The highly anticipated main event of UFC 264 came to a shocking premature end when Conor McGregor was unable to continue after the first round due to a freak accident in his fight against Dustin Poirier.
First, in the co-main event, Gilbert Burns delivered a dominant performance against Stephen Thompson.
Co-Main Event
Gilbert Burns vs. Stephen Thompson
Thompson started the action with a single leg kick, and Burns followed up by driving him to the cage with a pair of big swings and a body kick. Burns then shot for a takedown, ultimately pushing Thompson up against the cage when Thompson defended. Burns grabbed a single-leg and pulled Thompson to the ground, with Thompson locking up half-guard. Thompson pulled his legs away from Burns and began inching his way up the cage, bleeding as he and Burns traded blows. Burns unleashed a flurry of right hands into Thompson’s face as the final minute of the round ticked away. Thompson got back to his feet with Burns still trapping his back against the cage. Finally, in the last few seconds, Thompson broke away, and Burns went after him aggressively but then slipped. In the last second, Thompson threw a head kick that Burns defended on his way back up to his feet.
Another leg kick from Thompson started the action in round two, coming after Burns again with a series of jabs. The fighters traded kicks, with Thompson focusing on front kicks. After a head kick, he then landed a spinning back kick to Burns’ head, and Burns replied by charging forward, driving Thompson back to the cage, and landing a big right hand before Thompson broke free and moved back to the center. Just over a minute left in the second round, and Burns drove forward for another takedown attempt that Thompson defended. Burns followed up another big right hand with another takedown attempt, this one successful. Burns kept Thompson trapped against the fence for the final few seconds of the round, with both fighters landing short-distance punches until the buzzer went off.
Thompson controlled the center of the octagon in the beginning of the third and final round, throwing a combo at Burns. At a minute and a half in, Thompson landed a spinning back kick to Burns’ head and followed up with a barrage of punches, and Burns came out of his defensive posture swinging to back Thompson up. Burns came out of the chaos on his feet and shot for a takedown, initially succeeding in driving Thompson against the cage but not in bringing him to the canvas. Burns finally brought Thompson down and immediately got to side control, both fighters delivering short-range body shots. In the final thirty seconds, Burns tried to throw on a guillotine choke, and while Thompson escaped the submission attempt, his efforts gave Burns the opportunity to move to mount. Thompson tried to get up, and Burns threw down one more flurry of punches, some appearing to land on the back of Thompson’s head, before the fight ended.
Gilbert Burns was declared the winner by unanimous decision.
Main Event
Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor
McGregor opened the fight with two turning back kicks to the body and then a pair of leg kicks, driving Poirier back against the cage and following up with a kick and punch combo. Another kick to the body that Poirier nearly caught. McGregor focused on kicks, landing another leg kick that was then countered by a leg kick from Poirier. Poirier countered another leg kick with a combo that finished with a big right hand. Both fighters traded more leg kicks, and then Poirier came forward with a big combo that sent McGregor stumbling backward, following up with another short-range combo until McGregor closed the distance into the clinch.
McGregor landed a knee to the body, and Poirier drove him backward against the fence. McGregor put a guillotine on, going to the ground with Poirier focusing on moving to the side to get his head at an angle. McGregor moved to closed guard, but only had one arm around Poirier’s neck, and Poirier was able to get out of immediate danger. The fighters traded big elbow strikes from McGregor’s guard, and Poirier threw a big right hand before unleashing another barrage of elbows and punches while McGregor kicked up at him from the guard.
Thirty seconds to go, and McGregor tried one more guillotine attempt that went nowhere before Poirier stepped away from his opponent’s guard. McGregor got to his feet and threw a front kick, and the fighters traded a couple more punches. But then, McGregor stepped back, his ankle bending at an unnatural angle, and he fell down to the canvas. He could do nothing but defend himself as Poirier came down hard on him. The referee didn’t call off the fight, but McGregor was unable to continue due to his injury.
Dustin Poirier was declared the winner by TKO.
HEAVY ground and pound by the Diamond
#UFC264 pic.twitter.com/MlDAiNKKtW
— UFC (@ufc) July 11, 2021
Full Results
Main Card:
- Dustin Poirier def. Conor McGregor via TKO (Round 1)
- Gilbert Burns def. Stephen Thompson via decision
- Tai Tuivasa def. Greg Hardy via KO (Round 1)
- Irene Aldana def. Yana Kunitskaya via TKO (Round 1)
- Sean O’Malley def. Kris Moutinho via TKO (Round 3)
Prelims:
- Max Griffin def. Carlos Condit via decision
- Michel Pereira def. Niko Price via decision
- Ilia Topuria def. Ryan Hall via TKO (Round 1)
- Dricus Du Plessis def. Trevin Giles via KO (Round 2)
- Jennifer Maia def. Jessica Eye via decision
- Brad Tavares def. Omari Akhmedov via decision
- Zhalgas Zhumagulov def. Jerome Rivera via guillotine choke (Round 2)
The post UFC 264 Results: Dustin Poirier Wins Via TKO After Conor McGregor Injures Ankle In Freak Accident appeared first on Jiu-Jitsu Times.