The prevailing thought ahead of UFC 257 is that Dustin Poirier can avenge his loss to Conor McGregor and capture their Jan. 23 pay-per-view (PPV) headliner in Abu Dhabi if he’s able to avoid a “Fight Island” knockout and drag the musclebound Irishman into deep water.
After all, “Notorious” has suspect cardio, right?
“I think it’s a myth,” McGregor told reporters at the UFC 257 press conference (via MMA Junkie). “Obviously I had the first Diaz fight. I went from featherweight, then a month or so later I was at welterweight. That’s obviously going to have impact. Then there was other issues. But overall, I think it’s a myth, a myth that’s out there, and I hope we can answer it.”
McGregor, now 32, is scheduled to go 25 minutes against “The Diamond” but has only seen a fifth round once in his combat sports career, a majority decision victory over Nate Diaz in their welterweight rematch at UFC 202 back in July 2016.
“Sometime, I’m showing up here and someone’s going to be able to stay in the pocket with me and stay in there and fight with me, and I hope it’s this Saturday night,” McGregor continued. “Do I think so? I do not. I’m in some shape at the minute and I tell you this now: I am coming to put on a masterpiece.”
McGregor (22-4) finished Poirier when they first went to war at UFC 178 back in late 2014.