No. 1 ranked welterweight contender Colby Covington made his prediction for the trilogy bout between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor at UFC 264.
Covington mentioned McGregor’s power advantage and said if McGregor is able to adapt from his last fight and retain a motivated mindset, he will prevail.
“If Conor can make the adjustments, if he can stay out of the way of the calf kick, you know I see him as that path to victory. I think he’s a harder puncher and he’s a little bit more fluid on his feet,” Covington said to Submission Radio. “But we’ll have to see which Conor shows up. Is it the motivated Conor of the past? Or is it the guy that’s got all that money in his bank account and there’s no driving fire there anymore.”
Video: Colby Covington releases Dustin Poirier sparring footage, Poirier responds
Despite seeing a potential path to victory for McGregor, Covington said if he was a betting man he would put money down on his former teammate, Dustin Poirier.
Covington, however, did not pick Poirier without throwing some insults his way.
“If I had to bet on it I’d probably pick Dustin Soyrier. I think he’s a little bit better in his prime, and he’s still slightly hungry,” Covington said. “He’s knocking out all these amateurs in the gym and screaming like he’s a world champion. But in reality, he’ll never be more than a gatekeeper and he’ll be Khabib’s son for life.”
McGregor and Poirier’s highly anticipated trilogy bout will headline UFC 264, which will take place at T-Mobile arena Saturday, July 10.
Lightweight champ Charles Oliveira will be cage side at UFC 264 for Poirier vs McGregor 3
Colby Covington makes his prediction for McGregor-Poirier 3