Khabib Nurmagomedov has given his prediction ahead of the trilogy fight between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.
Khabib walked away from professional mixed martial arts last year after beating Justin Gaethje to reach 29-0. ‘The Eagle’ announced his retirement from the sport at the request of his mother, just months after his father passed away due to complications from COVID-19.
The great Khabib has spoken
Poirier and McGregor, on the other hand, fought in a rematch back in January with Dustin scoring a nasty TKO win – prompting the booking of a third showdown between them this summer.
Nurmagomedov has an interesting history with both men and during an interview with UFC Russia, he made it crystal clear that he thinks there are two possible scenarios for their upcoming meeting.
“It’s the same thing as the previous fight. If it’s a first round finish, I’d back Conor. From the second and further, then Dustin wins.” He explained.
It seems like a pretty simple equation when you put it like that and, well, it’s hard to argue with the logic.
Poirier has proven himself to be an endurance machine and while the same can be said of McGregor during his war against Nate Diaz at UFC 202, he has a lot to prove after such a resounding loss on Fight Island.
Nurmagomedov had a few issues to deal with when taking on both men during his own run but in the end, McGregor and Poirier suffered the same fate of a submission defeat at the hands of the great Russian.
A decision finish is always a possibility in this game but given the stakes involved, we’d be stunned if someone isn’t knocked out or submitted.
Fans don’t have much longer to wait as Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier 3 will main event UFC 264 on July 10 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Featured image credit: Getty
