UFC 257- Conor Mcgregor vs Dustin Poirier 2 Fight Breakdown

Conor Mcgregor

Conor Mcgregor had an incredibly eventful 2019, multiple videos circulating the internet for months on end, punching an old man and slapping a phone out of someones hand are two notable instances. He came out in 2020 with a point to prove. He wanted a season. He wanted to right the wrongs of the previous year. Then hit the pandemic. Dana White left Conor on the shelf, he didn’t want to miss out on a possible gate for a Conor fight. Needless to say, that wound Conor up even more, to the point of releasing the DM’s between him and Dana White:

This also resulted in another short lived retirement from Conor Mcgregor, although he has said he will never retire again.

Coming into the fight, ‘The Notorious’ is looking to fulfill his season. 3 fights, possibly one in boxing, and he’s hoping for another title fight.

Dustin Poirier

Dustin Poirier has been on a tear since moving to lightweight. Running through the divisions finest, Eddie Alvarez x2, Justin Gaethje, Max Holloway, Dan Hooker, the list goes on and on. In stark contrast to his featherweight career, Dustin is a legitimate title threat now and nobody can really argue otherwise. It has been a longer and more under-the-radar rise from Dustin compared to Conor Mcgregor, although Poirier has got a loyal fan-base of his own.

Coming from Lafayette, Louisiana, Poirier is the king of his little town, mostly due to his charity work and fighting spirit. Another famous name from the same town is Daniel Cormier. DC himself has spoken of Dustin being the king of the town, despite DC being a UFC Hall of Fame inductee. Poirier has done incredible things for the community for as long as he has had the foundations to do so. Speaking of foundations, check out Dustin Poiriers own charity, The Good Fight Foundation.

Dustin has almost made a point of being in the Fight of The Year nominations every year, with fights against Justin Gaethje and Dan Hooker being 2 that were nominated. This style, along with beautiful combination punching is what makes Dustin so dangerous and well liked among the UFC faithful.

Fight Breakdown

This is a fight of the year contender potentially, or it could be over within minutes. That’s what makes this rematch so much more intriguing. Similarly to how Volanovski beat Max Holloway, you need to disrupt Conor Mcgregors rhythm. If you can manage to do that, you take a way a little bit of the fluidity and flow-state that makes him so dangerous. Dustin also needs to ultimately accept he will need to survice the onslaught from Mcgregor early on.

Footwork is going to be a big factor also, Dustin uses his front foot very well in orthodox. He’s a natural southpaw, but he steps outside his opponents lead leg and throws a beautiful check left Hook. Another one of Dustin’s big weapons is his straight left. Whilst opting to swtich stances often, Poirier is a natural southpaw, and a brilliant boxer. Stepping into the pocket with Poirier usually means a barrage of punches, ranging from hooks to uppercuts, showing off just how good a combination puncher he really is.

Conor Mcgregor on the other hand is a very very good boxer also. Conor sets traps for his opponents, one of his favorite is the range-finder/lazy left hand. He will drop his left hand out there as if he’s throwing a lazy range-finder punch, then as you try to counter him with it, he will pop that left hand straight onto the oncoming chin. He also has a very unique uppercut. Conor Mcgregor throws everything to kill, but his uppercut comes from such a bizarre angle. He almost wire’s up up the center in a straight line, sort of like a jab.

Prediction

I think Conor Mcgregor vs Dustin Poirier is going to come down to, can Dustin gain some respect early doors, and will he work the legs/body. I think, if Dustin comes out, looks to work the body and legs, mixing it in with Take-down attempts, we will see him finish Conor in the later rounds. I also think there is a serious possibility that Conor comes out and clips him within the first 2 rounds and puts him away. Overall, my prediction is Dustin Poirier via fourth round TKO.

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