While we didn’t get to see any UFC action this past weekend because of the 4th of July holiday in the U.S., we did get to see anticipation build for UFC 264. It’s an absolutely massive main card that we have on tap this coming Saturday, with the 3rd fight between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier in as the main event. This is a big fight in its own right, but it becomes even more so when you consider that the winner of this one is probably going to get a shot at Charles Oliveira and the Lightweight title. There is a lot on the line with this fight, which is why we are going to give it a ton off attention over the course of this week. Let’s get the ball rolling by talking a little about the first time these two met so you can continue planning your bets against their UFC odds.
Early Week MMA Prediction for UFC 264: Poirier vs. McGregor 3 | Rundown of Poirier vs McGregor 1
Fight 1 at UFC 178
When you talk about the biggest names in the UFC right now, it is very often Conor McGregor whose name is the one that most people recognize. He is a massive draw, but back in 2014, when he faced Poirier for the first time, their fight was down below two others on the main card. In the grand scheme of things, though, it was still a huge fight.
McGregor came into the first fight with a record of 15-2, which included a run of 11 straight wins. It is worth noting, though, that McGregor had just 3 of those wins in the UFC, but the way in which he won those opening bouts had him in as the #9 ranked Featherweight. He was actually ranked behind Poirier, who was #5 at the time. There are a lot of people who point to this fight and say that this was when McGregor became a major player in the UFC.
Poirier came into fight number one knowing that a win would take him that much closer to a Featherweight title shot. Prior to this one, Poirier had to pull himself out of a slump that had seen him lose 2 of 3, but he did that by winning each of those 3 fights ahead of the McGregor bout, with 2 of those wins coming in the early rounds.
The fight began with McGregor on the offensive, unloading a couple of big kicks that just missed the target. The fight then moved to the perimeter of the octagon, with Poirier catching the Irishman with a brutal left-hand shot, only to take one right back. The return punch from McGregor rocked Poirier and led to McGregor standing with his hands down inviting his opponent to come at him. McGregor then threw a right that put Poirier down on one knee, with the Irishman following up with a series of punches that caused the referee to step in and stop it at 1:46 into the opening round.
Poirier was less than pleased at the fight being stopped, suggesting that he was rolling away from the punches as opposed to going down on the mat because of them. He did eventually get his revenge, though, which is what we will talk about when we break down fight #2.
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