First and foremost, I’d like to offer my condolences to anyone who lost money betting on the Irishman at UFC 257. The anger, frustration, and nausea that ensued after was a thing of beauty to witness (I didn’t bet it). I’m here to tell you degenerates that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, and to see it, all you have to do is exactly what you did six months ago… bet Mcgregor. So for those who are still down bad, go swipe your Mum’s/girlfriend’s/a stranger’s debit card and hear me out so we can get you up good (or back to even, I’m not a financial advisor and will not be held liable for this).
I can fully appreciate the optics of the situation at hand, Poirier is 11-2-1 at LW, Mcgregor is a poor 1-2. Dustin has impressive hands, is the owner of a black belt, and demonstrates solid wrestling prowess. His opponent, avoids the ground like Cosby avoids fair prison sentences, but there’s more to look at then that, likethe second Nate Diaz fight.
In his first contest with Diaz, Conor was in control the first round, but emptied the tank way too early and was stopped in the second round. The second contest followed suit with the first, except Mcgregor dominated the first 2 rounds, struggled in the third, was absolutely resilient in the fourth, and survived the final onslaught from Diaz in the fifth, securing the dub. The takeaway(s) here are simple, Conor overlooks his opponents and always operates under the assumption he’ll get the KO/TKO in the first. However, when unsuccessful, he’s more than capable of making the necessary adjustments to be effective in rematches.
The story behind the main event for UFC 257 wasn’t calf kicks, it was stances. Conor adopted a boxing stance which narrows his base and leaves him completely vulnerable to leg strikes, takedowns, and trips.. so pretty much everything except for boxing exchanges was there to be landed. Clearly, Dustin’s game plan was to avoid the latter early on. I believe Conor will make adjustments to his stance, and return back to his vintage karate-type style, and after this Saturday people will be talking about head kicks not calf kicks.
Lastly, this fight is easily fixed and Dana knows there’s too much at stake for Conor to drop the ball, arrangements have already been made.