Matt Brown thinks Dustin Poirier can take credit for ending Conor McGregor’s desire to fight

Matt Brown thinks Conor McGregor’s fighting career truly ended after Dustin Poirier was finished with him.

While McGregor handed Poirier a first-round TKO loss back in 2014, things played out far differently in their next two encounters. “The Diamond” scored a second-round finish over the “Notorious” one in early 2021. In their July rematch that same year, McGregor suffered a broken leg.

Brown believes that Poirier took away McGregor’s desire to fight.

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Matt Brown Says Dustin Poirier Took Conor McGregor’s Soul

As far as former UFC fan favorite Matt Brown is concerned, Dustin Poirier pulled a Shang Tsung on Conor McGregor. During MMAFighting.com‘s “The Fighter vs. The Writer,” Brown told Damon Martin that he feels Poirier can be thanked for McGregor losing his competitive spirit.

“When that [fight] happened, it looked to me that Dustin took his soul that day,” Brown said. “I think we all felt that. Maybe we didn’t know it would be as severe as it is. We thought Conor’s a warrior, he’ll be back soon. But when you back and you watch that fight, Dustin took his f*cking soul.

“I thought Nate Diaz might have taken a little bit the first time [he beat Conor] but Conor bounced back from it. Whatever Dustin did to him, I think Dustin actually took his soul, and he no longer had the desire to compete anymore.”

Many fans and experts have been skeptical of McGregor’s plans to return to the Octagon. He had been scheduled to fight Michael Chandler earlier this year, but he pulled out of the bout due to an injury. Chandler has been booked for a rematch with Charles Oliveira in November.

As for McGregor, UFC CEO Dana White insists his golden goose will return to the Octagon sometime in 2025.