Conor McGregor responds to Dustin Poirier’s comments about their fight

Conor McGregor has responded to a comment from top lightweight contender Dustin Poirier, who he defeated by knockout in a 2014 featherweight fight.

Speaking to ESPN this week, Poirier explained that his loss to McGregor helped him grow and mature as a fighter.

“It definitely started happening after the Conor McGregor loss,” Poirier said. “That was the start of it. It’s been a long process, being a father, losing again, winning some and losing again, and winning another one. It’s just a long evolution of stop caring so much. You just stop caring about the noise and stuff that doesn’t matter…

“A lot of times in my younger career, I felt like it was life or death,” Poirier added. “Every comment on Instagram and Twitter, every journalist who said something, I felt like everybody was against me. I felt like if I lost I would be written off, it’s the end of my career. I’m a bum if I lose this fight. And then you lose a few times and you’re like, ‘Oh sh*t, I can still put this back together. Oh man, I’m still providing for my family. I’m still loving what I do.’ It’s like you’ve been bent but not broken a lot of times and I feel like it made me stronger and it made me the man I am today. I’m happy. I’m genuinely happy.”

It did not take long for McGregor to respond from this comment from Poirier. The Irishman didn’t have a ton to say, but his message was clear.

Respect. https://t.co/SDNbCPRNec

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) July 2, 2020

“Respect,” McGregor wrote in response to Poirier’s remarks.

Since their 2014 fight, both Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier have achieved some amazing things in the cage. McGregor ended up capturing the UFC featherweight and lightweight titles, shattering multiple records along the way, while Poirier went on to defeat the likes of Anthony Pettis, Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez, Max Holloway and Nate Diaz. Both men recently came up short to UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.