MMA Preview – Dustin Poirier vs Conor McGregor 3 at UFC 264
DUSTIN POIRIER VS CONOR MCGREGOR FACTS
When is UFC 264? Sunday 11th July, 2021 - 01:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC 264? T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada (US)
Where can I get tickets for UFC 264? Click here to buy tickets for UFC 264
What channel is UFC 264 on? BT Sport Box Office (£19.99) BT Sport 2 (prelims)
Where can I stream UFC 264? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT Sport website
For viewers in the United States, the event will be shown live on ESPN+ and you can sign up for access as part of a Disney Bundle here!
DUSTIN POIRIER VS CONOR MCGREGOR STATISTICS
DUSTIN POIRIER VS CONOR MCGREGOR LOWDOWN
Red Panty Night over a title fight makes sense for Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier (28-7). He set up the trilogy after a phenomenal performance back in January handing Conor McGregor his first ever knockout loss. He has blossomed into one of the very best fighters in the division and if you ignore the loss to the lightweight ‘GOAT’ Khabib Nurmagomedov in September 2019, he is boasting a kill streak with the following monsters: Anthony Pettis (submission), Justin Gaethje (knockout), Eddie Alvarez (knockout), Max Holloway (decision), Dan Hooker (decision) capping it off with the knockout of McGregor – not even Nurmagomedov’s hit list is that impressive. Now the UFC vet is looking to make it 2-1 and then go on to finally wrap that title around his waist.
Conor ‘The Notorious’ McGregor (22-5) was a different animal at featherweight and made light work of Poirier back in 2014 but MMA life is tougher up the divisions especially when you are inactive. Since winning the lightweight title back in 2016 when he cleaned up Alvarez, McGregor has only fought three times – getting submitted by Nurmagomedov (2018), dusting Donald Cerrone (2018) and the loss six months ago. Poirer’s experience and cage time with the best in the division was an advantage McGregor simply could not match but now he has a chance to save his lightweight legacy and learn from his mistakes at UFC 264.
DUSTIN POIRIER VS CONOR MCGREGOR PREDICTION
Those mistakes were not preparing for Poirier’s leg kicks. ‘The Diamond’ can do everything from knocking you spark out to wrestling you down and wrapping up a submission, so he is very difficult to train for, but McGregor needed an answer for those kicks during the fight. He will no doubt have an answer prepared already in training camp, but Poirier has a whole arsenal ready to fire.
As you can see, McGregor’s power was too much in their first fight so he head-hunted until the knockout came. That threat is clearly still there as he hurt Poirier early in the second fight, but the vet homed in on the calf to disable him until he was a sitting duck.
If this goes five rounds you have to back Poirier. He not only has the cardio, but he has the experience winning five round wars over the likes of Holloway and Hooker as well as going four rounds with Gaethje before knocking him out. McGregor’s cardio is not as bad as people make out, but championship-round Poirier will be too much. He obviously is not going to submit Poirier, so he has to go for the knockout.
He certainly has the power and Poirier eats a lot of shots. The first round is going to be tense and McGregor will look corner Poirier against the fence with kicks to set up his missile of a left hand but that weapon will decrease in firepower as the rounds go on.
Poirier has the nous to fight smart for the first round. We can still expect his leg kicks but also a takedown if the fight goes past the third round. McGregor has underrated takedown defence but if his energy is sapped, Poirier will be able to take him down with ease and depending on how depleted he is, a submission will open-up.
We can see McGregor focusing too much on the leg kicks and get caught with something he does not see coming but we can also see him putting on a striking clinic. He has more speed, more power and is a more technical striker than Poirier. He even has the arrogance to employ his own game plan of calf kicks, so we are ready for a notorious showing.
However, if Poirier plays it smart, he will weather the early storm while keeping up a decent output and may look to grapple early to tire him out. For the first two rounds, McGregor’s straight left and uppercut could spark the beginning of a vintage TKO but if the fight goes past two rounds, expect a Poirier knockout or submission.
Prediction: Poirier via KO/TKO
Value Bet: Poirier via Submission
