Dustin Poirier Predicts Stoppage Win Over Conor McGregor At UFC 264: I'm Gonna Stop Him Again

Mandatory Credit: Jeff Bottari - Zuffa LLC

Following a January UFC 257 knockout win over former two-weight champion, 'The Notorious' Conor McGregor on 'Fight Island', former interim lightweight champion, Dustin 'The Diamond' Poirier has predicted he scores another stoppage win over the Dubliner in their July 10th. UFC 264 trilogy rubber match.

Poirier, who avenged a featherweight knockout loss to McGregor back in 2014 at the Abu Dhabi, UAE event to kick start the promotion's pay-per-view schedule for 2021, employed a masterful game plan prior to the second round finish.

Headlining ahead of another lightweight clash between Dan Hooker and upcoming UFC 262 vacant title challenger, Michael Chandler, Poirier scored an early takedown against McGregor in the opening round, as well as some notable counter strikes and a flurry of damaging low calf kicks.

In the second frame, Poirier, who admitted that McGregor stunned him with a couple of shots, managed to pull away with a series of devastating calf kicks, before clipping and stunning McGregor himself with a counter check right hook.

Circling McGregor back to the Octagon fence, the Louisiana native unloaded with a massive barrage of hooks, before planting the Crumlin native to the canvas with a well-placed right hand. Following up with numerous ground strikes, Poirier rendered McGregor unconscious for the first time in his professional career. 

Speaking with ESPN MMA reporter, Ariel Helwani ahead of the July 10th. showdown, Poirier remains confident that he's capable of stopping McGregor for the second time in his career.

"I'm gonna stop Conor (McGregor) again -- July 10th. I'm gonna get my hand raised, and I'm gonna finish Conor McGregor again," Poirier replied when asked how he thinks the trilogy bout will play out.

With the victory, Poirier scored his thirteenth professional knockout win, adding to seven other submission successes. The triumph also came as the American Top Team mainstay's second straight, following a Fight of the Year contender against the aforementioned, Hooker at UFC Vegas 4 in a June unanimous decision.