UFC 264: Test of Conor McGregor's strength and hunger as he takes on older and wiser Dustin Poirier

Is Conor McGregor still a fighter? I’m not talking about the textbook definition of a fighter. Conducting a professional camp, judiciously scouting an opponent and then stepping in the combat arena to do battle. I’m talking about the hunger, the blood, sweat and tears. Deep down in the guts, where it counts most. That’s the question that will be answered on Sunday when Ireland’s fighting pride and the self-proclaimed ‘Notorious’ takes on Dustin the ‘Diamond’ Poirier in their rubber match. Since demolishing Eddie Alvarez in a scintillating performance in November 2016, McGregor has taken on Floyd Mayweather in the boxing ring and Khabib Nurmagomedov, Donald Cerrone and Dustin Poirier in the Octagon. Barring McGregor’s brief foray against Cerrone (a fighter who seems perpetually frozen under the bright lights of any big event) McGregor has come up short in every performance. What’s happened these past five years? A couple of notable things. First, McGregor used his new found notoriety in the mainstream and riches after the Mayweather spectacle to enter the liquor business. And with reportedly a billion dollars in sales of his Proper 12 brand of whiskey, business is booming. Which puts one mind of the old adage that a rich fighter isn’t always a hungry fighter. And second, it seems that over the past five years, the fight game has passed McGregor by. The Irishman, whose gas tank has been a bit suspect his entire career, always relied on his top notch striking abilities to put his opponents away early and often.

Nothing but class from the Diamond 💎

We see the epic conclusion to the trilogy tomorrow night...

[ @DustinPoirier | #UFC264 ] pic.twitter.com/kRRy2VdIci

— UFC (@ufc) July 10, 2021

But with the rise of Nurmagomedov sparking imitators and counterfeiters alike, more and more MMA fighters are embracing a wrestling heavy style in which striking is merely the setup for the inevitable clinch and ground wrestling. It remains to be seen whether a striker like McGregor (whose defensive wrestling skills are a tad underrated) can still make it work within the new paradigm that has over-taken MMA. One can argue that with McGregor being a part-time fighter these past five years, his offensive weapons have dulled just a little. Perhaps become a tad more predictable for his opponents. At the top, that’s all you need. It’s a game of fine inches. Poirier certainly knew to watch for McGregor’s left hand was coming behind the right. He was well prepared for it after their first short and violent encounter. In fact, McGregor landed some clean, flush punches which Poirier seemed to absorb without much fuss. In the years between the first two fights, Poirier has vastly improved his own offensive skills. In the second fight with McGregor, it was Poirier that looked the sharper, more well-rounded fighter. Poirier also took advantage of McGregor’s wider stance to deliver some debilitating calf kicks to upset McGregor’s base and balance. Worse for McGregor, while the ‘Diamond’ is far from an accomplished grappler, he certainly bests the Irishman in this department. And McGregor knows it. Poirier knew what he needed most was to survive the first couple of rounds and then drown McGregor in the deep waters. In fact, he did one better. By returning the favour and knocking out the Irishman in Round 2 of their second fight. So how does the third fight between McGregor and Poirier play out? Prediction: Poirier puts McGregor away in Round 3 Picking against McGregor is never easy. Even in the match-up with Nurmagomedov (which for anyone remotely in the know, presented McGregor the stylistic nightmare to end all nightmares) many remained confident that McGregor’s left hand of death would win him the day. Indeed, even taking the fight with Nurmagomedov despite coming off a two-year layoff (barring the Mayweather match-up) shows what a fierce competitor McGregor truly is at his core.

"Tomorrow night, I'm gonna make this man pay"👀

[ @TheNotoriousMMA| #UFC264 ] pic.twitter.com/OVeG0KqHOB

— UFC (@ufc) July 9, 2021

Perhaps the defeat at Poirier’s hands in the second fight has lit some competitive fire deep inside the Irishman. And there’s always the ‘ touch of death’ in his left fist so wonderfully elucidated by UFC legend George St-Pierre’s coach Firas Zahabi. McGregor is not a counter puncher in the traditional sense of the word. Never has been. Rather, he is a disruptor. Of opponents’ psyches, their temperaments and their rhythms. During the first fight with Poirier, this is exactly what McGregor did.  Viciously targetting Poirier in the lead-up, by the time fight night rolled up the American was wound tighter than a banjo string. Poirier has admitted as much. That in the first bout, the mind games worked. The rematch was a different story entirely. It was all sportsmanship and good natured banter. None of the ‘mental disintegration’ so favoured by the ugly Aussie cricket teams of the 2000s and certain combat sports athletes. This time, it was Poirier that got his revenge. McGregor, perhaps attempting to steal from his own playbook, has reverted to the trash talking persona that has served him so well in the past. But the difference this time is Poirier is older, wiser and a more well-rounded fighter. The questions surrounding McGregor remain the same: Just how good is his defensive wrestling? Just how long can he avoid emptying the gas tank? And the new one: At the end of the day, with all the hundreds of millions of dollars and the bling, and the fancy cars and the partying, is he still a fighter? Perhaps he is. But he isn’t the elite fighter that he once was. Pick the ‘Diamond’ to polish off ‘Notorious’ in Round 3.