UFC 264: Conor McGregor faces off against Dustin Poirier for a third round

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will return in front of a live crowd in Las Vegas for UFC 264, which features one of the biggest headliner events of the year — Dustin Poirier completing his trilogy with Conor McGregor.

For better or worse, McGregor has had a huge impact on the history of the sport, riding on the back of his charisma and undoubtedly a near-perfect fighting style. 

The “Notorious” Irishman transformed into the myth that he is today, following his 13-second win over Jose Aldo, ending the Brazilian’s reign as featherweight champion. From there, came the memorable feud against Nate Diaz that saw McGregor suffer his first UFC loss, however, he emerged from the proceedings as a bigger star.   

He followed it up with a one-sided win over Eddie Alvarez, McGregor was on top of the MMA world as the UFC’s first simultaneous two-division champion.  

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Seven years after his own stoppage victory against Poirier, the Irishman was stopped in the second round of their rematch in January.

Both men soon agreed to a third fight to put an end to the feud and choose who will challenge Charles Oliveira for the lightweight championship.

The bookies have struggled to choose a winner between the two 155lb contenders, but McGregor is anticipated to switch tactics.

Come Sunday, McGregor will have to be wary of using too many leg kicks and might end up getting caught with a striking blow. He has more speed, more power and is a more technical striker than Poirier.

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But in the June 2020 fight against Dan Hooker, Poirier showed he can go all the way in a back-and-forth fight, where he won by unanimous decision. The fight earned him his seventh Fight of the Night award. 

The bout was widely considered as one of the greatest fights of the year and was a contender for multiple awards.  

If Poirier plays it smart and weathers the early storm, he can look to grapple early to tire him out.