Conor McGregor Has a New Gameplan for Dustin Poirier Trilogy Fight

Conor McGregor was knocked out shockingly by Dustin Poirier when the duo fought at UFC 257 in January. This was McGregor’s first loss by KO/TKO in MMA. The root of the Irishman’s downfall was some brutal and well-executed calf kicks from Poirier. These attacks compromised his legs, which led to the barrage of attack on the top from Poirier.

The Irishman took the loss on his chin and has vowed to return for a trilogy fight. Fans expect him and Poirier to complete their trilogy later this year with the score between them settled at 1-1 and each having a finish over the other. And McGregor recently took to Twitter to enlighten his fan on his game plan for the third bout.

As always, McGregor has recognized what caused his downfall and is looking to correct his technique on checking those calf kicks. Leg kicks have become an extremely dangerous weapon in the UFC for the past 5 years. Although fighters like Benson Henderson and others used them before, the effects have never been so prominent.

 McGregor has made only 3 appearances inside the Octagon since 2016. A loss against Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018 was followed by a 40 seconds cameo against Donald Cerrone in 2020 prior to his second fight against Poirier. Hence, ‘The Notorious’ has never quite experienced his opponents chopping on his legs and could face a barrage of it for the remainder of his UFC career.

Can Conor McGregor come back stronger?

Despite the loss, the skills of the former two-division UFC champion remain beyond question. He already has a win over Poirier in 2014. Also, inactivity has been a major issue for his recent slump. ‘The Notorious’ has shown before that he is more than capable of coming back from adversity. And with a proper game plan, he can very well beat Poirier again.

In his loss at UFC 257 too, there were moments in the fight where he caught Poirier clean with some good shots and ‘The Diamond‘ was in trouble. So, McGregor knows the recipe to attain success and one might expect him to use them to perfection next time around.

What did you make of Conor McGregor’s recent claims? Can he make a stronger return inside the Octagon?