White: Conor McGregor Taking Poirier Trilogy Battle ‘A Lot More Crucial’ Than 2nd Bout
Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Dana White has a message for Dustin Poirier: Quiz a clear Conor McGregor this time spherical.
The UFC president suggested The Mac Life that McGregor appears a ways extra focused coming into Saturday’s bout than he did in his loss to Poirier in January.
“Conor regarded rattling appropriate in that first spherical [against Poirier]. I don’t perceive how well he willing for that strive in opposition to,” White talked about. “I don’t know what he did. I don’t know the variation between his coaching camp for that strive in opposition to or this strive in opposition to.
“I will repeat you this: From what I will glimpse, he’s taking this strive in opposition to loads extra severe than he did the final strive in opposition to. He’s in most cases shut down. He’s in his like limited world doing his thing. He feels care for the aged Conor McGregor.”
Poirier defeated McGregor by skill of TKO in the second spherical of their strive in opposition to in January. A heavy underdog coming into the bout, Poirier took excellent thing about McGregor’s seeming push apart of his legs and peppered him with a sequence of leg kicks to gradual him down sooner than decking him with a pair of factual-handed punches to discover a stoppage.
McGregor has leaned heavily on a boxing-oriented model since his 2017 boxing match in opposition to Floyd Mayweather. While the approach labored in opposition to Donald Cerrone, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Poirier had been indubitably ready to own conclude McGregor apart.
A motivated McGregor might well moreover be dangerous. It is handsome to level out that the 33-year-aged is struggling with or his relevance in the sport. A second straight loss to Poirier might well be his third in four fights since returning to UFC in 2018 and send him plummeting in the championship rankings.
There will not be any longer any inquire of McGregor is the most notorious face UFC has ever produced. On Saturday, we are going to discover whether or no longer he soundless has the abilities to be belief about amongst the easiest in the promotion.