Jerome Rivera reveals who he's rooting for in the upcoming trilogy fight between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier [Exclusive]
UFC flyweight Jerome Rivera expects the upcoming trilogy fight between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier to be a 'barnburner'. McGregor and Poirier are scheduled to settle their rivalry on July 10 in the headliner of UFC 264. The pair are currently tied at one win each from two contests at UFC 178 and UFC 257 respectively.
In a recent interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Jerome Rivera said he will be rooting for Dustin Poirier in the much-anticipated trilogy fight at UFC 264. Rivera revealed that he's always been a fan of The Diamond and relates to the #1 lightweight contender in the UFC. Jerome Rivera also said that Poirier inspired him to start training in MMA:
"Yeah, that's going to be a barnburner right there you know. That is going to be such a good fight. I'm pulling for Dustin, I've been a big fan of Dustin since I first started training MMA. I saw the fight build documentary on Netflix a long time ago and that one kind of got to me. I could like totally relate to that guy so I'm pulling for Dustin but I'm just looking forward to a good fight."
Jerome Rivera himself is fighting on the same card as Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. He is scheduled to take on Zhalgas Zhumagulov in a flyweight bout. Rivera is 10-5 in MMA and has three wins and three losses in his last six fights.
Conor McGregor vows to earn bragging rights at UFC 264
Once bitten twice shy seems to be the attitude at Conor McGregor's training camp ahead of his upcoming fight. The Irishman has been training relentlessly over the past few weeks and is working on making crucial adjustments to his game this time around:
"All the marbles are on the line. I'm here training very, very hard. I'm about to go for my second session of the day. I'm in great condition already. I beat him in the original bout. I lost in the rematch. We've got a trilogy, I've got a few little adjustments to make. I feel very, very confident. I'm very focused and driven. And I'll go in there and put on one hell of a performance and get it back on July 10th," said Conor McGregor.
Conor McGregor has previously claimed he's working on avoiding leg kicks, which Poirier used to his advantage defeat McGregor at UFC 257. If he manages to get the victory against Poirier, a title shot awaits the Irishman.