UFC legend Dustin Poirier has offered a surprising warning ahead of the long-awaited showdown between Conor McGregor and Max Holloway, insisting the Hawaiian hits harder than most fans realise.
McGregor will make his comeback against Holloway in the UFC 329 main event on July 11 (July 12 AEST) at T-Mobile Arena.
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The former two-division champion remains the biggest star in MMA history but has not fought since 2021, when he suffered a devastating broken leg during his defeat to Poirier.
And few are better qualified to assess the matchup than Poirier himself.
The former interim champ has shared the Octagon with both men on three occasions, defeating McGregor twice and Holloway twice.
The Poirier-McGregor rivalry was particularly fierce, becoming one of the UFC’s more heated in recent memory as the pair traded vicious insults before and after their final fight.
“The thing is, Conor has the power,” Poirier said on the Deep Waters Podcast alongside fellow UFC veterans Jorge Masvidal and Chris Weidman.
“No matter the injury, that’s going to be there still. The timing, other things matter. But the power’s going to be there.
“This is going to be a firefight. Oliveira was able to smother (Holloway), which I was surprised by, because Max is hard to hold down.
“Conor is going to kickbox with him for 25 minutes.”
The fight will take place at welterweight where most agree “The Notorious” will have the advantage in raw punching power.
Holloway has never fought at that weight before – but Poirier believes the new weight could make him even more dangerous.
“Max for sure is a volume puncher, but at ‘55 when I fought him last, he has power behind his shots, and I’ve got to think at 170 he’s got to have even more power, because Max can punch now,” said Poirier.
“He’s not just a volume puncher. He can finish fights.”
McGregor won his first fight against Holloway in 2013, via unanimous decision despite a torn ACL.
According to Poirier, the Irish superstar will almost certainly use that victory as ammo during the build-up.
“It’ll influence the trash talk,” he explained.
“Conor will keep riding that. But it’s a completely different fight. This was too long ago.”
While Poirier is leaning towards Holloway beating McGregor, there is one thing that bothers him about the Hawaiian’s legendary chin.
“The thing that I keep thinking about is in Max’s last three fights, he’s touched the canvas more times than he’s touched his whole career,” Poirier said.
“Justin Gaethje and Ilia Topuria dropped him, I dropped him. That’s his last few fights.
“If Max’s chin is finally catching up to the style of fighting he does, Conor could put him down.”
It’s difficult to know exactly what condition McGregor will be in when he finally steps back into the Octagon this year, particularly given the shocking leg break he suffered in 2021.
While footage of the former champ training has impressed fans, questions still linger over how his body will hold up.
Weidman, who suffered a similarly gruesome leg break, says he was never quite the same fighter after returning.
“I really thought I was going to be fine,” Weidman said.
“I remember hearing Rogan say that you’re never quite the same after those leg breaks and I remember being motivated by that to show him he’s wrong.
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“My first fight back against [Brad] Tavares – this dude starts leg-kicking me straight away…
“He kicked me and I couldn’t throw my damn kick… It affected me way more than I thought.
“It’s like PTSD, man. It was super traumatic that whole event. So it’s going to be a lot of him [Mcgregor]. The leg, the time off – it’s going to be an uphill battle.”
Still, Weidman stressed there has never been anybody in the sport quite like McGregor when it comes to creating hype.
“He’s the most exciting dude pre-fight that I’ve ever seen in my life,” Weidman said.
“For his press conferences in the UFC, but even his press conferences against Floyd Mayweather… It’s just entertainment.
“He’s so good on the mic. He’s unbelievable.”
Poirier agreed, adding that McGregor talked a huge game but also backed it up.
“He was doing all this crazy stuff and performing. Putting guys out.”
Ultimately, however, Weidman believes McGregor’s clearest path to victory against Holloway will come early.
“I think all of us are going to be on the same page where the only real chance Conor has is the knockout,” Weidman said.
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“And probably in the first or second round.”
In the end, it was “Street Jesus” Masvidal who gave the most confident verdict.
“I think Max smokes him like a brisket.”