UFC Predictions: UFC 264: Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor 3 predictions
This weekend sees one of the biggest UFC events of 2021, as UFC 264: Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor 3 takes place in Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
UFC 264 sees Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor end their trilogy in the main event, while Gilbert Burns and Stephen Thompson battle in the co-main event.
This promises to be one of the most epic UFC shows in some time, so without further ado here are the predicted outcomes for UFC 264: Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor III.
#4 UFC lightweight division: Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor
The main event of UFC 264 will see Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor end their epic trilogy, following Poirier’s defeat of McGregor in their rematch at UFC 257 in January.
That fight would’ve been alarming for longtime McGregor fans to watch, but they’ll be hoping that it has acted as a wake-up call for ‘The Notorious’ leading into this rubber match.
The first time McGregor and Poirier faced off was at UFC 178 in 2014. Both men were featherweights at the time. Poirier was more proven in the octagon, while McGregor was just forging his path on his way to becoming the biggest UFC star of all time.
Many fans picked Poirier to win the fight, feeling McGregor was all hype – but ‘The Notorious’ proved them wrong in dramatic fashion by dispatching of ‘The Diamond’ in the opening round. He knocked him out with a lancing left hand to the side of the head.
Of course, everyone knows the story from there. McGregor went on to win the UFC featherweight and lightweight titles, becoming the biggest star in MMA history in the process.
Poirier, meanwhile, took a harder route, but after wins over Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez and Max Holloway, became the interim UFC lightweight champion in 2019. He failed to become the undisputed champ when he lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov, but that stands as his only loss since 2016.
In his rematch with McGregor at UFC 257, Poirier fought the perfect fight. ‘The Diamond’ used low leg kicks to soften the Irishman up, taking advantage of McGregor’s boxing-oriented gameplan.
From there, he drew him into an exchange and, using his own pressure-based boxing game, ended up becoming the first man to knock McGregor out in his UFC career.
So how will this third bout go? It’s safe to say that Poirier should come in with total confidence. ‘The Diamond’ didn’t really struggle at all to take McGregor out in January. Also, at lightweight, his chin is far better equipped to take a heavy shot from the Irishman than it was at UFC 178.
However, McGregor can definitely win this fight. He’s probably the quicker fighter, and if he can get back to the style that led him to the top of the UFC in the first place – a lot of emphasis on movement, angles and timing rather than purely boxing – he remains a bad match for ‘The Diamond’.
The question for ‘The Notorious’ is how hungry he actually is at this point. When he first fought Poirier, he was a young fighter looking to climb the ladder. Nowadays, he’s got millions in the bank and probably doesn’t need to fight.
However, McGregor has historically performed at his best when fans have written him off. He looks in phenomenal shape, has claimed he’s focused his camp on “nothing but MMA”, and is obviously desperate to prove his doubters wrong.
So with that in mind, it won’t be easy but a McGregor victory by knockout is the prediction.
The Pick: McGregor via second round KO