"It's a beautiful way of fighting" - Eddie Alvarez picks out Dustin Poirier's great strength that Conor McGregor has to be ready for

Eddie Alvarez thinks Conor McGregor will have to strengthen his conditioning to come out on top against Dustin Poirier in a potential trilogy fight. The former UFC lightweight champion said Poirier's ability to unleash short sprints of strikes will be difficult for McGregor to deal with.

In a recent interview with Helen Yee Sports, Alvarez referred to Poirier's fighting style as "beautiful". 'The Underground King' stated he thinks Poirier is likely to beat McGregor once again, considering the former's potential to repeatedly strike his opponents with combinations.

"Conor, of course, should be ready for the leg kicks. I don't know if he'll ever get himself conditioned enough to be ready for Dustin's sprints. His go-go agains'; the way he does that, it's a beautiful way of fighting. It's unique to him, and it's hard to get ready for inside a gym without getting in a real fistfight, real wars. He does that so well. He's gonna put them sprints on Conor and Conor's conditioning needs to be ready for it," said Alvarez.

Eddie Alvarez further added that Poirier's hunger to win the undisputed lightweight championship will give him an edge over McGregor.

"Outside of the kicks and sprints, whoever wants that strap the most, and Dustin has never tasted it, Dustin has never got the real belt. I would always have to go with the guy who hasn't tasted (won the belt) it yet," said Alvarez.

When Eddie Alvarez's illegal strikes cost him a win against Dustin Poirier - twice

Eddie Alvarez has lost to both Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier in his four-year stint with the UFC. Although the Irishman beat him dominantly, Alvarez was far more competitive in a pair of fights against 'The Diamond'.

The two lightweights first came to blows at UFC 211 in 2017, which was ruled no contest since Alvarez caught Poirier with two illegal knees. After a fairly competitive first round, Alvarez had found his rhythm in the second frame. He pushed Poirier against the fence before unintentionally landing illegal knees that had Poirier receive a cut below his left eye. After that, the ring doctors found him unfit to continue, the bout was ruled no contest.

Alvarez and Poirier fought each other once again in July 2018. Just when it appeared that The Underground King was about to stun Poirier from a dominant position, he landed an illegal elbow to his opponent's shoulder that forced the referee to halt the fight. The two men resumed the bout on feet, from the center of the octagon, and Poirier took every advantage of it. He sniped Eddie Alvarez with a heavy left before unloading a barrage of punches that secured him the victory.

Poirier vs Alvarez, the crew breaks down this brutal showdown. pic.twitter.com/EV9KrkiFOc

— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) July 29, 2018

Eddie Alvarez is currently competing in ONE Championship FC. He is set to fight Iuri Lapicus on April 7, 2021.