Poirier reveals McGregor is the 'biggest puncher' he has ever faced

Dustin Poirier reveals Conor McGregor is the ‘biggest puncher’ he has ever faced and labels his UFC lightweight rival a ‘special individual’ after ‘tearing through everyone’… despite their past war of words

  • Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor have faced each other three times so far
  • McGregor took victory in 2014, before Poirier hit back twice earlier this year 
  • The two fighters had been embroiled in a bitter war of words before scrapping 
  • But Poirier has praised McGregor, saying he is the ‘biggest puncher’ he has faced

Dustin Poirier has singled out Conor McGregor as the ‘biggest puncher’ he has ever come up against, and also labelled his rival a ‘special individual’.

The fighters have scrapped three times in the octagon, with former interim lightweight champion Poirier suffering a first-round knockout at UFC 178 in 2014.

But since then, he has claimed victory in their second and third bouts, after ‘Notorious’ McGregor fell victim to a sickening leg break earlier this year. 

Dustin Poirier has revealed Conor McGregor (left) is the ‘biggest puncher’ he has ever faced

His impressive record against the Irishman has not dimmed his positive opinion about his power, however, and Poirier admitted McGregor is a formidable opponent.

‘Conor McGregor [packs the heaviest punch], no doubt about it,’ Poirier told Patrick Bet-David and Valuetainment.

‘As the biggest puncher I’ve fought? Yeah, he’s a special individual for sure.

McGregor and Poirier have fought three times, with Notorious suffering two defeats this year

TOP UFC PPVs 

1: UFC 229 – Khabib vs McGregor (2018) (2.4m)

2: UFC 264 – Poirier v McGregor 3 (2021) (1.8m – estimated) 

3: UFC 202 – Diaz vs McGregor 2 (2016) (1.65m) 

4: UFC 100 – Lesnar vs Frank Mir 2 (2009) (1.6m)

5: UFC 257 – Poirier v McGregor 2 (2021) (1,504,737) 

‘Fought him in 2014, lost, and that was on his, you know when his trajectory just sky was the limit.

‘He was on his way up and he tore through everybody, became a two-weight champion.’

McGregor is in the midst of a run of one win in his last four UFC fights, but the pay-per-view figures for his second showdown with Poirier show he remains a superstar. 

Making his return to the sport nine months ago at UFC 257, McGregor faced fellow lightweight Poirier in his bid to reach the pinnacle at 155 pounds.

He was stopped in the second round by knockout, though, which scuppered his hopes of a rematch against nemesis Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Reports in the wake of the bout claimed it garnered 1.6million pay-per-view buys, ranking it as the third-biggest PPV card in UFC history.

Taking to Twitter, McGregor has confirmed the actual figure was in fact 1,504,737, with the number shown on the paperwork he received. 

Despite his run of one win in four UFC fights, PPV figures show McGregor remains a superstar

McGregor posted paperwork showing the UFC 257 card garnered 1,504,737 pay-per-view buys

Incredibly, the PPV price for the showpiece was set at a hefty $69.99 (£51,43) for subscribers of ESPN’s streaming service, ESPN+. 

McGregor occupies six of the top 10 PPV spots in UFC. His defeat at the hands of Khabib has remained in top spot, raking in 2.4m buys. 

He is currently in Miami on his whistle-stop tour of the United States, having already visited California, New York and Chicago.

Providing another update for his followers, McGregor posted an image of him with a shark after a successful day fishing in the state. 

‘Caught a shark from my back garden in Miami today,’ he said.

He later returned the shark to the water, posting: ‘Back in you go my little ocean critter. Protect the ocean. Fish responsibly.’ 

He has been spending time in the United States and recently caught a shark in Miami, Florida




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