Chris Weidman thinks Dustin Poirier will defeat Conor McGregor again.
McGregor and Poirier will have their highly-anticipated trilogy match on Saturday night in the main event of UFC 264. They had their rematch back in January where Poirier scored a second-round TKO win.
Now, ahead of the trilogy, many are uncertain on who will win, but Weidman believes we will see a different McGregor as he will be more light on the feet to avoid the calf kicks.
“I think he’s going to come out (in the third fight) way lighter on his feet. It’s going to be more movement-based. He’s not going to be plodding forward, looking to pressure fight,” Weidman said to ESPN (via MiddleEasy).
“He’s going to be bouncing on his toes, and it’s going to be a hard target to find, for Poirier with the calf kick,” Weidman continued. :When he’s in and out, up on his toes, it’s hard to really crush those calf kicks like it is when you’re in a boxing stance, walking forward. It’s pretty easy to crush. I see him just being lighter on the feet, messing with distance, and drawing (Poirier) with the punches, as opposed to just walking him down.”
Entering the trilogy, many are torn on who will win. McGregor has legit one-punch KO power and can end the fight early. Yet, Poirier has been durable at lightweight so for Weidman he knows if the Irishman doesn’t get the job done early it will be tough for him.
In the end, Chris Weidman expects Poirier to get his hand raised again as he thinks McGregor lacks the competitive fire to get his hand raised.
“After watching this second fight that they had with each other, I’ve got to go with Poirier. He just mixed it up so much better than Conor,” Weidman said. “Conor just didn’t have that same energy I was used to seeing him have, that excitement, that fire, that ‘I’m going to beat your a—’ fire that he’s always had. He gets in that cage and he’s strutting around, and he’s like ‘This is my cage,’ you didn’t see that in him. So until he can prove me wrong, I gotta go with Poirier.”
Do you agree with Chris Weidman that Conor McGregor lacks the fire to win at UFC 264?
