large volume - not the best idea.

I feel like this is the 2nd big fight I heard about large outages. Dana was talking about going after streamer hosts post fight. Maybe call your buds at ESPN and make sure they get their shit together. There are going to be a lot of refunds

 

[CDJ]

Muradov looked impressive


I literally did everything other than watch the Eye-Calderwood fight

 

[pistolpete11]

Yeah, like you said I just don't think the rules apply to Conor. Plus we've seen some really weird title shots handed out recently (Romero, Aldo) so while the circumstances may be slightly different the UFC has no problem stretching a bit to make the fight they want.

I don't know, we'll see what happens. I don't think people should eliminate it as an option though when they are trying to figure out what happens next.

Yes, nobody should ever underestimate the UFC's willingness to do whatever the f*** they want. So in that sense, I agree, you can't count it out.

But I don't think it's the right play either. It's not like Poirier just caught him with a punch like DC did to Stipe. It's not like there was a moment where Conor was close to finishing the fight like Cody vs. TJ. There was no controversy like Shogun-Machida. He doesn't deserve it based on the run he was on like Max-Volk. It wasn't a one-sided ass beating, but it was a clean, decisive win for Poirier. At least if he goes and beats Nate or someone like that, it gets a little bit of the shine back.

 

[YNWA14]

Conor doesn't have much of a chin.

I talked about that on the first page. I think he has a chin, he took a few bombs from Poirier before he ultimately tried to panic wrestle and got caught, but I don't think he has a good chin. That, and people (probably those who only follow the sport because of McGregor) vastly underestimated Poirier from the beginning. If Poirier can rock Max multiple times he can stop McGregor no problem (as shown).

Nate and Conor are the big money fights thou, for example the title fight lost to Khabib got him 290k while this fight with McGregor earned him 1 mill + a PPV cut. I'm pretty sure I heard this right but didn't Dustin yelled that he just doesn't enjoy fighting anymore almost right after he KO'd Conor?

I really cant blame him if he takes a more financial minded approach in his next fights, even thou the man has arguably been a top 10 p4p material fighter during the last few years, his actually been getting paid what a min contract NHL player would earn or even less, not to mention he has to share his earnings with his trainer and the other member of his team, this was the fight were he really got paid. Considering his at that point in his career were he can deteriorate much like what happened recently with Tony and with the momentum he has right now, I'm not surprise that he wants to cash in.

Did you watch the post fight conference? Dustin mentioned multiple times the thing he wants most is to get the undisputed championship. The fight to make is Oliveira vs. Poirier IMO. I think the part about him not really enjoying it was more the situation than anything else...he talks about being locked up in the hotel room and not having anything to do but think about the fight. He's in his prime, you could say he's at his peak right now, and he badly wants the title. He won't fight Chandler but he'll fight Oliveira so I suspect that's what's next. Maybe Chandler vs. Gaethje for the next contender.

As far as McGregor goes...I could see them giving him Diaz and hoping for a win, but I think he's at least 2 wins away from a title shot. Dunno who he'd get after Diaz but the winner of Chandler/Gaethje would get a title shot before him. What I'd love to see is:

Poirier vs. Oliveira
Gaethje vs. Chandler
McGregor vs. Diaz

Winner of Poirier vs. Oliveira vs. Winner of Gaethje vs. Chandler.
Winner of McGregor vs. Diaz vs. Max Holloway

Winner of the Holloway fight vs. whoever has the title at that point.

 

[member 51464]

Poirier vs. Oliveira for the belt
Gaethje vs. Chandler to fight winner of above

or

Poirier vs. Chandler for the belt
Gaethje vs. Oliveira to fight winner of above

I am equally okay with both of those.

As much as Poirier may think Chandler does not deserve it, if Dana says that is the way it is going to be and it is for the undisputed strap, Dustin is going to take that fight 10 times out of 10.

And that would force Oliveira's hand because otherwise, Gaethje finds another dance partner and suddenly Do Bronx is old news

 

[lebdafor norris]

I hate the excuse we were not prepared for leg kicks. You adjust and either check them,
Move away or make Dustin pay for each one.

Conor was pretty much winning the fight prior to the knockdown, once Dustin thought he had him hurt - full blitz mode. Congrats to him
- he’s some of these guys I could never get behind just because there were so many other good guys is LW, FW.

Last night Conor said the right things about staying in the division. We will see how he feels after it sets in. Where was Connor’s push kick, leg kicks? He’s been too focused on boxing?

I do think there is something to be said for this polite lead up to the fight. Takes away some of that intimidation factor

The most interesting thing coming out of last night is Chandler

I wasn't trying to make an excuse for Conor, thou I could definitely see how my post came as that. My post was more meant to defend the role of Boxing in the UFC as a lot of fans seems to be looking down on its effectiveness in MMA because of Conor's reliance on it, in reality many successful UFC fighters heavily implements Boxing in their stand up gameplan, fighters like Holloway, Nunes, Woodley and even Poirer comes to mind.

 

[lebdafor norris]

I talked about that on the first page. I think he has a chin, he took a few bombs from Poirier before he ultimately tried to panic wrestle and got caught, but I don't think he has a good chin. That, and people (probably those who only follow the sport because of McGregor) vastly underestimated Poirier from the beginning. If Poirier can rock Max multiple times he can stop McGregor no problem (as shown).

Did you watch the post fight conference? Dustin mentioned multiple times the thing he wants most is to get the undisputed championship. The fight to make is Oliveira vs. Poirier IMO. I think the part about him not really enjoying it was more the situation than anything else...he talks about being locked up in the hotel room and not having anything to do but think about the fight. He's in his prime, you could say he's at his peak right now, and he badly wants the title. He won't fight Chandler but he'll fight Oliveira so I suspect that's what's next. Maybe Chandler vs. Gaethje for the next contender.

As far as McGregor goes...I could see them giving him Diaz and hoping for a win, but I think he's at least 2 wins away from a title shot. Dunno who he'd get after Diaz but the winner of Chandler/Gaethje would get a title shot before him. What I'd love to see is:

Poirier vs. Oliveira
Gaethje vs. Chandler
McGregor vs. Diaz

Winner of Poirier vs. Oliveira vs. Winner of Gaethje vs. Chandler.
Winner of McGregor vs. Diaz vs. Max Holloway

Winner of the Holloway fight vs. whoever has the title at that point.

Having the belt means $$, correct me if I'm wrong but dont UFC Champions always has the option get a cut of PPV profits, something that only superstars like McGregor get (I believe this was the 1st time Poirer got a PPV cut, I dont believe he even got PPV share in the Khabib match and he was the #1 contender for that match).

 

[member 51464]

Having the belt means $$, correct me if I'm wrong but dont UFC Champions always has the option get a cut of PPV profits, something that only superstars like McGregor get (I believe this was the 1st time Poirer got a PPV cut, I dont believe he even got PPV share in the Khabib match and he was the #1 contender for that match).

Dustin Poirier Career Earnings

No idea how accurate it is, but this seems like a plausible rundown.