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Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Coach Picks Conor McGregor Over Dustin Poirier in the Trilogy Fight

ByKevin Binoy

Jun 19, 2021 | 1:52 AM EDT

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Conor McGregor takes on Dustin Poirier in arguably the biggest fight of his MMA career thus far. Dustin Poirier stopped Conor McGregor for the first time in his career when the two men faced each other at UFC 257. Adamant to make it right, McGregor immediately demanded a rematch against ‘The Diamond’ to even the scores, and Poirier obliged.

Ahead of the fight, a lot has been made about what adjustments Conor McGregor needs in order to secure the win. Khabib Nurmagomedov’s head coach Javier Mendez was asked for a prediction for the UFC 264 main event.

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On the Real Quick with Mike Swick podcast, Mendez said, “I definitely think he can do it. Because the calf-kicks were the deciding factor. And the second deciding factor was when Conor put a good one on Dustin and Dustin took it, and that is when he said, ‘I can take your shot, I’m going to give you some of mine’. And obviously with the leg being compromised, I think the fact that Dustin come in and finish him.”

He continued, “I don’t think we’re going to see the same, because if we see the same, If Conor’s leg gets you know in that scenario again, okay well some of you guys aren’t doing your job right because that should not happen again, should not happen again. Because you should be aware of that and if you’re not, shame on you.”

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Can Conor McGregor make the necessary changes to overcome Dustin Poirier?

When the two men faced each other at featherweight in 2014, ‘The Diamond’ drained himself tremendously to make weight. This severely affected his performance and his ability to eat shots as well. This was corrected at lightweight as witnessed at UFC 257. ‘The Notorious’ connected clean a couple of times. However, Dustin Poirier could walk through those shots.

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Also, ‘The Diamond’ compromised McGregor’s movement by landing multiple leg kicks that ultimately led to a finish. McGregor has had to bounce back for a rematch against the same individual only once. ‘The Notorious’ made all the changes necessary to secure a win over Nate Diaz at UFC 202. Therefore, the common consensus is that McGregor will do the same in a few weeks’ time.