Dustin Poirier has claimed that Conor McGregor’s injury at UFC 329 was “karma”, as the Irish fighter fell to a first-round loss to Max Holloway.
In Las Vegas on Saturday, McGregor was competing for the first time in five years, after his previous bout also ended in a first-round injury: a leg break in a trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier.
This time, McGregor appeared to injure his knee in the opening few seconds, as he threw a running, jumping kick against Holloway. McGregor, who turned 38 on 14 July, proceeded to fall down numerous times, before shaking his head and leading the referee to wave off the fight.
The timeline for McGregor’s return is unclear, but the former champion said last week that the final fight on his UFC contract would take place in April 2027 – a date he may still be eyeing, with surgery due soon.
“It couldn’t have happened to a better guy,” Poirier said on the Deep Waters podcast. “That injury couldn’t happen to a better guy. I saw earlier this week, he said, ‘Karma’s a mirror,’ and it definitely is. This guy’s a dirtbag.”
Poirier, who was knocked out by McGregor in 2014 before returning the favour in January 2021, won their third clash in July 2021 when McGregor broke his leg. In the ring after the fight, McGregor insulted Poirier’s wife Jolie while sat on the canvas, injured.
“I don’t know if it was nervous energy, [but] I don’t know why you would start a fight like that [with that kick],” Poirier continued. “[McGregor’s team] are saying this was planned to start the fight like that. There’s footage of him training to open the fight with this jump kick, but I just don’t understand why you would do that. That’s like a Hail Mary. You’re throwing a Hail Mary to start a 25-minute fight. I don’t understand what was going on with that.”
Poirier then addressed speculation that McGregor had entered the fight injured – claims that the Irishman has denied – saying: “If that was the scenario and he knew he was injured and he just said, ‘It’s either me or him the first minute, somebody’s going to fall, I’m going to just go out there and get in his face and throw until one of us goes down,’ wouldn’t you do it with punches? Why would you do it with an injured weapon?
“I’ve just had a lot of time with Conor over the past 12 years and I just don’t think he’s a quitter like that. I don’t know if that’s possible with him. If he wanted a built-in excuse, a storyline that’s already wrote itself and he can blame it on his leg, do something dumb, I don’t know if he’s that type of guy.
“I’ll say a lot of bad stuff about him, but a quitter, I’m not sure. He’s a real competitor and wants to win, and I doubt he needed the money. It’s not like he said, ‘Well, I have to go through this and get into the ring with this injury because I need the money, this is the only way.’ The guy’s got money. It wasn’t like he was showing up for a paycheck. I really don’t understand what went on. I have no clue.”
McGregor’s rematch with Holloway, whom he had outpointed in 2013, was the Irishman’s first fight since a civil jury found McGregor liable for sexual assault in 2018. McGregor appealed the verdict of that 2024 case, but to no avail.
McGregor has also been open about his drinking in recent years, and Poirier suggested: “Definitely he looked bloated. I thought his face looked a little shiny, under his eyes looked a little full, his cheeks looked full. That could be because he’s been living an unhealthy lifestyle.
“Also, he is fighting up at welterweight, that’s 15lb heavier than his normal weight class at 155[lb], but I don’t feel like 15[lb] would make your face that bloated. I don’t know what’s going on. His body looked fit, his face looked unhealthy.
“When you don’t live the healthiest lifestyle, your body is more susceptible to injuries. It weakens everything when you live an unhealthy lifestyle, so that could have been part of it as well. The shiny, swollen face could have been telling us the whole time this guy’s coming into this not at 100 per cent.”
