Strength and conditioning coach Phil Daru sees one particular factor that helped Dustin Poirier even the score with Conor McGregor.
Poirier (27-6 MMA, 19-5 UFC) scored a second-round TKO over McGregor in the UFC 257 main event earlier this month, in a fight that played out a lot differently than their first meeting in 2014, where McGregor made quick work of Poirier.
This time around, Poirier was able to absorb McGregor’s best shots, using effective counters and calf kicks to hinder McGregor’s mobility. Daru explains that movement in tight spaces was key in Poirier’s ability to stop McGregor.
“I was happy with his ability to maintain his posture, maintain his positioning,” Daru told MMA Junkie Radio. “Especially on the cage with Conor, putting the pressure on him, making sure that he doesn’t get turned around a lot. What we really were working on was his ability to move, to stay in the pocket, but also to fire off shots and move efficiently inside the cage. We knew that was going to be something that – Conor is definitely an explosive athlete, he’s powerful, he definitely has one-shot knockout power.
“So our ability to move inside the pocket, get away from shots and then fire off efficiently and then move around the cage so you don’t get hit with a counter, and then on top of that, put the pressure on him, get the takedown and then be able to control his body inside close quarters was really what we were focusing on from a physical stand point.”
In the lead-up, a lot was made of Poirier’s body of work in the octagon, including his success in numerous wars with the likes of Dan Hooker, Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje.
So Daru made sure to work with Poirier on the necessary adjustments while recovering from one grueling camp after the other.
“Also with me, the guy has been through wars,” Daru said. “He’s fought forever, so as a physical preparation coach, I’m looking to enhance movement quality, I’m looking to work on his ability to move in space and then just work on deficiencies and dysfunctions that have been brought upon through injuries and things of that nature. Things with his hip, working on different rotations and getting him into proper positioning to be strong and work his skillset appropriately now that he has better range of motion to do so.”
To watch the full interview with Daru, check out the video below.
Phil Daru explains how movement was key in Dustin Poirier’s win over Conor McGregor
