Legendary boxing icon Manny Pacquiao has praised Dustin Poirier on Twitter in the wake of his upset victory over Conor McGregor at UFC 257.

Pacquiao and McGregor have long been rumoured to face one another in the boxing ring, but it was 'The Diamond' who was the focus of the Filipino superstar's attention in his social media post on Saturday night.

"Beautiful thing about the fight game, anything can happen! Congrats to @DustinPoirier. Huge win!" Pacquiao tweeted to his 2.6 million followers on the platform.

The result of the evening's main event was indeed a huge win for Poirier, who employed some devastating calf kicks to derail McGregor, before taking 'Notorious' out with a barrage of punches in the second round.

What was particularly impressive about Poirier's performance from a boxing standpoint, though, was the manner in which he was able to slip McGregor's attempts to land with his trademark left hand.

Perhaps in preparation for a contest against Pacquiao, McGregor has worked extensively on his boxing during recent times, even bringing his former amateur coach Phil Sutcliffe into training camp to help improve his technical ability.

It could be argued, though, that McGregor relied too heavily on this skill during his bout with Poirier on Saturday night. Seemingly intent on breaking Poirier down with punches, the Irishman threw very few kicks and made little attempt to grapple with his American opponent.

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Poirier appeared to grow more confident as the bout went on, realising that he could withstand McGregor's power. This opened the door for Poirier to become more expansive with his own striking and ultimately secure the finish.

In his post-fight interview, a philosophical McGregor gave Poirier due credit for his win and insisted that he would continue to fight on.

With McGregor now tied at one win apiece with Poirier, a trilogy fight between the pair seems inevitable at some point. However, the boxing bout with Pacquiao that was heavily talked about last year should not be discounted yet.

Despite his loss at UFC 257, McGregor still remains one of the biggest stars in all of combat sports. A showdown with Pacquiao would no doubt generate tremendous interest.

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Pacquiao is now 42 years old and the window to make a fight happen grows ever smaller with each passing month. If he and McGregor are ever to mix it up in the ring, then time is of the essence.

Poirier himself looks likely to fight fellow UFC 257 winner Michael Chandler for the vacant lightweight championship in his next bout, meaning that immediate revenge might not be possible for McGregor.

The next move for the 32-year-old will be very interesting indeed.