COCONUT CREEK, Fla. – Mike Brown thinks Dustin Poirier opting to fight Conor McGregor is absolutely the right choice.
Poirier, who cemented himself as the No. 1 contender to the UFC lightweight title when he knocked out McGregor in their rematch at UFC 257, decided to settle their rivalry in a trilogy bout rather than taking an immediate shot at gold.
It’s a choice that his head coach Brown thinks is the better move for his career, considering the magnitude of the fight.
“Yeah, this is the right choice,” Brown told MMA Junkie. “Conor is the biggest draw in this sport, and I think this well sell more pay-per-views than any other fight. This potentially will be the biggest pay-per-view of all time. It really has that capability, and it probably will. I believe that, and the title fight will always be there after.
“He’s still getting better all the time, and another guy who has paid his dues more than anyone. These are the guys that took the long road, the guys that deserve it more than anybody.”
As a result, the promotion set up a vacant lightweight title fight between Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler in the UFC 262 main event this past weekend, where Oliveira was crowned champion when he stopped Chandler in Round 2. Oliveira is now projected to meet the winner of the Poirier vs. McGregor rubber match, which headlines UFC 264 on July 10 in Las Vegas.
Brown has the utmost confidence that Poirier (27-6 MMA, 19-5 UFC) will get the job done against McGregor (22-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC) again. While the calf kicks were a major factor in Poirier’s ability to hinder McGregor’s movement, Brown thinks “The Diamond” has multiple ways to win.
“I think Conor believes that the calf kicks is what really was the major problem, but it wasn’t the calf kicks that knocked him out,” Brown said. “So I like where we’re sitting in this fight, and I’m very confident going into it.
“The fight game is very complex. This is one weapon of potentially thousands or more. We’re talking about one weapon there. Dustin has got a lot of them.”