Just like their first fight, coach Mike Brown will be in Dustin Poirier’s corner for the rematch against Conor McGregor. Prior to UFC 257, Mike explains the differences in Dustin between these two meetings.
This weekend, Poirier will be taking on McGregor for the second time. Their first fight ended rather quickly, with Dustin getting TKOd in the first round, in one of his final fights at featherweight.
Now both men are older and more experienced, and their rematch will be taking place at lightweight. It seems that even though this is a rematch, mot people are expecting it to be a completely different fight.
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Mike Brown Says Bad Blood Does Not Matter
One of the big things about the first meeting between Poirier and McGregor, was the mental warfare from the Irishman. Dustin admitted that Conor got in his head, leading to him being too aggressive and emotional.
While this is not the case in the rematch, Poirier’s head coach Mike Brown says that it does not matter. Speaking in a recent interview, he explained that Dustin has matured to the point where it would not make a difference if there was bad blood, which there is not.
“I don’t know if it matters or not. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t. I’m not sure if that’s truly a factor,” Brown explained.
“I’ve seen Dustin mad and angry and pissed, and knock guys out in a minute. I’ve seen it all so I don’t know if that’s always a factor or not.
“But I like where he’s at mentally. I think he’s very confident, he believes in himself. Whatever is going to come at him, it’s nothing he hasn’t seen before.
“He’s prepared for everything, and I think he’s confident and feeling good inside his head.”
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Looking Back On The Early Days
Mike Brown was in Dustin’s corner for the first fight against Conor, and has been working with the Louisiana native for years. He explained what it was like to work with Poirier back then, and what has changed for him over the years.
“Raw talent man, raw talent. Obviously he had skills, but he has been refining them year after year,” he said.
“Every week, every month, every year, every fight, every camp, he gets dramatically better. It’s cliche but it’s really true, especially the losses man.
“Every loss, you learn so much and you make the big, major changes after a loss. That’s when you analyze what’s going on and try to fix whatever the problem might be. That’s when you try to fix the holes.”
There is no denying what Mike Brown is saying, that Dustin Poirier has improved immensely over the years. It will be riveting to see if it is enough to get it done in the rematch against Conor McGregor at UFC 257.
