Just when you think mixed martial arts was starting to run out of new sights to show us, this sport hits us with something different. Last Saturday, we were treated to something that at one point seemed impossible: the great Conor McGregor bested on the feet, beaten up, and knocked out.

Dustin Poirier stunned the sporting world at UFC 257 when he conquered McGregor, avenging a 2014 defeat and becoming the first man ever to knock out the former two-division champion and the biggest pay-per-view draw in MMA history. McGregor is one of the most recognizable mainstream combat sports stars of the 21st century, an incredibly popular athlete, and seeing him be reduced to a meme of him lying beaten on the Octagon floor was absolutely stunning.

The knockout might have permanently destroyed the McGregor aura that had already been heavily damaged by earlier defeats to Nate Diaz and Khabib Nurmagomedov. If Conor McGregor can get knocked out, then he’s just like everybody else.

Ever since Saturday, the question that has been hotly debated is this: Is Conor McGregor done? The only reasonable answer at this point should be a hard no. Why should losing against one of the best lightweights in the world, in their prime, make you done? Was Max Holloway done when he lost a lopsided unanimous decision to Poirier a couple years ago? Was Poirier himself done when he got completely owned by Khabib?

The idea of Conor McGregor being “done” because he got knocked out by Dustin Poirier is a tremendous disservice to Poirier, who is finally being recognized as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters on Earth. To me, McGregor didn’t look anywhere near washed – while perhaps somewhat reduced from his scintillating 2015 peak, he looked quick and dangerous in the early goings of the fight. By Poirier’s own admission, McGregor even hurt him pretty bad with a right hand late in the first round. In the end, however, he just ran into an all-time legend who fought the perfect fight to beat him.

So no – absent any further evidence, it’s not fair at all to say that Conor McGregor is done. The much harder question to puzzle out is what’s next. McGregor has already climbed every hill it’s possible for him to climb. Featherweight champion, lightweight champion, mainstream celebrity, biggest pay-per-view draw ever, personal whiskey brand, ludicrous stacks of cash. There’s nothing he really needs to prove or achieve by continuing to fight.

Contrary to some popular opinion, it doesn’t seem likely that McGregor’s drawing power will be affected that much by this loss. McGregor is still a master self-promoter and the most recognizable mixed martial artist in the world. As an example: when Ronda Rousey got knocked out by Holly Holm in 2015, Rousey’s next fight, against Amanda Nunes, did about the same pay-per-view buyrate. McGregor’s still going to be a big money star after this loss, at least in the near future.

What’s less clear is McGregor’s immediate future inside the cage. Although McGregor has voiced his desire to face Poirier again in what would undoubtedly be a big-money trilogy fight, Poirier for now is onto bigger and better things. McGregor jumping the line for a title fight at this stage would likely cause a revolt among many of 155’s more deserving contenders – just ask Justin Gaethje.

There’s no shortage of great fighters at lightweight who would benefit from the spotlight a McGregor encounter would bring. There seems to be momentum towards a Poirier-Charles Oliveira fight for the world title, leaving fighters like Gaethje, Tony Ferguson and Michael Chandler looking for opponents. All three potential foes carry varying levels of intrigue.

Gaethje would be the most meaningful test of what McGregor has left in the tank. The 32-year-old is now likely the most dangerous man at 155 not named Dustin Poirier, and he would challenge McGregor to adjust to the blueprint Poirier laid out last weekend – Gaethje is renowned for his punishing leg kicks, and one could easily see him assault McGregor in the same way Poirier did. If McGregor has any future as a top-class fighter, he has to display the dedication and self-awareness necessary to make the changes he needs to stay on top. An encounter with Gaethje would be his chance to show the world he still has those qualities.

Ferguson has seemingly declined greatly as a fighter over the past year – after an eight-year undefeated run, he was summarily dominated in fights with Gaethje and Oliveira in 2020 – but he’s still very popular, and a McGregor-Ferguson fight would be the fulfillment of a dream match many of us wanted a few years ago. It’d probably do big money on pay-per-view, even though McGregor would likely be heavily favored to win.

Then there’s Chandler. The three-time Bellator champion had an explosive UFC debut on Saturday with a first-round knockout of Dan Hooker, rocketing him into the top five of the lightweight rankings. With his explosive knockout power, insane celebratory backflips off the cage and fiery post-fight promos, Chandler seems to have the potential to be a tentpole UFC star. A pairing of McGregor and Chandler might be more about Chandler than McGregor – it could be the UFC’s chance to turn Chandler into a new pay-per-view draw.

Of course, this is Conor McGregor we’re talking about here. The Irishman always wants to be the center of attention. One loss to an all-time great isn’t going to relegate McGregor to the dustbin of history, but it has inserted him back in the pack in one of the deepest divisions in the sport. The UFC’s lightweight division is shark-infested waters. I thought the McGregor that showed up on Saturday still has the same physical gifts that made him special, but it won’t be easy work to get back to the top.

This adversity could prove to be the biggest test McGregor faces in his career. One of the knocks McGregor has always faced is that he fades when the going gets tough. He faced that criticism against Diaz, against Khabib, and now against Poirier, who dodged the early knockout blows, made things tough for him, and cut McGregor down to size. For once, McGregor is going to have to dig deep and come back stronger.

Conor McGregor is not done yet. He’s just at the point where the real work has to begin. Hopefully soon we’ll see whether he’s up to the task.