Joe Rogan shares theory on why Conor McGregor lost to Dustin Poirier

Longtime UFC color commentator Joe Rogan has shared his thoughts on why Conor McGregor lost to Dustin Poirier last month.

McGregor and Poirier met at lightweight in the main event of the blockbuster UFC 257 card in Abu Dhabi—a card Rogan wasn’t on commentary duty for. The bout was a rematch of a 2014 featherweight fight that McGregor won by first-round knockout.

While McGregor picked up a decisive win the first time he met Poirier, things didn’t go his way in the rematch. Despite starting strong, his leg was quickly damaged by a procession of Poirier calf kicks. He was then stopped by a volley of crackling punches in round two.

Speaking on his Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Rogan shared his thoughts on why Poirier was able to beat McGregor the second time around.

Rogan immediately pointed to McGregor’s long stretches of inactivity as one culprit—something McGregor acknowledged himself post-fight.

The commentator also dispelled the notion that McGregor has lost motivation to train and compete at the highest level because of his substantial wealth.

Finally, Rogan pointed to the fact that Poirier has simply gotten much better since he first met McGregor in the Octagon—clearly the main reason he was able to beat the Irish star in their rematch.

“There’s moments in that fight where [McGregor] was having big success,” Rogan said (via Essentially Sports). “He hurt Dustin at one point in time with a big left hand, but that fu*king low calf kick. That low calf kick is a beast.

“He was still pretty fu*king rich when he fought Eddie Alvarez, he was already a multi-millionaire,” Rogan added. “I don’t necessarily think it’s a rich thing. I don’t know if that affects him that much, but I do think it’s inactivity and do I think Dustin got a lot better.”

Rogan also emphasized the fact that Poirier endured a taxing weight cut down to the 145-pound featherweight limit, which most likely compromised his durability in his first fight with McGregor.

“At 145, Dustin was depleted and diminished,” Rogan said. “At 155 he’s fu*king huge. He doesn’t even look like a 55’er. He looks like a 70’er…

“The thing is [McGregor] is heavy on that front leg, [he has a] wide karate stance and he’s always doing this,” Rogan concluded. “When that leg is available for the low calf kick that changes everything, changes your whole approach, and Conor is also a guy never been known to switch back and forth.”

What do you think of this breakdown from Joe Rogan? Why do you think Dustin Poirier beat Conor McGregor at UFC 257?