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Dustin Poirier believes Conor McGregor will try to use leg kicks as an offensive weapon against him in their upcoming trilogy fight at UFC 264. The last time they faced each other, Poirier's leg kicks put McGregor's movement out of the game before The Diamond finished the fight with a flurry of devastating strikes.
Heading into the trilogy fight, Dustin Poirier claims Conor McGregor will try to use the former's own weapon against him. In an interview with Teddy Atlas, Poirier said that he learned about the devastating effects of calf kicks when he fought southpaw Jim Miller.
After taking several kicks to the calf, Poirier realized the crippling effect of them on his movement and stability. That's when he decided to add them to his arsenal for the fight against another southpaw, McGregor. Now that McGregor has realized how damaging those kicks can be and their power to turn the tide of a fight, Dustin Poirier believes he'll try to use calf kicks in the trilogy fight.
Dustin Poirier further stated that he is not just training on how to land the calf kicks better but also how to defend them heading into the fight with McGregor:
"For me, whenever those low calf kicks first started getting more popular, and I'm a southpaw so for these calf kicks to work, it has to be against another southpaw. I fought Jim Miller a few years ago, back in New York, at the Barclays Center and after the fight my leg was so damaged I had a whole new respect for those calf kicks and I'm expecting Conor to do the same now.
"He felt how crippling and painful those kicks and how much it changes the dynamic of a fight that I think that he's going to use it against me now. That's what I started doing. I started using them at every chance I got after I was hurt with them. I believe that's what Conor is going to do here so I'm working on still landing my offense with my low kicks but now I'm working a lot more on defending than I used to."
Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor look to settle their rivalry with a title shot on the line
At UFC 264 on July 10, Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor will lock horns inside the octagon to settle their rivalry once and for all. Both fighters have won one fight each in their last two meetings and a win in the tie-breaker will leave no doubt as to who is the better fighter of the two.
However, the winner of this fight will not only earn bragging rights but possibly a shot at the UFC lightweight title along with it. Both McGregor and Poirier are top contenders and a win at UFC 264 could set up a date for either man with Charles Oliveira.
