Conor McGregor will defeat Dustin Poirier by knockout.
That’s according to former UFC two-division champion Georges St-Pierre, who expects “Notorious” to emerge victorious in the UFC 264 pay-per-view (PPV) main event on July 10 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“I think McGregor is very good in rematches, and I think he’s going to have the victory,” St-Pierre said on the Tristar Gym YouTube channel (transcribed by MMA Junkie). “I think he’s probably going to win in the second round. A knockout.”
St-Pierre’s longtime coach, Firas Zahabi, has it ending in favor of Poirier.
“I’m gonna make a case for Poirier right now,” Zahabi said. “At 155, McGregor’s power is maybe not exactly what it used to be, and he’s got to do five rounds. I think Poirier showed in fight No. 2 he’s smart enough to take McGregor in the later rounds. I think Poirier’s going to take him into Round 3, and he’s going to do the same thing he did before. He’s gonna kick the leg, he’s gonna injure McGregor a little bit in the leg, and then he’s gonna put the hands on him. It’s going to be a trench war, and Poirier’s gonna put him away.”
Poirier stopped McGregor in the UFC 257 headliner last January, a second-round knockout that avenged a previous loss to “Notorious” at UFC 178, back when both competitors were still up-and-coming featherweights.
The winner of Poirier-McGregor 3 is likely to score the next lightweight title shot against newly-minted 155-pound kingpin Charles Oliveira, who captured the crown vacated by Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 262 earlier this year.
To see the rest of the UFC 264 fight card and lineup click here.