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At UFC 178 back in September of 2014, Dustin Poirier faced Conor McGregor in a highly-anticipated fight.
Although most experts predicted that Poirier will be the one who'd finally shut down the trash-talking Irishman, McGregor ended up knocking out the American fighter in the very first round of their UFC 178 matchup.
In the years that followed, McGregor went on to capture the UFC Featherweight as well as Lightweight Championships, besides also competing in a fantasy matchup come to fruition -- his professional boxing bout against Floyd Mayweather Jr., that netted McGregor no less than $100 million.
On the other hand, Dustin Poirier faced several ups and downs in his career; eventually making the move from Featherweight to the Lightweight division, and working his way up the 155-pound division's rankings. Following McGregor's recent loss to arch-rival Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, the MMA world has been abuzz with banter regarding the "Notorious" Irishman's next fight being against Poirier.
With all signs indicating that McGregor could likely face "The Diamond" next year, we look at a few reasons why Dustin Poirier will beat Conor McGregor in 2019...
#5 Different stages in their respective careers
Conor McGregor is still relatively young in the fight game, and despite being berated by the large majority of his critics, it's historically been proven that the man's confidence remains sky-high despite having to go through some of the most embarrassing losses in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts.
Conor McGregor is mental fortitude personified!
However, by no means would it be an overstatement to say that presently, Dustin Poirier is in a better phase than McGregor, as regards to their respective MMA careers. "The Diamond" has been on a great streak as of late, whereas McGregor has been on a downward slide.
#4 Improved striking defense
Perhaps one of the biggest criticisms directed towards Dustin Poirier over the years, has been that the man never quite seems to get it right when it comes to the defensive aspect of MMA striking. As evidenced by his KO/TKO losses to Conor McGregor and Michael Johnson, Poirier seems to have a bad habit of abandoning his game-plan and get sucked into phone-booth boxing exchanges.
However, after his loss to Johnson, Poirier has taken a highly disciplined approach to his striking. Despite getting drawn into brawls here and there, he now makes sure that his hands are up, and his bobbing and weaving movements are always on point.
Honestly speaking, Poirier has always been an excellent offensive striker, and now with the defensive aspect of his striking having caught up with the offense; the sky is the limit for this young man. Conor McGregor would surely have a much more difficult time trying to penetrate The Diamond's defense come 2019.
#3 Dustin Poirier has better grappling than Conor McGregor
Dustin Poirier is one of the most underrated grapplers in the UFC Lightweight division today, and the very fact that he's been competing for so long against the MMA elite, has served to further polish his wondrous grappling abilities.
On the other hand, ironically enough, Conor McGregor too happens to be one of the more underrated grapplers in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts today. Granted that he has submission losses early in his career, as well as against Nate Diaz and Khabib Nurmagomedov in the UFC – McGregor still possesses decent grappling abilities.
However, what we need to understand over here, is that McGregor's grappling skills aren't as refined as that of Poirier. Considering that, should this duo lock horns inside the Octagon in 2019, there's a very good chance that The Diamond may adhere to a grappling-focused game-plan in the fight, and submit McGregor in the latter stages of the bout.
#2 Ring rust and distractions have hurt Conor McGregor
Coming into his UFC 229 fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov, the vast majority of combat sports fans, as well as experts, questioned whether the Conor McGregor's long layoff from the sport of MMA may adversely affect his performance inside the Octagon.
And to be honest, it did, albeit to a certain extent. It's an undeniable fact that the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov has made every opponent look helpless inside the MMA ring/cage...And with that in mind, his dominant showing against McGregor could very well be attributed to the fact that "The Eagle" is just that good!
Nevertheless, yet another fact which is irrefutable, is that McGregor looked off-rhythm in the striking department as well. He just couldn't seem to find his footing inside the Octagon. Ring rust is real, and has been known to have negative effects even on the greatest athletes in the world.
Moreover, McGregor's mainstream popularity is a double-edged sword of sorts, especially because with all the fame and attention, come several distractions. Well, heading into a fight against the current version of Dustin Poirier, whilst battling a myriad of distractions, isn't really a good thing.
As a matter of fact, if McGregor comes in distracted against Poirier, I wouldn't be surprised in the least to see the latter knock him spark out.
#1 Dustin Poirier has worked tirelessly and passionately on his mental fortitude
As I'd mentioned earlier in this article, Conor McGregor is someone who has been blessed with incredible mental fortitude. The man's mind-games are legendary, and even when the tables are turned, he still finds a way to act a winner despite having to taste defeat.
Prior to their first fight at UFC 178, McGregor evidently got under Dustin Poirier's skin -- unleashing a merciless assault on the latter's mind, by talking trash about anything and everything under the sun. Come fight night, Poirier seemed enraged, and went forward recklessly, charging McGregor, only to be knocked out with an excellent counter left hand.
Nevertheless, fast-forward to the here and now; and Poirier has evidently matured as a fighter, particularly in the mental sphere. In fact, The Diamond has openly spoken about developing not only his physical skills, but also his mental fortitude.
It'd not be surprising to see Poirier completely detach himself from emotions in the rematch with McGregor, and simply focus on defeating the latter when they fight in 2019. A win-win situation for Poirier.
Who do you think wins the rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier? Sound off in the comments!
