Beneil Dariush gives his prediction for Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier trilogy fight at UFC 264 [Exclusive]
Surging lightweight contender Beneil Dariush believes Dustin Poirier will clinch the all-important trilogy fight against Conor McGregor at UFC 264.
Poirier and McGregor are set to collide for the third and final time on July 10 to settle their eight-year-old rivalry. In a recent interview with Andrew Whitelaw of Sportskeeda MMA, Beneil Dariush explained why he believes Poirier will once again emerge victorious over his Irish counterpart.
Dariush feels that being the more active fighter gives Poirier an edge over McGregor in the upcoming fight. Since 2018, Conor McGregor has only fought thrice inside the octagon, having picked up just one win. Dustin Poirier, on the other hand, has fought six times since 2018, winning on five occasions.
"I picked Poirier the last time they fought and the reason is because he's been in that octagon and he's had, I think like hours actually, more than Conor in the recent years. That experience makes a difference.", said Dariush.
Beneil Dariush also claimed that Poirier has better defensive technique than McGregor and taking punches with his chin down makes 'The Diamond' harder to crack. Dariush also said that Poirier's ability to absorb punches and roll with them makes it harder for McGregor to beat him.
"One of the things that people don't realize is that we can take a punch better, being in the proper base. Chin up, terrible for a punch, chin down, you can take a punch better and I think he's really figuring out where to keep his chin and to not get hit, one, and where to keep his hands and then two, if he does get hit, he has the ability to absorb the punch and roll with the punches and I think that gives Conor a difficult time."
Watch the full interview below:
Beneil Dariush gets what he asked for at UFC 262
Beneil Dariush has finally been granted his wish to fight a top-ranked contender in the UFC lightweight division. At UFC 262, Dariush will take on former interim champion Tony Ferguson in the co-main event.
Ferguson was on an incredible 12-fight win streak before falling to Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira in quick succession. He will look to hold his place as a top contender with a win over Dariush this weekend.