Conor McGregor sees Dustin Poirier catching lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and finishing him at UFC 302.
Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) will look to notch his third consecutive title defense when he meets Poirier (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC) in the June 1 headliner at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. (pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+).
McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) and Poirier have fought three times before, with McGregor winning the first meeting by TKO in September 2014, Poirier avenging the loss with a knockout of his own in the rematch in January 2021, and their trilogy bout ending in doctor’s stoppage TKO after McGregor broke his leg at the end of Round 1 in July 2021.
Makhachev’s lone career loss came by knockout at the hands of Adriano Martins in just his second octagon appearance at UFC 192 in October 2015, and McGregor envisions a similar fate against “The Diamond.”
“I think Dustin does him, knocks him out,” McGregor said on a live stream with Duelbits (h/t Championship Rounds on X). “I think the things that Makhachev does wrong, the things he’s not good at, he fumbles over his feet usually early on and falls into shots. He’s been knocked out by a back check hook from a southpaw before inside the UFC, and that’s one of Dustin’s best shots. If Dustin’s ever going to do it, it’ll be this time.
“Obviously Dustin does his things bad also that feed into Makhachev’s strengths. So, it’s going to be a good fight to see which one shows up, but it’s all to play for. There is no clear favorite in it. If you look at Dustin’s last fight, he was getting manhandled by Benoit Saint Denis and he stayed with it, and then got back to his feet, stayed with it and landed a shot. That’s great experience to be going into this bout. If there’s ever a chance for him to get it done, this will be it.”
Up 2-1 in his series with McGregor, Poirier ruled out a fourth fight with “The Notorious.” Makhachev, on the other hand, thinks he’d be silly not to take a fight with McGregor.
McGregor, who returns in a welterweight bout against Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) on June 29 at UFC 303 in Las Vegas (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+), says he has no horse in the race since both fights interest him.
“Who do I wish for, who would I like to see (win)? You know, either or,” McGregor said. “I have history with both, and let’s see how it goes.”
For more on the cards, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.
