Conor McGregor is banking on Dustin Poirier to KO Islam Makhachev.
Stepping into the main event spotlight at UFC 302 on Saturday, June 1, ‘The Diamond’ will look to check off the last box on his list — claiming undisputed gold. Standing in his way will be the reigning and defending lightweight world champion, Islam Makhachev.
Sitting as a +425 underdog on DraftKings, Poirier will go into the bout as a 4-to-1 underdog. It’s an understandable position considering the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ is 25-1 in his MMA career with nearly a decade separating him from his last and only career loss.
Still, Irish megastar Conor McGregor is confident that ‘The Diamond’ will get the job done in spectacular fashion.
“I think Dustin does him, knocks him out,” McGregor said during a live stream with Duelbits. “I think the things that Makhachev does wrong, the things he’s not good at, he fumbles over his feet usually early on and falls into shots. He’s been knocked out by a back check hook from a southpaw before inside the UFC and that’s one of Dustin’s best shots. If Dustin’s ever going to do it, it’ll be this time.
“Obviously Dustin does his things bad also that feeds into Makhachev’s strengths. So, it’s going to be a good fight to see which one shows up but it’s all to play for. There is no clear favorite in it. If you look at Dustin’s last fight, he was getting manhandled by Benoit Saint-Denis and he stayed with it, and then got back to his feet, stayed with it, and landed a shot. That’s great experience to be going into this bout. If there’s ever a chance for him to get it done, this will be it.”
Conor McGregor predicts that Dustin Poirier will knock out Islam Makhachev at #UFC302
"I think Dustin does him, knocks him out. I think the things that Makhachev does wrong, the things he's not good at, he fumbles over his feet usually early and falls into shots.
[Islam's] been… pic.twitter.com/I9C616WNna
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) May 24, 2024
Dustin Poirier Rules Out Fourth Fight with Conor McGregor
Dustin Poirier has stepped inside the Octagon with some of the greatest fighters in UFC history, including Anthony Pettis, Eddie Alvarez, Max Holloway, Justin Gaethje, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Charles Oliveira, Dan Hooker, Michael Chandler, and, of course, Conor McGregor.
Poirier and the Irishman have stepped inside the Octagon on three separate occasions with McGregor scoring a win in their first meeting all the way back at UFC 178. Fast forward seven years and the two would run it back at UFC 278. This time, Poirier would come out on top, earning a brutal second-round KO to even the series at 1-1.
A trilogy fight was immediately booked, but the fight ended in disaster with McGregor breaking his leg in the opening round.
McGregor has expressed interest in a fourth meeting between the two, but Poirier was quick to rule out the possibility, making it clear where his priorities lie.
“I think that ship has sailed,” Poirier told ESPN while discussing another potential scrap with McGregor “All I want is the UFC lightweight championship.”
