ABU DHABI, Jan 24 — Dustin Poirier scored a sensational knockout victory over Conor McGregor at UFC 257, decking him in the second round to put himself in pole position for another crack at the lightweight title.

The KO was the first in McGregor's storied career and came after the Irishman had dominated the fight from the opening bell.

Controlling the centre of the octagon, McGregor landed some hard shots with his right hand but he couldn't find the blow with his left that would have finished the fight, and instead Poirier scored with a hard right to get his back off the fence before landing a flurry of blows to win.

The knockout also silenced the thousands in the crowd cheering on McGregor and the arena emptied out quickly once the fight was over.

Poirier, who won the interim lightweight title in 2019 but came up short when Khabib Nurmagomedov beat him for the undisputed crown later the same year,

Nurmagomedov has since retired and if he does not return, Poirier is likely to face Michael Chandler, the former Bellator champion who scored a thunderous first-round knockout victory in his UFC debut over New Zealand's Dan Hooker in the evening's co-main event. — Reuters