Din Thomas thinks despite as skilled as Conor McGregor is, Dustin Poirier will ultimately outlast him.
Poirier (27-6 MMA, 19-5 UFC) takes on McGregor (22-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC) in a trilogy bout that headlines UFC 264 on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Despite losing their first outing in a quick TKO loss, “The Diamond” was able to absorb McGregor’s best shots in the rematch and knocked him out in the second round at UFC 257 in January.
Thomas, a former American Top Team coach, is very familiar with Poirier’s game and thinks there’s one key element that can’t be taught that separates both men.
“This is really going to be determined by how Conor comes out, how he approaches the fight,” Thomas told MMA Junkie Radio. “When you look at the two fighters, Conor is probably the more talented in terms of skill. He’s a talented, coordinated individual. His timing is impeccable. He’s just really good at what he does. But Dustin is an absolute dog. He’s probably one of the grittiest, grimiest fighters in the game. He’s someone to look up to in terms of fighting with this type of style, and that’s not to say that he’s not skilled.
“He’s very skilled. But in terms of priority of when you look at his attributes, I think his grit and his grind is what really sets him apart. So we know what Dustin is going to bring to the table. That’s the type of fighter he is. He brings that grit, that grind, that heart. But Conor don’t have that. A lot of people may confuse that because Conor is so good at what he does. He’s really good and he’s so talented, but Conor don’t have that.”
Thomas likes McGregor’s chances early, but if “The Notorious” can’t get off to a strong start, Thomas thinks it’ll be all Poirier who will stop him once again.
“If Conor comes out and he doesn’t put Dustin away or if he doesn’t even win the first round, there’s absolutely no way he’s going to win this fight just because he’s not the comeback-type fighter,” Thomas said. “He’s the type of guy that has to be the hammer and he has to always rely on leading the dance. If somebody else is leading it, he can’t come back. So he’s got to get off early. He’s got to start strong. He’s got to get some good hits in and he can’t take a lot of punishment.
“He can’t allow himself to go, ‘Woah, Dustin is better than I thought,’ because the moment he thinks that, he’s going to lose this fight. I do see it hard for Conor to come out and have any semblance of grit. This guy is the highest-paid athlete of last year. How do you see your name on the Forbes list in the highest spot and still be like, ‘Yeah, I want to train hard.’ I don’t see it. I’ve never seen that before. But you never know. In my opinion, Dustin wins this fight. He gets it done within three. I think he puts Conor away. I don’t think Conor is going to quit, but I think they’re going to stop it.”
