Revealed
PROPER DUST UP
Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier 1: What happened in first fight between the UFC 257 rivals and what was the fallout?
CONOR McGREGOR proved the hype was real in 2014 - at the expense of Dustin Poirier.
The Irishman made his mark in Las Vegas for the first time on the night he knocked out Poirier in under two minutes at UFC 178.
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It was McGregor's first win against a touted top-tier contender, as he backed up his brash arrogance and supreme confidence in the cage.
Now, the 32-year-old pair will rematch at UFC 257, at lightweight instead of featherweight, on Fight Island.
Here, SunSport runs down what happened the first time they shared the octagon together and what followed afterwards.
The build up
McGregor was three fights into his UFC career when he signed to face Poirier, and did so having won his homecoming contest earlier in the year.
With victories over Marcus Brimage, Max Holloway and Diego Brandao, he earned himself a new UFC deal with a title shot in range.
Poirier, who at the time was also looking at the belt, came into the bout having also won three on the spin and was ranked No5 in the division.
The pre-fight build up intensified as the pay-per-view event drew closer, with McGregor promising a KO while questioning Poirier's chin.
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The fight
McGregor was as good as his word as he delivered a stoppage inside the first round.
And he nearly did so just seconds in, as a wheel kick just missed the target by a matter of inches.
McGregor was the aggressor throughout the short contest, and began to land kicks and left hands.
But as Poirier backed away, a left hook caught him on the back of the ear and floored him, allowinng McGregor to finish the job with hammers fists.
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What happened next for McGregor?
Both men enjoyed successful but differing career trajectories.
McGregor the following year would beat Chad Mendes for the interim title before becoming undisputed champion with a 13 second KO of Jose Aldo.
After clearing out the featherweight division, The Notorious went after the lightweight crown as was set to fight Rafael dos Anjos.
But after Dos Anjos pulled out injured, he made the unprecedented jump from featherweight to welterweight.
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He suffered defeat for the first time as a result, with Nate Diaz filling in and winning by submission - but McGregor enacted revenge five months later.
Instead of a trilogy, McGregor went back down to lightweight, where he KO'd Eddie Alvarez and became the first UFC fighter to hold two belts at the same time.
Next was a move into the boxing ring for, in a losing effort against Floyd Mayweather before returning to the UFC in a bitter defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov.
McGregor took two years out, but came back to beat Donald Cerrone last January - his last fight before UFC 257.
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What happened next for Poirier?
After defeat by McGregor, Poirier moved up to lightweight - a career-defining decision.
He won four straight before losing again, KO'd by Michael Johnson.
But, not for the first time, Poirier proved his ability to bounce back as he went on a six-fight unbeaten run.
Most impressively, he beat Eddie Alvarez, Anthony Pettis, Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje on the way.
His rematch win over Holloway earned the American the interim lightweight belt and shot at Khabib, who had just beat McGregor.
Unfortunately for Poirier, who was submitted by Nurmagomeov in round three.
He returned a year later, and outpointed Dan Hooker in a five-round thriller last June.
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The rematch
After spending the rest of the year on the sidelines after beating Cerrone, and briefly retiring, McGregor was searching for an opponent.
He then called out Poirier online and old rivals decided to organise a charity sparring sessions.
Instead, the UFC caught wind and offered the pair a rematch, but their promise to donate to charity will still be fulfilled.
Despite Khabib announcing his own retirement, he is still the champion, meaning the title will not be on the line at UFC 257.
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But UFC president Dana White revealed Nurmagomedov will consider a comeback if a lightweight impresses him enough to do so.
It sets the scene for McGregor or Poirier to close out their rivalry knowing a showstopping performance puts them front and centre for a title shot.
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Conor McGregor pays tribute to Dustin Poirier and his foundation at press conference ahead of UFC fight
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