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#3 Conor McGregor can turn his weakness into an advantage
Throughout his career, the ground game is believed to be Conor McGregor's greatest weakness. The argument carries some merit to it as four out of McGregor's five career losses came by way of submission.
But McGregor could use his reputation as a mediocre grappler to his advantage. Poirier has already shown in their most previous fight that he's willing to go to the ground with McGregor. Knowing this, McGregor should be prepared to pull out a submission to try and finish the fight. At the very least, it will give his Poirier something to think about every time he shoots for a takedown.
Watch Conor McGregor's only win by submission:
Granted, a McGregor win by submission is the unlikeliest outcome of the fight as Poirier is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. Then again, McGregor has the luxury of learning from the best. His coach, John Kavanagh, holds the distinction of being the first-ever Irish BJJ black belt.
#1 Bring back 2014 Conor McGregor at UFC 264
Another way to avoid Poirier's daunted calf kicks is by bringing back the Conor McGregor of old. At UFC 257, the 32-year-old relied heavily on his boxing, setting aside some of his weapons in the process.
McGregor's wide boxing stance is what allows him to land his signature counterpunches with such power and speed. However, it's also what ultimately led to his downfall as his lead leg was left vulnerable to low kicks.
In contrast, the version of McGregor that fought Poirier at UFC 178 used a karate stance that allowed him to dart in and out of his opponent's range. Doing so would also allow McGregor to check leg kicks more effectively, something he can't do with his boxing stance.
The problem with it, however, is that McGregor would have to expend more energy moving around. Considering his cardio has always been a point of concern, will he be able to maintain that stance for five rounds? Only time will tell.
