'I’m sorry for anyone I let down': Poirer gives tearful speech after UFC 242 loss to Khabib (VIDEO)

A tearful Dustin Poirier gave an emotional post-fight interview following his UFC 242 loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov for the undisputed UFC lightweight title on Saturday, in which he declared: ‘I’m sorry for anyone I let down.”

Poirier was submitted by a rear-naked choke from the ‘Dagestan Eagle’ at 2.06 minutes of round three during the fight at The Arena on YAS Island after being dominated by Khabib for most of the fight, but having also given a good account of himself during exchanges.

After the fight, a tearful and reflective Poirier, who also lost his interim UFC lightweight title with the defeat, gave an interview in the octagon, admitting he was “proud” but also said “sorry” to those he had “let down”.

“I knew he was gonna press I knew I was gonna be against the fence a lot. I just felt like I let myself down you know I didn’t cut any corners preparing for this,” Poirier declared, before appearing visibly upset.

“I felt like my whole career set me up for this moment,” he continued, breaking away to bury his face in a towel to wipe away tears, at which point the crowd began to cheer in encouragement for the Louisiana fighter.

“Maybe there were times in there where I could have done more. I was just so prepared. Now I gotta wake up and look at myself every morning with this result. If anything adversity has taught me in the past. It’s when times are good - be grateful. And when times like this - be graceful,” Poirier continued, at times struggling to control his emotions.

Poirier said his immediate plans were to go home and spend time with his family after the “long road” to his title shot against perhaps the sports most dominant fighter around today. 

“I’m proud of everything I’ve achieved in the sport. I have a lot of tread left in the tyres. But right now I just need some time to think, man,” Poirer said before grabbing back the microphone from the interviewer and humbly finishing with: “I’m sorry for anyone I let down with this performance. I promise you I wanted this more than anything.”

In a touching show of respect, Khabib wore Poirier's shirt after the fight, and pledged to auction the garment to raise money for his fallen foe.

Poirier is left to ponder his future, whereas Khabib moves on to a potential long-awaited fight with Tony Ferguson as the next defense of his 155lbs title. Can anyone beat the ever-dominant Khabib? El Cucuy may just be in with a shot.