UFC: Dustin Poirier must convince himself he ‘just got caught’ by Conor McGregor, says Daniel Cormier
- ‘That’s what Dustin is gonna have to rely on in order to give himself a chance,’ says former two-weight champ
- Cormier thinks Poirier will have to use first-round TKO by McGregor as motivation for UFC 257 main event rematch
The consensus is Conor McGregor holds the psychological advantage over Dustin Poirier heading into their UFC 257 main event rematch on January 23.
McGregor (22-4) TKO’d “The Diamond” (26-6, one no contest) in the first round of their 2014 contest, during his meteoric rise to the UFC featherweight title and MMA superstardom. Plenty has changed since – not least that both are now fighting at lightweight, where No 4-ranked McGregor claimed the undisputed belt in 2016, and No 2 Poirier the interim belt in 2019.
The common denominator is both have also since fallen to Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0). But if the lightweight champ holds firm on his promise to retire, the vacant belt could feasibly be put on the line in Abu Dhabi this month, and the former UFC two-weight champ thinks Poirier will have to prepare himself mentally.
“I think when you lose a fight and you go into another fight ... I know all about it, I fought ‘Rumble’ [Anthony Johnson] twice, I fought Jon Jones twice, I fought Stipe [Miocic] three times. I fought seven of my 25 fights against three dudes,” Cormier told SCMP MMA.
“So I think any fighter can convince himself he just got caught, and that’s what Dustin is gonna have to rely on in order to give himself a chance.