Dustin Poirier understands how unique Conor McGregor is and knows how the Irishman moves even better than before.
Poirier is set to face McGregor in a trilogy bout as the headlining event at UFC 264 on July 10th at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas. Both men have a win over each other and will be looking to put the rivalry to bed with a final win to close out the trilogy. Since this will be the third time they meet inside the Octagon, both fighters know how the other fights more than ever before.
In a recent interview with ESPN, Poirier explained how much he re-learned about McGregor from their fight back in January. The Lafayette native also said he respected McGregor for his willingness to take a punch in order to land one of his own, which is something he can relate to.
“I know the way he moves,” said Poirier. “I have an even better feel of his timing, his speed, his accuracy, which the guy is good at a lot of things, man. He really is. He’s special. And I felt it again in January when we fought: his timing, his willingness to put himself in harm’s way to land shots is all attributes you have to have to go out there and finish guys the way he does. And I respect that because I have the same don’t-care mentality at times when I’m in there. I risk it all to land a big shot. And that’s the kind of fights I want to be part of and put on shows, and somebody’s gonna fall.”
Both men have a TKO win over each other, with McGregor getting the edge in their first bout back in 2014. When they first shared the cage, both fighters were rising contenders in the 145-pound featherweight division. McGregor swiftly dispatched Poirier in the first round with relative ease and went on to become the featherweight champion the following year.
In their second bout earlier this year in January, both men had become seasoned veterans of the game with Poirier becoming one of the most dominant names in the 155-pound lightweight division. The Lafayette native moved up to lightweight after his defeat to McGregor and had 13 fights as a lightweight before their rematch at UFC 257. By this time, Poirier had established as one of the best fighters in the division defeating the likes of Anthony Pettis, Eddie Alvarez, and Max Holloway to earn himself an interim lightweight belt at UFC 236 in 2019.
Meanwhile, McGregor only had two fights as a lightweight, one of which was a crushing loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov. The stark difference in experience at 155 pounds showed in the fight, as Poirier was able to exact revenge and viciously knock McGregor out in the rematch in the second round.
Do you think Poirier’s experience of fighting McGregor before will be enough to see the Lafayette man triumph once again?
