UFC 178: Poirier vs. McGregor

Dustin Poirer (16-3) vs. Conor McGregor (15-2)

Two of the top 10 featherweight contenders in the class battle on Saturday night as Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor square off at UFC 178.

Poirier is riding a three-fight winning streak, and in his last match, he won by TKO against Akira Corassani at TUF Nations Finale on April 16. At 25 years old, Poirier has a bright future in the sport, having already defeated talented opponents such as Max Holloway and Erik Koch. He is an explosive athlete that has shown the versatility to win a match in many different ways. However, for him to get where he wants to, he is going to have to take on one of the toughest fighters in the sport in McGregor. The 26-year-old from Ireland enters this match on an 11-fight winning streak, with his last victory coming on July 19. In that fight, he defeated Diego Brandao in the first round by TKO. Poirier is a talented fighter, but he is going up against a completely different animal in McGregor, who has been on a tear as of late. Expect McGREGOR to continue his surge with another knockout victory on Saturday.

“The Notorious” McGregor has 15 victories in his career, with 13 of them coming by way of knockout. He also has one victory by submission, and one by decision. Both of these fighters land a lot of significant strikes (4.55 for McGregor, 4.45 for Poirier). While Poirier is more accurate landing those strikes (49%, compared to 39% for McGregor), the power that McGregor packs in his punches is as good as there is in the class. While he is a knockout artist, he will have a huge grappling advantage in this fight too, with a takedown average of 3.71, compared to 1.41 for Poirier. He has a takedown accuracy of 83%, while Poirier has a weak 31% accuracy rate in takedowns. McGregor uses his takedowns to wear his opponents down, setting them up to get knocked out later in the fight. If this turns into a brawl, it will be extremely difficult for Poirier to get the victory.

"The Diamond" Poirier enters this fight with 16 career victories, with seven of them coming by way of knockout. He also has six wins by way of submission, and three wins by decision. This is an extremely difficult matchup for Poirier because his strength is striking with his opponent, but that could be dangerous against McGregor. For Poirier to have a chance in this fight, he needs to pick his spots throwing punches, rather than just start swinging carelessly. This is a big opportunity for him to get a huge victory, and he will have to be ready to fight from the very beginning.