Dustin Poirier insists he was just moments away from finishing Conor McGregor before the Irishman suffered a broken tibia in their trilogy fight at UFC 264.
Poirier earned a TKO victory against McGregor after the Irishman broke his left tibia in the closing moments of the first round.
But Poirier feels the outcome would have been just the same had McGregor not have suffered a broken leg.
In a recent interview with legendary boxing trainer Teddy Atlas, Poirier explained that after landing a punch he saw an expression on McGregor's face that showed he was hurt.
"We threw crosses at the same time. I slipped his and I kinda threw a looping cross that touched him good,” Poirier said.
“Now I know. I saw the same eyes I saw in Abu Dhabi when I hurt him on the feet. He makes a certain expression, and his reaction is a certain way when he’s hurt and now I’ve seen it twice.
"It’s hard to explain but I know, and I saw exactly what I saw in Abu Dhabi when I had him hurt. So, he was hurt. Before the grappling and clinching and the takedown and all that he was hurt on the feet.
"I really feel if he wouldn’t have engaged in the clinch I think I would’ve finished him there. I saw the same look in his eyes and I knew I was a punch or two away from sitting him down.”
McGregor clinched with Poirier midway through the first round after 'The Diamond' landed a hard right hand, an exchange that would eventually see McGregor attempt a guillotine choke but lose the position.
Poirier thinks McGregor was happy to be on his back due to the damage he was taking on the feet.
“He definitely didn’t want to be in that position, but he knew at that same time he wasn’t being punched, he was protected. Maybe it’s not a good position but it’s a better position than he was in,” he continued.
“As a fighter we know those little battles that happen in the fight. They’re small battles that happen in the big battle and that’s what that was.
"That was him protecting himself, maybe (thinking) ‘ok, I may be on my back for a little in this round but I’m not going to get finished on my feet’. He was hurt and he was protecting himself. That’s what I really think happened there."
McGregor has won just one of his last four UFC appearances and is without a win at 155lb since 2016.
Meanwhile, Poirier is on a three-fight winning streak and set to receive the next lightweight title shot against current champion Charles Oliveira.
