Dustin Poirier thinks Conor McGregor has an uphill battle in his rematch with Max Holloway.
This summer, McGregor returns to the UFC to headline International Fight Week, taking on Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 329 on July 11 in Las Vegas. It’s McGregor’s first fight in five years, and a rematch of his 2013 win over Holloway, back before either man became a UFC champion. And if McGregor is going to repeat his victory, Poirier thinks McGregor should consider how he defeated Holloway the first time.
“I don’t know if he’s living, sleeping, all that in the gym. For sure, he’s probably preparing. But I thought in their first fight, he showed a full arsenal of martial arts,” Poirier said on Deep Waters. “He injured his legs, switched to wrestling. Nobody knew he’d be shooting shots like that. He’s a knockout guy. He’s a standup guy. But he went out there and won the fight, did what he had to do.
“That’s mastering martial arts, switching from being a kickboxer to getting your opponent down, winning rounds, and winning the fight. I thought he did a great job the first time.”
Of course, many things have changed since McGregor first fought Holloway. Since 2013, both men have put together Hall of Fame-worthy careers, with multiple titles hanging on their walls. And Poirier believes McGregor may find it harder to mix the martial arts this time around, despite Charles Oliveira recently dominating Holloway in their “BMF” title fight earlier this year.
“Conor’s not that kind of wrestler,” Poirier said. “And he doesn’t have the gas tank. If he does wrestle and doesn’t get a takedown or has to scramble, those later rounds, he’s going to be gassed. Especially at 170, he’s going to be heavier. I don’t think it’s good.
“Max is a volume, cardio guy, with power now. So, I think it’s just trouble the later it goes. …
“Charles didn’t use traditional wrestling,” Poirier added later. “It was a lot of body locks, a lot of clinch, different stuff. I bet Max’s fundamental wrestling defense is probably really good if a guy is shooting regular shots. But grappling and crawling around to your back is different. A jiu-jitsu guy’s grappling is a different field than a wrestler. The setups, the takedowns, the defense is different. So, I don’t think it’s going to be that. I don’t think Conor has what Charles had to stay on him like that.”
Poirier certainly has some idea of what he’s talking about. “The Diamond” fought both McGregor and Holloway three times during his UFC career, and was the last man to fight McGregor, shattering the Irish superstar’s leg in their fight at UFC 264 in 2021. And while Poirier has fought for four UFC titles since then, McGregor has been on the shelf, leaving Poirier concerned for how his rival will perform at UFC 329.
“Five years is a long time,” Poirier said. “He’s got a bunch of questions that need to be answered after the bell rings, that he doesn’t know what’s going to happen, too. Conor doesn’t know exactly what’s going to happen. Five years is a long time. Going up and fighting a guy who has been active, was world champion, was ‘BMF’ champion, this guy’s fought the best of the best for the last five years you’ve been away.”
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Mailbag! Get your questions in!
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It’s that time of the week where I humbly ask you for questions about the wide world of combat sports, and you send your best ones in. Then, I answer them, either in this week’s mailbag column or in the responses.
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I will be completely flabbergasted if McGregor is even competitive with Holloway at this point. And Max is on the well-done side of cooked, but Conor has been out for a lifetime, is returning from a catastrophic injury, and even in his prime, this would be a nightmare style matchup for him. But I guess we shall see.
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