Conor McGregor’s return to the Octagon on Saturday night didn’t go at all as planned as he was knocked out by Dustin Poirier in two rounds, suffering his first ever knockout loss in MMA.

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Conor was pretty humble in defeat but obviously this probably means that his eagerly anticipated rematch against Khabib is probably never going to happen, as he can’t even pick up the wins to justify it going down. To rub some salt in his wounds though, Khabib sent out the following tweet dissing Conor’s preparation for the fight and basically calling him a loser:

This is what happened, when you change your team, leave the sparring partners who made you a champion and sparring with little kids, far away from reality.

— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) January 24, 2021

Not sure what that’s really referring to as Conor seems to have had most of the same coaches etc since before he was famous from what I know, but I’m no expert on his training methods or personnel so I guess you’ve just gotta take it at face value. Conor has obviously snapped back at him already, saying the following:

McGregor on Khabib’s tweet: “My team has been my team since day one, I have not changed anything. It is what it is. Respect the athletes, that’s the character of the man for sure, behind the mask… If he wants to have his disrespectful comments, come back my man”

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) January 24, 2021

Conor McGregor responds to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s criticism of his #UFC257 loss to Dustin Poirier. pic.twitter.com/LRjZVh86ei

— Chisanga Malata (@Chisanga_Malata) January 24, 2021

Yeah, weird commentary, but I suppose they have to keep their rivalry going somehow in case Conor can get three or four wins in a row so they can fight again in 2025 or something. Doesn’t look like it’s going to happen does it, and Dana White said similar in his post fight press conference on Sunday morning, explaining that Khabib didn’t think there was much point in coming back as he’s literally battered everyone in the division:

Dana White: “I did talk to Khabib. And he said to me, ‘Dana be honest with yourself. I’m so many levels above these guys, I beat these guys.’ I don’t know. But it doesn’t sound very positive. We’ll see.” #UFC257

— Marc Raimondi (@marc_raimondi) January 24, 2021

Dana White spoke to @TeamKhabib after tonight’s main event and it “doesn’t sound very positive” about his future.

Says Poirier vs. Chandler could be on deck for a potentially vacant belt. pic.twitter.com/dCY7NppfGj

— MMA Junkie (@MMAjunkie) January 24, 2021

There you have it. Looks like Conor McGregor needs a big win in his next fight otherwise he’s gonna be an absolute nobody. Dustin will probably fight Michael Chandler for the belt and Khabib will continue hanging out on the sidelines being a complete and utter badass. MMA just doesn’t work out like a WWE storyline.

For more of the same, check out this footage from Conor McGregor’s first ever fight. Seems like a long time ago.