UFC 257 results: Dustin Poirier stuns Conor McGregor with ferocious second-round TKO

Dustin Poirier is the first fighter ever to finish Conor McGregor with strikes.

After McGregor dominated most of the first round of their UFC 257 main event on Saturday night, Poirier (27-6 MMA, 19-5 UFC) picked up the pace and then ended things in the blink of an eye.

Poirier used a left hand to the jaw to setup up a flurry of a finish of McGregor (22-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC), the former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion, at the 2:32 mark of Round 2 at Etihad Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

“The goal was to be technical and pick my shots and have a big finish,” Poirier said.

With the victory, Poirier avenged a loss in their first matchup, a first-round McGregor TKO at UFC 178 in 2014. It was his second consecutive win after a loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov in September 2019 and his seventh win in his past eight fights.

McGregor has now lost two of his past three fights, and has only won once since 2016. This was the first non-submission loss of his career.

“It just wasn’t where I needed to be tonight,” McGregor said. “I’ll come back again, that’s what I’ll do. I need activity.”

The lightweight bout was the UFC 257 main event at Etihad Stadium in Abu Dhabi. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

Complete UFC 257 results:

• Michael Chandler def. Dan Hooker via TKO (punches) — Round 1, 2:30
• Joanne Calderwood def. Jessica Eye via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Makhmud Muradov def. Andrew Sanchez via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:59
• Marina Rodriguez def. Amanda Ribas via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 0:54
• Arman Tsarukyan def. Matt Frevola via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
• Brad Tavares def. Antonio Carlos Junior via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Julianna Pena def. Sara McMann via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 3:39
• Marcin Prachnio def. Khalil Rountree via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Movsar Evloev def. Nik Lentz via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Amir Albazi def. Zhalgas Zhumagulovc via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)