Georges St-Pierre predicts Conor McGregor stops Dustin Poirier in trilogy at UFC 264

Georges St-Pierre thinks Conor McGregor will successfully close out his trilogy with Dustin Poirier.

With their series tied at one a piece, McGregor (22-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC) meets Poirier (27-6 MMA, 19-5 UFC) in a rubber match that headlines UFC 264 on July 10 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Each man holds a knockout victory over the other, with McGregor finishing Poirier in Round 1 at UFC 178 in 2014 and Poirier exacting his revenge with a second-round knockout at UFC 257 this past January. But despite the momentum being on Poirier’s side, St-Pierre thinks McGregor will get the finish this time.

“I think McGregor is very good in rematches, and I think he’s going to have the victory,” St-Pierre said on the Tristar Gym YouTube channel. “I think he’s probably going to win in the second round. A knockout.”

However, St-Pierre’s longtime coach, Firas Zahabi, doesn’t echo the same sentiment. While he was initially on the fence, he can see Poirier’s success with the leg kicks in the rematch continuing to pay dividends and the fight playing out in similar fashion as UFC 257.

“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.”