Is anyone else nervous? Feeling anxious? That’s normal for watching big fights. Especially when its arguably the biggest trilogy event of our lifetimes.
Tonight, from the T-Mobile Arena is Las Vegas, Nevada the #1 Lightweight in the world Dustin Poirier (-125) takes on #5 Conor McGregor (+105) for the 3rd and final time.
In terms of analyzing this fight playing out, it’s a tough one. Im not the most confident i’ve ever been in Conor going in. I believe if Dustin takes this to the championship rounds and even late 3rd, it will heavily favor him. His cardio is top of the line and will be hard to match for Conor as it gets taken into deeper waters. And let’s not forget about the crowd. If anyone in this sport will benefit from fighting in front of a crowd its Conor. I truly believe that it can make a difference for him to feed off that energy.
That being said, Conor CAN win a 5 round war if need be, we’ve seen him do it vs Diaz and he is certainly capable. However, this one needs to be ended in the first 2 rounds for him and I believe that’s what will happen. I think exceptionally good in rematches. He’s proven it in that Nate one. He left his family and children at home and has been in camp without them for 8 weeks now. This is exactly what he needed to get his edge back, and I see it making a huge difference. I think he’s going to have the victory. I think he’s probably going to win in the second round by TKO, I see him clipping Dustin, wobbling him and sensing the finish.
The biggest factor is going to be the calf/leg kicks. If Conor and his team can make the proper adjustments, check those and even start attacking Dustin’s leg this could be a wooorld of a difference maker.
They need to make a few tweaks, the first round in January was very competitive. We’ve seen Conor bounce back well after defeat. I think the Diaz bouts really show that and I think Conor proves a lot of doubters wrong.
Either way this plays out, this is going to be a monumental moment in this sport’s history. This is a must win for Conor McGregor for his legacy. He got to this spot by winning in the biggest moments on the biggest stages. Can he recapture that magic? It’s hard to tell. But this writer believes he can and he will.
Violence is coming.
Tensions are 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇 🤬 #UFC264 pic.twitter.com/4eXV1qPDvV
— UFC (@ufc) July 9, 2021
The stats are in ☑️
[ #UFC264 | Tomorrow LIVE on E+ PPV | B2YB @State_Survival ] pic.twitter.com/Lo4nVSXQBg
— UFC (@ufc) July 9, 2021
The trilogy is the biggest fight, but this card is STACKED from top to bottom and the co-main event between top 5 welterweights in #2 Gilbert Burns (+140) and #5 Stephen Thompson (-170) is an AWESOME match up of a jiu-jitsu master and a karate master. This is a classic mix up of styles from the original UFC days. I love Stephen Thompson by KO in this one.
I see him getting the finish on Gilbert late in the fight. The only issue is it’s going to be very difficult for Wonderboy Thompson if this gets on the ground. He obviously needs to avoid the ground as best as possible. If he can do that and utilize his karate stance to throw off Burns, I see him out pointing him and showcasing his high level skills once again.
I also love Sean O’Malley open this card getting a crazy KO finish to start the PPV off right. I LOVE Tai Tuivasa getting the KO finish on Greg Hardy as well, I don’t think Hardy is ready for someone like Tai. It’s a tall task on a HUGE card with a CRAZY crowd. He might get shook fast.
Enjoy these fights. This will be a special night for the sport.