UFC 264 brings the final chapter in Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor’s trilogy. The two lightweight superstars, and fighters who want to reach the throne after Khabib’s retirement meet on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, ready to entertain the world once again. Their previous two battles have been fantastic, and each guy holds one win. The more recent one was Poirier’s, but McGregor claims that he’s been out of shape in that event.
BetXChange is delivering a short preview of this bout, so stay tuned for a couple of minutes and read it.
Preview
Dustin Poirier is on the rise in recent years, and apart from Khabib Nurmagomedov, there haven’t been any losses in his resume since 2016.
One by one, Jim Miller, Anthony Pettis, Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez, Max Holloway, Dan Hooker, and finally McGregor, all fall in front of the Diamond. The only loss he suffered during this fantastic stretch was against Khabib, in a title match at the UFC 242. Though, he did create all sorts of trouble for Khabib.
Poirier is a guy whose power is beyond the division in which he fights, and he is usually much heavier than during the weigh-in. That is the reason why he stands as one of the strongest punchers in the lightweight competition. Though, we need to say that Diamond’s cardio is close to perfect. He can go on for more than five rounds, be sure in that.
McGregor was out of shape in the last match, and that is a fact. His cardio was very poor, and the movement inside the octagon at least 30% slower than before. One more very important thing we need to mention is that he didn’t have a proper opponent in the past three years, since losing to Khabib. With all due respect, Donald Cerrone is a mediocre fighter, and we can’t put him in the elite echelon of the lightweight division.
Judging by his words and looking at his body in the past few weeks, Conor should be much better. He is sharp as ever, which is a consequence of a TKO defeat against Dustin, his first in his career. Once a fighter experiences something like that, that undoubtedly leaves some mark on his ego.
No need to explain who McGregor is and what he did in the past. He was the first two-division champion in the UFC and arguably the biggest name in the entire organization. Ferocious puncher with hands of steel and unbelievable quickness, he has 19 KOs in 22 wins.
Previous Matches
Conor won the first meeting back in 2014, at the UFC 178. He KOd Poirier in the first round, earning the Performance of the Night bonus.
The second battle was in January, and the Diamond got his revenge, knocking out Conor in the second round.
Prediction
This fight is going to end via KO, be sure in that. No decision, no submission, or anything, but a KO. It is simply the only logical solution when you have two guys like these going after one another.
Furthermore, we believe in Conor’s victory because he seems much better prepared now. He has a huge motive, just as Dustin, don’t get us wrong, but knowing his ego, the Notorious definitely entered this contest 100%. And in such a situation, we have to side with him.
At BetXChange there is a nice offer for Conor’s KO win, at 1.50.
