Dustin Poirier sees large boost in social media following after defeating Conor McGregor

In the past, the few fighters that have defeated Conor McGregor have gone on to become superstars in their own right. Perhaps Dustin Poirier is next?

Well, social media metrics from the UFC 257 event would indicate that things are trending in the right direction for “The Diamond”.

According to Nielsen Sports via MMA Junkie, the second-round knockout victory for Dustin Poirier generated 520,000 new followers across his social media platforms. To make a recent comparison, McGregor’s last opponent, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, gained 341,000 followers after coming up short against the Irishman.

Aside from Dustin Poirier, UFC 257 was quite a success for the promotion as well. In terms of engagement, numbers were as high as nearly 43 million with roughly 100,000 mentions over the course of fight week.

Even in defeat, McGregor would remain a winner in categories like these. “The Notorious'” social vehicles alone would surpass 22.7 million engagements while 439,000 began following him — a significant drop from his 1.4 million going into the Cerrone fight.

“Conor McGregor has once again shown that his popularity on social media continues to remain at unprecedented levels, despite spending a year out of action,” U.K. managing director of Nielsen Sports, Spencer Nolan, told MMA Junkie. “Online conversation centered on the fact that McGregor lost, and not that Poirier won. This tells us that, win or lose, he remains a pivotal character that has transcended an entire sport.”

Aside from his high-profile interim lightweight title rematch with the then-featherweight champ, Max Holloway, McGregor was easily the biggest win of Dustin Poirier’s career. In total, Poirier now holds wins over five former or future UFC champions.

McGregor, on the other hand, is now in unfamiliar territory having lost two of his last three MMA contests. If and when the SBG Ireland staple decides to return, many believe it will be telling as to where he stands after being knocked out for the first time.