McGregor’s future uncertain

In the week leading up to Conor McGregor’s UFC 257 main event against Dustin Poirier, the folks promoting the bout proclaimed that the king was back. McGregor is the most marketable fighter in UFC history, and figured to use a win over Poirier to catapult him into a year of big fights and big paydays.

Except Poirier, of Lafayette, La., beat the Irish superstar McGregor to the punch, knocking him out in the second round early Sunday in Abu Dhabi and forcing McGregor and the UFC to recalibrate their 2021 plans.

The lightweight fighters, both 32, were each making a case for a title bout. McGregor looked strong and aggressive in the first round, but Poirier overwhelmed him in the second with leg kicks and a barrage of punches that crumpled McGregor to the ground.

McGregor said after the fight that he’d like to compete more often in 2021.