Alexander Volkanovski is still backing Conor McGregor to come out on top against Dustin Poirier.
McGregor and Poirier will compete in a trilogy match when they face off in the UFC 264 headliner taking place July 10 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The rivalry will be settled on that date after Poirier got revenge on the Irishman with a second-round knockout at UFC 257 earlier this year.
Many observers believe Poirier will come out on top once again especially with McGregor seemingly being past his prime and lacking the fire he had prior to making millions.
Not Volkanovski, though.
Volkanovski: Poirier Shouldn’t Solely Stand With McGregor
The UFC featherweight champion still believes McGregor is extremely dangerous and that Poirier would be making a huge mistake if he feels he can stand with him just because he got the knockout last time.
“I still feel like Conor is more dangerous, and I feel like he’s going to be dangerous early again,” Volkanovski told Submission Radio. “And I think he’ll be able to control where it goes a little better than where it did go. Obviously, he got a little bit tired with those calf kicks and things like that. But I do believe he’s going to get his hands on Poirier, and I feel like Conor’s gonna get it. I think he gets a finish.
“I said that last time and I was wrong, but I still believe that. But I mean, you could still see that he was hurting Dustin and things like that. Dustin definitely can fight a clever fight and maybe engage in some clinch and things like that, just to wear on Conor and not let him get Conor’s hands on him so early. Which I think you need to do. But if he tries to stand up and think, oh yeah, what happened later in the round is going to happen early in the fight. If he feels like I have the better hands than Conor, I knocked him out. That’s not gonna end well for Dustin early in the fight.”
Ultimately, Volkanovski believes Poirier needs to mix things up and slow McGregor down similar to their meeting earlier this year.
“Again, slow him down, wear him down, then you can probably put hands on him,” Volkanovski added. “But early, I wouldn’t take that risk. But I feel like he might.”
You can watch the full interview below:
