Manny Pacquiao Pinpoints Important Reason Behind Conor McGregor’s Shock Defeat To Dustin Poirier

Boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao has insisted that Conor McGregor's attitude led him to "underestimate" Dustin Poirier in their UFC 257 clash.

Poirier, 32, avenged his 2014 defeat with a sensational second-round TKO victory over McGregor last week in Abu Dhabi.

McGregor, 32, went into the Poirier fight on 'Fight Island' as the heavy favourite, despite being out of the octagon for over a year.

Pacquiao, who was linked with a mega-crossover clash against McGregor, expressed his disappointment at the Irish UFC superstar overlooking the threat of Poirier.

The 42-year-old Filipino told ABS-CBN News: "Losing is part of the game. In sport, there are winners and losers, that's all.

"It is not about defeat, but about how you accept defeat in your life: how you get over that difficult time in your life.

"McGregor had already beaten his rival before and I think that made him underestimate him."

PA

PA

McGregor said ahead of the Poirier fight that he wanted to replicate his dominant run at featherweight in the lightweight division.

And the 'Notorious' was eyeing up a clash with Pacquiao in 2021, though the fight seems even more unlikely in the wake of the Poirier defeat.

Sean Gibbons, who is president of MP Promotions, has suggested that McGregor has "some business to clean up and handle in the UFC" before any chance of facing Pacquiao in the squared circle.

"Very unfortunate [that McGregor lost], it looked like Conor looked past Dustin and got knocked out," he told The Sun.

"Maybe he had the Senator on his mind. I think the demand for the fight is not there presently.

"Conor has some business to clean up and handle in the UFC. It's a bummer, it could have been fun for as long as it lasted and know leg kicks would have made a world of difference."

Topics: Conor Mcgregor, Manny Pacquiao, Dustin Poirier, Boxing News, Notorious, UFC News, MMA News, Boxing, UFC 257, UFC, MMA

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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