CONOR McGregor stands to earn a purse of $5 million today as he faces off against Dustin Poirer in Abu Dhabi.
And when you factor in his huge cut of the pay-per-view buys, you can be quite sure that Conor will be laughing his way to the bank when this fight is over.
Not too shabby for a fighter who “retired” several months ago.
POIRER. This bout will be a rematch of their first encounter back in September 2014 which McGregor won via knockout in less than two minutes.
In that fight, Poirer was exchanging on even terms when he got clipped behind the ear. As he fell, Conor rained a couple of head blows which prompted the ref to step in and call a halt.
Say what you will but I think Dustin can definitely fight better in the rematch. He’s now 26-6-1, and 5-1 in his last six fights dating back to November 2017.
CONOR. The “Notorious One” has predicted he will finish off Poirer in 40 seconds, even faster than the last time they fought.
This fight will be fought at 155 lbs. which I think is good for Conor as he doesn’t have to cut too much weight.
Last year, while almost everyone was on hiatus because of the pandemic, pictures of him being bloated and overweight turned up around the internet. That was unfortunate for him, but some fighters do not train all year round.
I am quite sure there were a lot of fighters who let themselves go a bit during the lockdowns and Conor was no exception. But hey, what can you expect from a guy with an estimated net worth of $48 million, according to Forbes magazine.
With a global whisky brand to his name, his own promotional company and a couple of other endeavors, Conor doesn’t need to fight for money anymore. But apparently, he does as in fact he is craving for another huge multi-million dollar payday with a proposed boxing match against our very own Manny Pacquiao.
The knock against McGregor aside from a lack of a decent ground game, has been his questionable conditioning and stamina. If you take him to the later rounds, he gasses out and ergo, he becomes more vulnerable to submissions and take down attempts.
Poirer’s strengths lie in his striking which unfortunately for him, McGregor also excels at. Poirer is also perceived to have a better grappling and submission game than Conor.
McGregor’s last victory—a win over Donald Cerrone—was his first in the UFC in two years. There has got to be some rust in there along with layoffs while living the good life. Poirer has to pounce on that and maintain the long, hard grind, and hope to tire out Conor.
That said, if he gets caught with one of those big left hands, it’s not farfetched for this to end suddenly and shockingly. So I am going for McGregor within the first two rounds, and Poirer if it goes the distance.
VERBATIM. “Maybe he can run faster than me. Maybe he can punch harder. But I will find a way, man. “--Justin Poirer (www.espn.com)
LAST ROUND. It’s on one of my best buddies for life, Siegfred Melleza who celebrates his birthday this week. Cheers!