Dustin Poirier talks Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor and makes a prediction.
Poirier is riding high after a second-round TKO victory over former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight title holder Eddie Alvarez. The two clashed at UFC Calgary late last month. Poirier is now set to meet Nate Diaz in the co-main event of UFC 230, which will be held inside Madison Square Garden in New York City on Nov. 3.
Dustin Poirier Talks Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor
Nurmagomedov will defend his lightweight title against McGregor on Oct. 6. The title bout will headline UFC 229 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. During a recent appearance on MMAFighting.com‘s “The MMA Hour,” Poirier gave his assessment of the match-up:
“I’m kinda leaning toward Khabib. I just don’t know if he’s going to stop Conor or whatnot, but I’m thinking he’s going to get the victory. I mean, he (McGregor) has a huge chance. He’s got great timing, great judge of distance. We’ll just see if the takedown defense holds up and the cardio holds up. That’s all he has to do. The openings will be there, but he just has to stand the test of the wrestling and the conditioning, the physical part that Khabib’s going to put on early in the fight.”
Nurmagomedov captured the 155-pound gold back in April. He was supposed to meet Tony Ferguson at UFC 223, but “El Cucuy” went down with an injury. Max Holloway stepped up, but he was pulled as well due to weight cutting issues. Finally, Al Iaquinta filled in and Nurmagomedov ended up nabbing a unanimous decision victory.
As for McGregor, he hasn’t been inside the Octagon since Nov. 2016. He defeated Alvarez to become a two-division champion. The “Notorious” one only had one bout in 2017 and it was a boxing match against Floyd Mayweather. McGregor lost via 10th round TKO.
Do you agree with Dustin Poirier on Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor?
