Poirier vs McGregor 3 Preview

The ongoing Dustin Poirier vs Conor McGregor saga is expected to reach its conclusion on July 10 as the two lightweights will collide in a trilogy bout at the main event of UFC 264. The two first met as featherweight contenders at UFC 178, with the Notorious One taking a TKO win in under two minutes and becoming a top prospect. McGregor later won the featherweight title before getting his hands on the lightweight strap, becoming the first man in UFC history to hold two titles simultaneously. McGregor was then stripped of both of his titles before being beaten by former lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. After a long hiatus, McGregor returned to defeat Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, but his momentum was this time spoiled by the Diamond. Dustin Poirier took his revenge by dominating McGregor in their second fight at UFC 257, giving him his first ever KO loss.

Now, this match has the potential to be the ultimate decider between these two fighters and will be held as part of UFC 264 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Many an online casino in the UK will be offering odds on this epic fight, and quite a few already have their early odds in place if you want to steal a march and try and get better odds right now.

Looking at the Tale of the Tape, Poirier and McGregor have the same height, but McGregor will enter with a one-inch reach edge. Just like they were entering the second fight, per FightMetrics, the two are near dead even in all of their striking numbers, but with Poirier having slight edges here. While both men prefer to stand-and-trade, Poirier isn’t afraid to bring the fight to the ground if he has to, scoring an average of 1.5 takedowns and 1.3 submissions per 15 minutes. Despite that, Poirier loves to fight on his feet and with his crisp and powerful moves, he has proven time and time again that he doesn’t need his wrestling to get things done.

Meanwhile, Conor McGregor is one of the most lethal fighters when it comes to striking. The Notorious One has won the majority of his matches with the help of striking, besting fighters like Jose Aldo, Eddie Alvarez and others. However, in their last clash, Poirier used his vicious leg kicks to slow McGregor down, making him unable to deliver his godly left hand. If the Irishman wants to win the trilogy, he would definitely need a better game plan, with his coach John Kavanagh assuring fans that McGregor is prepared for anything Poirier can throw at him.

When building up to their second fight, it was said that both these guys were terrific boxers, and they are. It was also said McGregor isn’t as adept on the ground and Poirier could use that to his advantage — that standing-and-trading exclusively with McGregor could be his downfall. But Poirier managed to rock and drop McGregor with his striking en route to a second-round TKO.

This one again should mostly be, if not all exclusively, a striking war on the feet. And while that does give McGregor the puncher’s chance he always has, especially with the crispness and powerful striking he brings, Poirier has proven he doesn’t necessarily need the ground to get the job done against McGregor.

Poirier’s more well-rounded skill set, being more of an active fighter and the fact he knows how to beat McGregor, should give him the edge (at least in early one) against the former champ-champ. Maybe McGregor can survive a round or two again, but don’t be surprised if lightning strikes twice for “The Diamond.”