One major aspect that contributed to Conor McGregor losing to Dustin Poirier, was his inability to defend against the calf kick. He is promising to fix that hole in his defenses, and Michael Chandler is hoping to be of assistance.
Heading into UFC 257, fans were expecting a different fight between McGregor and Poirier, than in their first meeting from 2014. That is exactly what they got too, even if the outcome was still a bit surprising.
Throughout the first round, Dustin landed some hard calf kicks to both the inside and the outside of Conor’s lead leg. This set him up to land some hard punches on the Irishman, sending him down to the canvas in the second round, to earn the TKO victory.
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Conor McGregor Will Learn To Check The Kick
Basically from the moment this fight ended, Conor McGregor has been angling for a trilogy with Dustin Poirier. After all, they each hold a TKO win over the other, so the score needs to be settled.
It is still unclear if this is the direction the UFC will choose to go, but either way, Conor is making sure that he is going to be more prepared for the leg kicks. Taking to Twitter, he vowed to learn how to check the kicks in time for the rubber match.
“Guys I’m gonna cheque the leg kick,” McGregor wrote.
Guys I’m gonna cheque the leg kick
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) March 3, 2021
This message obviously got a ton of response from the MMA community. Among these responses is newly minted lightweight contender, Michael Chandler, who offered to “help” the Irishman practice his leg kick defense.
“Checking leg kicks is easy. @thenotoriousmma I have a few tips for you. Holler at me.”
Checking leg kicks is easy. @thenotoriousmma I have a few tips for you. Holler at me.
— Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) March 3, 2021
Of course, word of this got back to Dustin Poirier, as a fan warned him that he would be in trouble if McGregor learned to defend the leg kick. But fear not, as Dustin has a fool-proof backup plan for that scenario.
“I’m not throwing kicks, just headbutts next time out” Poirier wrote, followed by another tweet with just a GIF.
I'm not throwing kicks, just headbutts next time out https://t.co/VkOkaYAhFj
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) March 3, 2021
https://t.co/rH2a1PxZap pic.twitter.com/RD8I9K2PD5
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) March 3, 2021
Time will tell if the UFC decides to book Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier 3. If they do, it will be interesting to see how things play out this time around.
