GDT: UFC 264: Poirier vs. McGregor 3

[pistolpete11]

The press conference was lame. Conor seemed like a caricature of himself, but nothing was funny or cutting. Poirier had the best zings of the presser and that's not his thing at all. It's still better than the over-the-top buddy-buddy Conor, but it just seemed forced. Like he was trying to talk himself into being the guy that he once was. I don't know. Conor seems to be just another guy now.

 

[Avs_19]

That was probably the best line from that cringey press conference. Conor got real quiet there.

 

[chicagoskycam]

That was probably the best line from that cringey press conference. Conor got real quiet there.

LMAO, hilarious Dustin.

I loved when the guy told Conor he was won exactly one fight since Obama was in office.

 

[chicagoskycam]

Really I think this started well before the Khabib feud. Some time in between the Alvarez fight and the MayMac bullshit, the guy became out of control. His likeability plummeted and his egoism and arrogance skyrocketed (just my personal view, of course). There at least used to be a jovial quality to his persona, that's gradually reduced since then. It returned briefly for the Cerrone fight, and I didn't pay attention to the promotion for the second Poirier fight so I don't know what happened there, but now it seems like he's back to just being a total f***ing prick.

Everyone said the nice guy routine didn't work for Conor regarding the last fight so he's back to being an ass. The problem is it's hard to talk trash when the guy you're fighting KO'd you. I'm sure they kiss and makeup post fight.

 

[pistolpete11]

That was probably the best line from that cringey press conference. Conor got real quiet there.

Yeah, the "Because he got knocked the f*** out" part was the best. Conor was unusually quiet there. Probably because it was true, but he knocked Poirier out before, too. He's been a champ in multiple divisions. He's the biggest PPV star the sport has ever seen. Poirier turned down a title fight to fight Conor again. There was a bunch of stuff Conor could have come back with, but he didn't say anything. Strange.

Conor also got real quiet when he tried to start a chant calling Poirier his wife's wife which was real cringe and Poirier said something like "Wow, you used to be way better at this." Also true.

I also chuckled when Poirier said his strategy was to shell and shoot.

 

[chicagoskycam]

Yeah, the "Because he got knocked the f*** out" part was the best. Conor was unusually quiet there. Probably because it was true, but he knocked Poirier out before, too. He's been a champ in multiple divisions. He's the biggest PPV star the sport has ever seen. Poirier turned down a title fight to fight Conor again. There was a bunch of stuff Conor could have come back with, but he didn't say anything. Strange.

Conor also got real quiet when he tried to start a chant calling Poirier his wife's wife which was real cringe and Poirier said something like "Wow, you used to be way better at this." Also true.

I also chuckled when Poirier said his strategy was to shell and shoot.

Conor is just not as clever with the trash talk anymore and it's definitely not as credible. He did at one point call Dustin out for taking the money fight over the belt. I'm not sure why people get all bent out of shape when he's acting like this, this "persona" has earned him hundreds of millions of dollars.

 

[VanillaCoke]

I've got Poirier rather easily, he's got too much for mcgregor.

 

[member 51464]

Wow, Conor was so cringe at that press conference. Good Lord. Take him out to pasture and put him out of his misery, Dustin.

 

[chicagoskycam]

Conor 1st round KO or he loses

 

[spintheblackcircle]

what could possibly go wrong?

 

[Avs_19]

As annoying as Conor can be, I still don't hope he retires if he loses. Ignore all the nonsense and he's still an exciting fighter with exciting match ups out there and he brings a lot of attention to the sport. There will be some fun non-title fights for him regardless of what happens tomorrow.

 

[Canes]

I'm honestly still on the fence. I think the rematch still favors Poirier but I also thought Diaz would thrash Conor in a rematch. I just don't know know what to expect out of Conor anymore to be confident about anything. I don't think this one goes to decision like the Diaz rematch, that's about all I'm confident in.

The undercard looks amazing as well. Just hope for a good night of fights and little controversy.

 

[bov]

McGregor won the 1st round of the first fight imo. If Dustin didn't adapt and start realizing the damage of those leg kicks, he would've lost... Here's the whole 2nd fight released by the UFC. I have to think there's a high probability Conor has learned not to get his legs get beat to **** like that again. Fight seemed like it was all McGregor until it wasn't.

Conor definitey won the 1st round but as soon as the bell rang, I thought to myself , "this is Porier's fight". Thought it was a really good round for him despite being down 10-9, he landed some really clean counter hooks and found a home for the kick. I have no idea what the live odds were but I wish I bet Poirier between rounds.

 

[The Kingslayer]

Had money on Conor before the weigh in tonight. Im taking it back and doubling it on DP. Conor going to gas by the middle of the second round. DP TKO just like last time.

 

[BGDDYKWL]

I've always had a strong interest in behavior/psychology. That by no means makes me right here, but there are guys who talk trash who wholeheartedly believe every word, and there are guys who talk trash to try to convince themselves that what they're saying is true. This is the first time I've felt like Conor is doing the latter. I don't get the feeling he believes it this time around.

Taking nothing away from Conor, but he's feasted on guys smaller than him with a considerably shorter reach. Poirier was much smaller than Conor in their first fight, and he was actually bigger in the second. That makes a big difference.

Conor's used to landing his big left and guys crumbling. He landed big on Dustin a few times in the second fight and it wasn't enough. That's in his head.

I'm not saying Conor has no shot here because he was probably only 1-2 more big shots from putting Poirier away in their last matchup, but I see this going very similar to their second fight.

 

[chicagoskycam]

I've always had a strong interest in behavior/psychology. That by no means makes me right here, but there are guys who talk trash who wholeheartedly believe every word, and there are guys who talk trash to try to convince themselves that what they're saying is true. This is the first time I've felt like Conor is doing the latter. I don't get the feeling he believes it this time around.

Taking nothing away from Conor, but he's feasted on guys smaller than him with a considerably shorter reach. Poirier was much smaller than Conor in their first fight, and he was actually bigger in the second. That makes a big difference.

Conor's used to landing his big left and guys crumbling. He landed big on Dustin a few times in the second fight and it wasn't enough. That's in his head.

I'm not saying Conor has no shot here because he was probably only 1-2 more big shots from putting Poirier away in their last matchup, but I see this going very similar to their second fight.

Well, I agree, how can he completely believe it after getting KO'd for the 1st time in his career. I also feel like when he's doing that hyper trash-talking, he's playing a character and for once it's haveing zero effect on his opponent.

 

[pistolpete11]

Conor is just not as clever with the trash talk anymore and it's definitely not as credible. He did at one point call Dustin out for taking the money fight over the belt. I'm not sure why people get all bent out of shape when he's acting like this, this "persona" has earned him hundreds of millions of dollars.

There's a certain population of MMA fans that just hate Conor and especially post Floyd, but I don't think most people really care he's acting this way. It's just the bit about how far his trash talking has fallen. Whether you liked him or not, you had to admit that he was funny, charismatic, etc. Now, it's just kind of cringey. I'm sure Conor fan bois think the king is back, but most MMA fans aren't buying it anymore.

 

[End of Line]

Expecting Poirier to win tonight. Exuding confidence while Conor is forcing himself to be his former self which is cringe worthy. Not counting the Cerrone fight which was a sideshow, he hasn’t won a meaningful fight in close to 5 years.

 

[Epictetus]

I'm more interested in watching the co-main than the main lol.

 

[jcs0218]

Had money on Conor before the weigh in tonight. Im taking it back and doubling it on DP. Conor going to gas by the middle of the second round. DP TKO just like last time.

Was there something you saw during the weigh-in that made you change your mind?

 

[jcs0218]

Well, I agree, how can he completely believe it after getting KO'd for the 1st time in his career. I also feel like when he's doing that hyper trash-talking, he's playing a character and for once it's haveing zero effect on his opponent.

Poirier doesn't seem bothered or intimidated by the trash-talk at all.

Poirier seems like the one who believes in himself at the moment.

 

[jcs0218]

There's a certain population of MMA fans that just hate Conor and especially post Floyd, but I don't think most people really care he's acting this way. It's just the bit about how far his trash talking has fallen. Whether you liked him or not, you had to admit that he was funny, charismatic, etc. Now, it's just kind of cringey. I'm sure Conor fan bois think the king is back, but most MMA fans aren't buying it anymore.

Fans aren't buying it anymore because Diaz, Khabib, and Poirier all made him look bad in their fights against him.

He tapped to Diaz, was dominated by Khabib, and then was knocked-out by Poirier.

It was easier to get behind the hype-train when he was winning every fight by knockout and hadn't lost in over 5 years.

The only 3 wins he has in 5 years include:

- a win over someone way past his prime (Cerrone)

- a win over someone with a known glass jaw (Alavarez)

- a decision win against Diaz, that honestly could have easily gone in Diaz's favour, but there was no way they were going to give Diaz the decision in a close fight because going to 0-2 against Diaz would be too damaging to Conor's reputation and mystique which would hurt his box-office potential

 

[chicagoskycam]

Fans aren't buying it anymore because Diaz, Khabib, and Poirier all made him look bad in their fights against him.

He tapped to Diaz, was dominated by Khabib, and then was knocked-out by Poirier.

It was easier to get behind the hype-train when he was winning every fight by knockout and hadn't lost in over 5 years.

The only 3 wins he has in 5 years include:

- a win over someone way past his prime (Cerrone)

- a win over someone with a known glass jaw (Alavarez)

- a decision win against Diaz, that honestly could have easily gone in Diaz's favour, but there was no way they were going to give Diaz the decision in a close fight because going to 0-2 against Diaz would be too damaging to Conor's reputation and mystique which would hurt his box-office potential

I disagree with most of this. Compared to anyone else that faced Khabib, Conor looked better than all unless we want to believe Khabib strung it out to dish punishment. Conor I want to say is the only one to win a round against Khabib.

The 1st Diaz fight was at a much bigger weight than he was training for. The 2nd … I’m not going to debate and Nate is absolute cardio freak and beast. Look was almost happened the last Diaz fight. Discounting Alvarez is not fair and Cerrone seemed shell shocked in the moment.

 

[jcs0218]

I disagree with most of this. Compared to anyone else that faced Khabib, Conor looked better than all unless we want to believe Khabib strung it out to dish punishment. Conor I want to say is the only one to win a round against Khabib.

The 1st Diaz fight was at a much bigger weight than he was training for. The 2nd … I’m not going to debate and Nate is absolute cardio freak and beast. Look was almost happened the last Diaz fight. Discounting Alvarez is not fair and Cerrone seemed shell shocked in the moment.

The whole point that was replying to is "MMA fans aren't buying it anymore". Meaning they aren't buying McGregor's bark anymore.

They once bought it because McGregor could back up his bark with a lot of bite. And usually very quickly.

There is no question that the Khabib loss contributed to MMA fans not buying into him anymore.

It doesn't matter that he looked as good as anyone has ever looked against Khabib. The fact is that he was defeated very convincingly.

Conor's schtick has basically always been: "I am the baddest man on the planet and I am going to kiss anyone's ass that steps into the cage with me".

The way that Khabib pummelled him permanently damaged the effectiveness and believability of that schtick.

So when he tries to act that way now, the average MMA fan doesn't buy it anymore.

As for the other fights that you discussed?

It is true that Conor ended up fighting a heavier opponent that he had been training for in the 1st Diaz fight. But I think this is neutralized by the fact that Diaz took the fight on about 2 weeks notice. He wouldn't have had any kind of meaningful fight training camp leading up to that fight. I highly doubt that Diaz was anywhere close to 100% fighting shape and condition.

Alvarez has a reputation for being susceptible to strikes. Beating Alvarez and thinking it looks great on a resume is similar to how Tyson beat some guys in the 1980s who had good records but glass jaws.

You may think Cerrone was shell-shocked, but I think Cerrone was simply way past his prime and was simply fed to McGregor as an easy opponent. Including that McGregor loss, Cerrone is 0-5-1 in his last 6 fights. Clearly he isn't a credible opponent for McGregor fans or MMA fans to put much emphasis on.

 

[16Skippy]

Personally I put zero stock in press conferences when trying to decide my bets but it is interesting that I got Poirier at -110 a couple weeks ago and today I see the current odds are -125.