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Dan Hooker expects lack of crowds to be a factor in the fight between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier on January 23rd. Speaking to Submission Radio, Hooker said:
Conor is the best. Him and Israel Adesanya are the best at remaining cool and collected when the crowd is going nuts, they handle it well. Dustin, I remember him saying he would be happy to fight without a crowd for the rest of his career.
One of the biggest questions I have going into the fight is, can Conor wake up in those conditions. I know Dustin prefers and likes to fight in an arena with no crowd.
It will definitely be weird seeing a Conor McGregor fight with no crowd. Poirier's emotions the last time these two met were heightened by the crowd, playing into McGregor's hand back in 2014.
Dustin Poirier, now a much more durable and intelligent fighter, will be happy with the reduced media work and outside interference ahead of the fight. After being outclassed by the champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, Poirier defeated Dan Hooker in a five-round war earlier in 2020.
Hooker himself could fight on the same card, as he confirmed during the same interview. The Kiwi had previously suggested he wants either Michael Chandler or Justin Gaethje as his next opponent.
Hands down, I want the Gaethje fight. Just to me, as a fan of the sport, watching it from the outside, having Chandler turn down the Ferguson opportunity in December kind of takes away a lot of that gung-ho mystique off of him.
Conor McGregor eyeing fight against Manny Pacquiao
Conor McGregor has also had his eyes set on a boxing match with Manny Pacquiao, as he confirmed ahead of accepting the Poirier bout.
Correct. Southpaw box style. Continue to sharpen my MMA skills with some tough competition, while leading into my Manny bout preparation. It’s not easy going between both sports and then coming back to the one sport again. Just want to keep sharp guys, that’s all. It’s only fair.
In the absence of Khabib, Conor McGregor is likely to catapult himself into the title picture if he beats Poirier.
