Conor McGregor's loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 sent shockwaves through the fighting world.

The Notorious One went into the bout as the overwhelming favourite but was comprehensively dismantled by a superb Poirier performance.

Starting low, Poirier nullified McGregor's movement before flattening him with a flurry of venomous punches.

It was quite the upset but, now that the dust has begun to settle, it is not all that surprising.

McGregor hadn't fought in over a year when he arrived on Fight Island and had fought just twice since 2016.

He certainly looked like he was in the best shape of his life going into the fight, but there is nothing quite like in-Octagon experience for sharpening the senses.

Now, boxing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has weighed-in on the debate, agreeing that McGregor's lack of activity left him at a massive disadvantage.

Fury know's better than anyone the dangers of long gaps between fights and was in no doubt as to the cause of McGregor's Fight Island humiliation.

“I did yes. He did [use inactivity as an explanation for his defeat], and he’s bang on right.

“Conor McGregor fought in 2016, then he had two years out and then he fought Khabib [in 2018].

“Then he had another two years out, and then he fought [Donald] Cerrone [in January 2020]. Then he had another year out, and then he fought this guy, [Dustin] Poirier.

So inactivity kills the cat, no doubt about it.

“When one man’s been active – fighting, sparring and in camps – and one man’s been on the couch, it’s no good.”

Following the loss, McGregor's future looks a little uncertain.

Talks with Manny Pacquiao have fallen through, Floyd Mayweather's interest has waned and Khabib Nurmagomedov will surely opt to remain in blissful retirement.

Concerns remain over McGregor's hunger for the fight. In reality, the main has everything he could ever want - buckets of cash, a thriving business and a happy family life.

He doesn't need the fight game anymore and perhaps that is starting to show.

At this point, there really is only one course of action for McGregor. If he is to resurrect his career, he needs to settle the score in a trilogy fight with Poirier.

If he can pull off a dominant win, the McGregor hype train might just find itself back on track.