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MMA: Hurt and heartbroken, McGregor ponders future after KO shock

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/reuters/01/24/mma_ufc_ufc257_conor-mcgregor.jpg"/><figcaption>Conor McGregor of Ireland punches Dustin Poirier in a lightweight fight during the UFC 257 event inside Etihad Arena on UFC Fight Island. <em>Jeff Bottari, Handout Photo via USA TODAY Sports/Reuters.</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- Conor McGregor admitted he was &quot;heartbroken&quot; Sunday after a shock UFC knockout by underdog Dustin Poirier left the superstar&#x27;s future in the cage uncertain.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s hard to take,&quot; Irishman McGregor told a post-fight news conference.</p><p>&quot;(It&#x27;s) the highest highs and the lowest lows in this game. I don&#x27;t know where I&#x27;m at, at the minute, to be honest,&quot; said the biggest drawcard in mixed martial arts.</p><p>The 32-year-old McGregor had been an overwhelming favorite to register a winning return after a year away from the octagon.</p><p>But Poirier (27-6), who lost in 109 seconds to McGregor in their first fight in 2014, used a lower leg kicking strategy to negate his opponent&#x27;s stand-up style.</p><p>The American then launched a sustained barrage of blows to the head culminating in a straight right dropping McGregor to the floor moments before the fight was stopped at 2min 32sec of the second round.</p><p>&quot;I have no excuse. It was a phenomenal performance from Dustin. It&#x27;s a bitter pill to swallow,&quot; said McGregor, who hobbled onto to stage with help of a crutch and revealed his calf had blown up &quot;like an American football.&quot;</p><p>The unexpected defeat left many MMA fans wondering what will be next for McGregor, who will face questions about his future in the sport.</p><div><strong>- McGregor mocked -</strong></div><p>The loss will scupper any possible rematch with Russian Khabib Nurmagomedov, the unbeaten UFC lightweight champion who has now retired.</p><p>Nurmagomedov&#x27;s submission victory over McGregor in 2018 set an all-time record for UFC pay-per-view (PPV) with 2.4 million buys.</p><p>The Russian was quick to mock McGregor on social media after Sunday&#x27;s fight.</p><p>&quot;This is what happened, when you change your team, leave the sparring partners who made you a champion and sparring with little kids, far away from reality,&quot; tweeted the Russian.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><div dir="ltr" lang="und"><a href="https://t.co/nyLolE86hg">pic.twitter.com/nyLolE86hg</a></div>— Abdihakim (@mgs_kemoo98) <a href="https://twitter.com/mgs_kemoo98/status/1353224917693693954?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2021</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>UFC boss Dana White said Sunday&#x27;s UFC 257 was tracking to be among the top three PPVs in history, with all featuring the wildly popular McGregor.</p><p>But the defeat may mean McGregor now explores other avenues, such as a money-spinning boxing match against the Philippines&#x27; great Manny Pacquiao.</p><p>McGregor fought retired unbeaten boxing great Floyd Mayweather in 2017, earning an estimated $30 million dollars in a blockbuster crossover bout.</p><p>McGregor deflected questions about the possibility of a fight against eight-weight world champion, saying he was more concerned with healing his damaged leading right leg.</p><p>&quot;I&#x27;ll regroup,&quot; said McGregor. &quot;I&#x27;ll pick myself up, get up off the floor and go again. I&#x27;ll keep my head high.&quot;</p><p>Pacquiao had wished McGregor luck on social media ahead of and tweeted afterwards: &quot;Beautiful thing about the fight game, anything can happen! Congrats to @DustinPoirier Huge win! #UFC257.&quot;</p><p>There was still time though for one last flash of McGregor&#x27;s old brashness, before he limped away, when he was told of Nurmagomedov&#x27;s mocking social media posts.</p><p>&quot;That&#x27;s the character of the man for sure, behind the mask,&quot; McGregor snapped back. </p><p>&quot;If he wants to have his disrespectful comments, come back and let&#x27;s go again.&quot;</p><p>© Agence France-Presse</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LJxs1BlSx-0?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>Conor McGregor admitted he was "heartbroken" Sunday after a shock UFC knockout by underdog Dustin Poirier left the superstar's future in the cage uncertain.<br /> </p>

Conor McGregor admitted he was "heartbroken" Sunday after a shock UFC knockout by underdog Dustin Poirier left the superstar's future in the cage uncertain.