Eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao believes UFC superstar Conor McGregor may have overlooked Dustin Poirier.

Last Saturday night in Abu Dhabi, Poirier knocked out McGregor in two rounds in the main event of UFC 257.

McGregor had previously blew away Poirier in less than two minutes in 2014.

In the weeks leading up to the rematch, there were ongoing talks to stage a Pacquiao-McGregor boxing match in 2021.

Both athletes are managed by Paradigm Sports.

McGregor made his boxing debut in August of 2017, when he was stopped in ten rounds by Floyd Mayweather at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The unexpected loss to Poirier put the immediate brakes on a potential pay-per-view fight between Pacquiao and McGregor.

Pacquiao, who has been inactive since a July 2019 decision win over Keith Thurman, had hoped to face McGregor in a boxing match. 

"Losing is part of the game. In sport there are winners and losers, that's all. It is not about defeat, but about how you accept defeat in your life: how you get over that difficult time in your life," Pacquiao told ABS-CBN News.

"McGregor had already beaten his rival before and I think that made him underestimate him."

Sean Gibbons, President of Manny Pacquiao Promotions, agreed with the boxer's viewpoint.

"Very unfortunate [that McGregor lost], it looked like Conor looked past Dustin and got knocked out. Maybe he had the Senator on his mind. I think the demand for the fight is not there presently," Gibbons told Sun Sport.

"Conor has some business to clean up and handle in the UFC. It's a bummer, it could have been fun for as long as it lasted and know leg kicks would have made a world of difference."