Conor McGregor predicts Dustin Poirier to emulate southpaw's past success against Islam Makhachev from nine years ago

Conor McGregor sees a championship victory for his old rival Dustin Poirier. Despite the seemingly difficult style matchup for the American, 'The Notorious' believes the striking stance of Poirier will be a factor in his matchup with Islam Makhachev.

As he announced on May 19, McGregor struck up a deal with the gambling company Duelbits and had set out to host a live stream with fans participating on the site and answering questions. It was on the May 20 stream that the Irishman gave his bold prediction for the UFC 302 main event.

McGregor said:

"[Islam Makhachev has] been knocked out by a bad check hook from a southpaw before."

The reference to a previous loss of Makhachev extends back to UFC 192 when the Makhachkala native was surprisingly knocked out by Adriano Martins.

McGregor has never fought Makhachev but has shared the octagon with Poirier on three separate occasions, including his last fight at UFC 264. The 35-year-old initially knocked out 'The Diamond' at UFC 178 at featherweight but lost the rematch seven years later and the ensuing trilogy.

Since suffering a broken leg against Poirier in the trilogy bout, McGregor has been absent from UFC competition but is set to return nearly three after his last fight against Michael Chandler at UFC 303.

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Conor McGregor's history with Islam Makhachev and Eagles MMA

The rivalry between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov will forever be one of the most notable feuds in MMA history, culminating with the infamous post-fight brawl at UFC 229.

In 2024, the bad blood between the two fighters is still evident with 'The Notorious' repeatedly taking shots at members of the Eagles MMA team, including current UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.

Immediately after the Dagestani rose to pound-for-pound no. 1 in the UFC rankings, McGregor criticized the decision, recalling Makhachev's loss to Adriano Martins and alleged steroid use.

The social media wrath of McGregor does not only pertain to Makhachev, as the Irishman has also tweeted criticism of Bellator champion Usman Nurmagomedov for his positive drug test and Umar Nurmagomedov for withdrawing from previous matchups.