Poirier wins UFC 264 trilogy bout after McGregor breaks leg

A serious injury to Conor McGregor ended his highly anticipated trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier prematurely at UFC 264, and Poirier took a 2-1 lead in their series.

McGregor hurt his leg with about 10 seconds left in the first round in Saturday's pay-per-view main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. He broke his lower tibia, UFC president Dana White confirmed at the postfight press conference.

Poirier and McGregor both missed a punch near the end of the frame. McGregor's lower leg snapped when he stepped back, and he collapsed to the canvas.

Poirier pummeled McGregor with ground-and-pound shots, but McGregor made it to the end of the round. The fight was called off shortly thereafter as a doctor's stoppage.

McGregor is set to undergo surgery Sunday morning, according to White.

Before the injury occurred, Poirier and McGregor traded leg kicks, and McGregor attempted a guillotine off his back after Poirier got him to the mat. Poirier also brutalized his opponent with elbows on the ground.

"The Diamond" said in his postfight interview that he believes McGregor hurt his leg on a checked kick earlier in the bout.

"He fractured it on one of the checks at the beginning of the fight, and then it broke on a punch. ... When I pointed at him at the beginning of the fight, that's when I checked a good kick - I bet that's when it cracked," Poirier said.

Later, McGregor angrily said there was no check and declared that his rivalry with Poirier isn't over.

"If I have to take this outside with him, it's all outside," McGregor said. "I don't give a bollocks."

The Irish superstar seemed to think he was performing well before the injury occurred.

"I was boxing the bleeding head off him, kicking the bleeding leg off him," he added.

Poirier admitted McGregor connected with a good shot at one point during the round. He also accused his foe of inserting his fingers in Poirier's glove, which is illegal under the unified rules of MMA.

"He did hit me with a good cross, just like the last fight," Poirier said. "I didn't see it, and it kind of clipped me. (I was) a little bit buzzed, but my legs were still there.

"The takedown was easy. He was putting his fingers in my glove and pulling me down to throw the up-kicks. I was trying to let (referee) Herb (Dean) know that. This guy's a dirtbag, man."

Poirier added that he is ultimately satisfied with the victory despite McGregor's injury.

"Karma's not a b----, she's a mirror," Poirier said. "This guy said the wrong shit, and I've been busting my ass. Sometimes these things happen. Nah, I beat the guy."

There was a lot of bad blood between Poirier and McGregor heading into Saturday's trilogy bout, which was scheduled after Poirier knocked out McGregor in their rematch at UFC 257 in January. McGregor previously beat Poirier in 2014.

Poirier extended his winning streak to three, while McGregor - the first simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history - has fallen short in back-to-back contests and has been victorious only once since 2016.