Georges St-Pierre predicts the winner: Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor 3 | There aren’t many MMA minds more astute than Georges St-Pierre — and that fact could bode well for Conor McGregor ahead of UFC 264.
St-Pierre called his shot and predicted the winner of UFC 264’s marquee headliner between McGregor and Dustin Poirier this week in a video posted to Tristar Gym’s YouTube channel.
“I think McGregor is very good in rematches — and I think he’s going to have the victory,” St-Pierre said.
“I think he’s probably going to win in the second round by knockout.”
McGregor (22-5) and Poirier (27-6, 1 NC) have fought twice before in the UFC. McGregor knocked out Poirier in less than two minutes in 2014 in the pair’s original featherweight matchup at UFC 178, however, Poirier seized his revenge in the rematch this past January, overcoming early adversity to defeat McGregor with a flurry of second-round punches at UFC 257.
And St-Pierre’s longtime coach, Firas Zahabi, sees a similar outcome happening in the rubber match.
“My official pick was 50-50 odds,” Zahabi said. “I think it could go either way, but because GSP picked McGregor, I’ve got to pick Poirier. I’m going to make a case for Poirier right now. I think at 155 (pounds), McGregor’s power is maybe not exactly what it used to be, and he’s got to do five rounds. I think Poirier showed in fight number two, he’s smart enough to take McGregor in the later rounds. And you know what? In round one, he took a big left and he took it well. I think psychologically now Poirier’s a bit more ready to take that left hand. And he’s more aware about it.
“I think this is an incredibly difficult fight. Fifty-fifty, but if Georges picked McGregor, I’ve got to pick Poirier, and I think Poirier’s going to take him in round three, and he’s going to do the same thing he did before. He’s going to kick the leg, he’s going to injure McGregor a little bit on the leg, and then he’s going to put the hands on him. It’s going to be a trench war — and Poirier’s gonna put him away.”
UFC 264 takes place July 10 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.