Conor McGregor was left reeling after suffering the first knockout defeat of his UFC career to Dustin Poirier this weekend.

The Notorious was stopped in the second round at UFC 257, admitting the result was “a tough one to swallow”.

"His leg kicks were good, my leg was dead and I wasn't as comfortable as I needed to be," McGregor said, per BBC Sport, after the fight. "I have to dust it off and come back and that's what I'll do.

"I'm gutted, it's a tough one to swallow, I just want to go back to the hotel and chill with my kids and regroup."

Poirier, meanwhile, believes he has now confirmed his status as UFC’s best boxer after exacting revenge over McGregor for a defeat in 2014 at UFC 178.

McGregor’s loss reduces the chances of a potential rematch between the Irishman and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The two went head-to-head in an ill-tempted fight in October 2018 and it was Khabib who prevailed.

The 32-year-old has been retired since October 2020, when he defeated Justin Gaethje, but speculation has been rife that the Russian could soon make a comeback.

Khabib reacted to McGregor’s latest defeat via social media.

He tweeted: “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.”

Ouch.

Khabib’s tweet, unsurprisingly, is going viral.

Within 15 minutes, Khabib’s words had already been retweeted 6,000 times and been ‘liked’ by over 20,000 accounts.