ABU DHABI – For Dustin Poirier, everything was different about his rematch with Conor McGregor.

Poirier, who had previously lost to Mcgregor by TKO in 2014, avenged his defeat by putting away the Irish superstar in the second round of their main event bout at Saturday’s UFC 257 event in Abu Dhabi. Poirier became the first man to stop McGregor with strikes and set the score even.

The result, the weight class, the preparation and many more things were different this time around fighting McGregor. But perhaps the biggest one was how Poirier felt inside the octagon.

“That first one was so long ago,” Poirier told reporters at the UFC 257 post-fight news conference. “But I felt that – and maybe that’s just my growth, too – but I felt his presence less, his aura less.

“I just saw another fighter tonight. I think the first time I was deer in the headlights, you can say. This time, I was just fighting another man – another man who bleeds just like me, and I knew that.”

But that wasn’t the only intangible difference. Poirier’s mind was also at a different place for the second bout.

“I just felt in the moment. I felt aware and I felt here,” Poirier said. “I was in the moment and ready to take advantage of any opportunity I could get. It felt right tonight. When I walked into the octagon and the air hit me, the lights were on me, and Bruce (Buffer) was introducing us, it just felt right.”

Poirier now has back-to-back victories over McGregor and Dan Hooker since losing in a championship fight against lightweight title holder Khabib Nurmagomedov in September 2019. Nurmagomedov retired in October, but has yet to be stripped of his lightweight belt.

Poirier knows a trilogy bout against McGregor has now opened and also named Nate Diaz as a possible opponent for his next UFC fight. He wouldn’t be opposed to fight Charles Oliveira next for the vacant title, but he knows one thing for sure – he’s not fighting Michael Chandler, who won his UFC debut on Saturday.

“I don’t know what’s next, honestly,” Poirier said. “I have to get home, speak to Dana (White), speak to the UFC, and see what’s making sense. I can guarantee I’m not fighting Michael Chandler. They can do whatever they want with the division, but if something happens that makes sense, then we’ll do it.”