UFC 264: Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor Betting Preview, Odds, Prediction

Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor meet at the UFC 264 for the third and the last time to solve all of their previous disputes. And they had quite a few throughout their career. Currently, the result in direct clashes is 1-1, each guy getting his victory after a knockout. Conor was better in 2014, and Poirier got his win some six months ago. The UFC 264, to be precise its headliner, will probably be the most interesting and the biggest event in the MMA world this season. That is enough of a reason for you to stick by and read our preview and predictions for this fantastic spectacle. 

Preview

Poirier (-115) boosted his morale with a big win at the UFC 257, once he knocked out Conor in the second round of the match. It was his second win since losing to Khabib in the lightweight title match at the UFC 242. In the meantime, he would defeat Dan Hooker via unanimous decision following five rounds of domination in June 2020. 

The Diamond is a ferocious puncher, maybe the hardest in the division next to Justin Poirier. But apart from that, he is extremely massive, which gives him an edge in grappling and wrestling. After the weigh-in, Poirier easily adds six or seven pounds before the fight starts, which is very valuable for this guy.

The loss to Khabib was the only one in the previous six years. During that time, the Diamond posted numerous spectacular wins – vs. Holloway, Gaethje, Alvarez, Pettis, etc. In each of those matches, his cardio was an X-factor because Poirier’s endurance is by far the best in the division.

McGregor (-105) wasn’t that disturbed with the loss in the previous match because he was aware that the training camp he had before the event was, well, let’s say, ridiculous. You’ve seen how he looked inside the octagon, pale, unconvincing, slow, and occasionally sharp. 

Conor didn’t have enough elite fights to take on Poirier. Let’s be honest, one contest between that and the battle against Khabib is way too low. And to remind you, that one lasted for 40 seconds, vs. Cerrone.

The Notorious’s ego was deeply hurt, on the other hand, even though he didn’t show it in public. We followed him in the past few months and saw that he put much more effort into preparing for Poirier than the next time. 

Head to Head Games

Conor knocked out Poirier at the UFC 178, after 1:46 of the opening round. That was in September 2014.

Fast forward seven years later, on January 24th, Poirier evened the score, with a TKO at 2:32 of the second round. 

Preview

We will be straightforward here – Conor is our pick. He is much better than before, and that is what we saw during his training camp. He is near 100%, which would be enough to take down the Diamond. Even though Poirier might be a stronger puncher and a better wrestler, we believe that he won’t be able to match Conor’s speed. That is the ultimate reason why we recommend betting on the Notorious.