Ranking 5 best wins of Poirier's UFC career

As we get closer to Dustin Poirier's trilogy bout with Conor McGregor at UFC 264 on Saturday, let's look back on his five best performances in the Octagon to date.

5. Bobby Green, 1st-round KO

Event: UFC 199
Date: June 4, 2016

Green is a tough fighter to take out, but Poirier made it look easy. He dropped Green just over a minute into the bout before putting him down for good with a left hand later that round. This was Poirier's fourth straight victory since moving up to the lightweight division in 2015, and it was all the UFC brass needed to know that "The Diamond" - then ranked No. 11 - was ready to face a top contender.

4. Justin Gaethje, 4th-round TKO

Event: UFC on Fox 29
Date: April 14, 2018

Poirier and Gaethje sat just outside title contention when they met in this highly anticipated main event. One of them would move closer to the lightweight belt held by Khabib Nurmagomedov with a victory. The exciting fighters traded huge shots for three rounds, making a strong case for Fight of the Year. Poirier finally got through to Gaethje's incredible chin in the championship rounds, picking up a stoppage win early in the fourth stanza.

3. Eddie Alvarez, 2nd-round TKO

Event: UFC on Fox 30
Date: July 28, 2018

If the win over Gaethje left any doubt that Poirier was a title contender, this victory over Alvarez sealed the deal. It was Poirier's second time facing the former lightweight champion after the two fought to a controversial no-contest in 2017. The added tension between Poirier and Alvarez going into the rematch increased the stakes. "The Diamond" made it clear who the better man was, dominating Alvarez en route to a devastating finish in the second round. This victory put Poirier on track for his first UFC title opportunity.

2. Max Holloway, UD

Event: UFC 236
Date: April 13, 2019

It doesn't get much more impressive than Poirier's performance against Holloway, who entered as the reigning featherweight champion with an opportunity to capture the interim lightweight title. "Blessed" was riding a remarkable 13-fight winning streak and hadn't lost in over five years. Poirier came in as a sizable underdog but proved to be the more skilled and stronger fighter, edging out Holloway in one of the best fights of the year. Poirier claimed the interim belt and cemented himself as the No. 2 guy in the lightweight division, setting up a title unification showdown with Nurmagomedov later in 2019.

1. Conor McGregor, 2nd-round TKO

Event: UFC 257
Date: Jan. 23, 2021

While this marked the biggest win of Poirier's career by a landslide (for obvious reasons), it's hard not to also consider it his most impressive performance. The 32-year-old hoped to avenge a 2014 loss to McGregor - the biggest star in mixed martial arts history - in a rematch that came out of nowhere, and he was successful. McGregor was favored heading in, but it quickly became evident that it was a much different matchup than six years ago and Poirier had what it took to beat the former two-division champion.

McGregor did well in the first round, but Poirier found a ton of success with calf kicks in the next stanza, which ultimately made the Irishman's chin an easier target. Poirier dished out punishment that McGregor couldn't absorb, and "The Diamond" officially handed McGregor his first TKO loss in MMA - a hell of a result.