Retired UFC legend Georges St-Pierre was recently asked to predict who will win next weekend’s UFC 264 trilogy fight headliner between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor, and it seems that he believes ‘The Notorious’ will avenge the TKO loss he suffered against ‘The Diamond’ earlier in the year.
“I think McGregor is very good in rematches, and I think he’s going to have the victory,” St-Pierre told his long-time coach Firas Zahabi on the Tristar Gym YouTube channel. “I think he’s probably going to win in the second round. A knockout.”
However, Zahabi disagreed with his star pupil, suggesting that it’s Poirier who will emerge victorious in their third encounter – though he admits it’s going to be a nail-bitingly close fight.
“My official pick was 50-50 odds,” Zahabi said. “I think it could go either way, but because GSP picked McGregor, I’ve got to pick Poirier. I’m gonna make a case for Poirier right now. At 155, McGregor’s power is maybe not exactly what it used to be, and he’s got to do five rounds. I think Poirier showed in fight No. 2 (that) he’s smart enough to take McGregor in the later rounds. In Round 1, he took a big left, and he took it well.
“I think psychologically Poirier’s a bit more ready to take that left hand. He’s more aware about it. I think this is an incredibly difficult fight. Fifty-fifty, but if Georges picked McGregor, I gotta pick Poirier. I think Poirier’s going to take him into Round 3, and he’s going to do the same thing he did before. He’s gonna kick the leg, he’s gonna injure McGregor a little bit in the leg, and then he’s gonna put the hands on him. It’s going to be a trench war, and Poirier’s gonna put him away.”
