Conor vs Poirier 1

[sonofjay817]

Make no mistake about it

Conor was a rare breed of fighter at this time

Anyone who says otherwise is delusional or a hater

One thing interesting and instructive about Conor is, despite all the emotion and antics he shows right up to the fight, immediately when the bell rings to start, his face goes stone calm, analytical, and zen like. His facial expression while fighting is one of the most calm ones I can think of.

 

[sonofjay817]

Yes and no. He was tough to figure out but stopped evolving. As other fighters improved their skills and became more well rounded, Conor treaded water skill wise and did nothing but talk. That is why he began to lose and never really seemed like a big threat to anyone. He had a few good years and then did nothing at all.

I'd argue that he actually devolved from specializing in boxing leading up to the Mayweather fight.

 

[BFoe]

You can tell the age of this video when the MGM Grand is listed as the venue.
I can't even remember the last time the UFC held an event there.

I hadn’t thought about that but it has been a long time. I checked and AI tells me the last time was 2016. I saw a couple of live UFC events at MGM, Mandalay Bay was a fun venue too.

 

[RockyLockridge]

I've always thought this was conors best performance

 

[TeenageMutantLesnarTurtle]

He was absolutely a special talent at one time. If he had kept his head in the game after the Eddie fight and stayed an active focused fighter instead of chasing the Floyd payday and spiralling out of control he would have most likely ended up with a top 10 p4p level resume before father time got him. He was never gonna beat Khabib and potentially would have lost to others too but ability wise he could have taken plenty more scalps than he did.

 

[Tweak896]

I still think those first 2 shots on the ground were to the back of the head but when you got Herb baked, it is what it is.

Connor before he lost himself in the money, drugs and bitches, was something special and at times he was enjoyable to listen to, he was passionate and a student of the game and spoke respectfully about alot of things. I miss that Connor, he was good for the sport

He's like 2 different people. Shows the negative side to money how it corrupts. Something broke in the lead up to the Mayweather fight where he became a caricature of his former self, he would say nothing and just scream out insults in ways WWE fans would eat up. Used to have a good wit and be deeply philosophical.

 

[hbombbisping]

Conor lost as many big fights as he won

At his very best he was a flash in the pan dime store version of Topuria and is worse in every facet of MMA

a budget Mauricio Ruffy even

 

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Dustin landed solid shots, but didn't like Conor's power. At 145 his chin wasn't as good as at 155.
He said in an interview that Conor hit him the hardest in his career, too.
- Conor figured out that he can hit Dustin behind his guard.
He has a 74 reach, which is a lot for his height and a long stance, he can do that. (Paulo Costa has a 72 reach)
That's why Dustin changed his hand position in defense for the 2nd fight.

The fight even has funny stats:
Conor 9/29 landed at only 31% and that includes the finish
Poirier 10/19 landed at 52%

If Dustin could've survived longer and add some grappling, the fight could've shifted towards him.
Conor didn't gas as easily back then in a striking or top position only match though

I remember thinking Conor smoked him upon the initial watch but then revisiting this fight before their 2nd and thinking it was more even than I recalled, which made me think dusty had a shot in the rematch.

 

[Streeter]

Conor was alot better than hes given credit for being now. Conors become a punchline now but pre Floyd he was legit n might of been a fighting legend not just a hype legend had he not gotten filthy rich an lost his edge . But you get 100mil in pocket you get comfortable........ you get comfortable you no longer got what got you there

 

[Streeter]

Conor lost as many big fights as he won

At his very best he was a flash in the pan dime store version of Topuria and is worse in every facet of MMA

a budget Mauricio Ruffy even

No in his prime and rise he was JUST like Illa . However it appears Illa is more disciplined but possibly just as cringe though.

Dont let Conors fall dimiah his rise as he was indeed very good .

 

[Elvis.]

Almost 11 years ago , fuck man time goes fast

 

[Starman]

A fresh, young, healty Poirier that goes down with a shot like that

I still can't figure it out how was it possible. It looks like he went down on purpose.

He hit him behind the ear. That kind of shot will always fuck up your equilibrium. Same kind of punch dropped Machida in his rematch with Shogun.

 

[AstralPanda]

I thought Dustin landed some good strikes, a few good leg kicks and some good left hands. But he was visibly stressed compared to Connor who looked extremely relaxed. I suspect the feints and movement are what overwhelmed his mind. Happens to people all the time in sparring.

That, but conor was on some real jedi mind tricks back then

It was almost like witchcraft, that's how much he was messing with these guys psychologically in and out of the cage.

I also think it's responsible for bringing out
best version of Diaz. I don't think we get that version of him if he wasn't put in a scenario where it felt like life or death.

That's where this level of psychological manipulation can backfire, Conor has genuinely crippled a few guys with these tactics, while giving others some next level motivation.

 

[TrueBias]

A fresh, young, healty Poirier that goes down with a shot like that

I still can't figure it out how was it possible. It looks like he went down on purpose.

Cuz it's an example of one of Conors SOFT TKOs.

Knockdowns are not TKOs.
TKOs are not KOs.

 

[hbombbisping]

No in his prime and rise he was JUST like Illa .

You mean except

- Illia is a better striker and his power actually translated to LW unlike Conor
- Illia is a better grappler X 100
- Iiia has better heart and cardio X100
- Ilia has a hotter wife X 100
- Ilia actually defended a title
- Ilia is undefeated and Conor has a journeyman record
- Illia is not a cokehead rapist idiot, and actually has his head on straight

Conor is not even the dime store version of Ilia, that was too much of a compliment to him

 

[jeff7b9]

Conor took a sort of Mike Tyson type of progression.

Peak quick.
Make money
Abandon everything that made you have success.

Be out of pocket and mostly flat footed head hunter.

 

[AstralPanda]

Conor took a sort of Mike Tyson type of progression.

Peak quick.
Make money
Abandon everything that made you have success.

Be out of pocket and mostly flat footed head hunter.

Good analogy for sure

That's the cost of money and fame though.

Very rare to reach the top of the mountain and still maintain the fire that allowed you to get there.

 

[jeff7b9]

Good analogy for sure

That's the cost of money and fame though.

Very rare to reach the top of the mountain and still maintain the fire that allowed you to get there.

Conor at FW was legitimately one of the peak martial artists we have ever seen.

He had tremendous range awareness, a very unpredictable tools etc with those long range karate kicks and lots of body attacks plus the sniper left straight, and he was moving all over the place.

Remember:

"You've seen me on salad, now watch me on steaks."

I watched.

Nate smoked him.

I was like, yo, you should go back to salads.
You were really special on salads.

 

[rjmbrd]

Make no mistake about it

Conor was a rare breed of fighter at this time

Anyone who says otherwise is delusional or a hater

This is the Dustin Poirier that got stopped by Korean Zombie and lost to Cub Swanson. This is literally his last ever fight at featherweight, he didn't belong there.

If anything this just underlines that Conor was a legit elite weight cutter at featherweight. He looked famously awful on the scale, but was able to perform.

Less than 2 years later, Nate Diaz beat the shit out of Conor. Nate generally has lost to every elite fighter he's ever faced, in lopsided fashion. Conor would go on to have a losing record at lightweight.

Conor was the product of legitimately incredible weight cutting and right time right place.

 

[ElLunico]

I'd argue that he actually devolved from specializing in boxing leading up to the Mayweather fight.

His downfall was going up to 170 lbs
to fight Nate. He lost his movement and was forced to focus on his hands because doing spinning shit, and moving like he was with that much weight on with his frame was not sustainable and/or possible.

His biggest mistake was being delusional and thinking he could fight at 170 lbs.