UFC 264: Javier Mendez BACKS Dustin Poirier to beat Conor McGregor

Javier Mendez has backed Dustin Poirier to repeat his Fight Island victory over Conor McGregor at UFC 264, as Khabib Nurmagomedov’s former coach predicted the Diamond will break his rival’s will in the octagon. 

McGregor, 32, meets Poirier, also 32, this weekend as the Irishman seeks to avenge his surprise defeat to the Louisianan-born lightweight at UFC 257 in January. 

The Irishman has vowed to make the necessary adjustments to combat Poirier, whose debilitating calf kicks and check hooks undid McGregor during a kickboxing masterclass six months ago.

McGregor is seeking revenge after suffering defeat to his lightweight rival six months ago

However, Mendez, who coached former lightweight king Nurmagomedov, believes that Poirier will outlast McGregor and destroy his will in Las Vegas on July 10.

‘Dustin wins by basically breaking Conor down, I can see that happening,’ the AKA head coach told MyBettingSites. ‘Dustin comes in and goes at him, breaks him down, break his will. That’s how I see it happening. 

‘Dustin comes in and just breaks him down, takes what he has and more or less says “here, I’m giving it you back two-fold”.

The Irishman is in last chance saloon as he bids to kickstart his UFC career this weekend

However, Mendez says that Poirier will break McGregor’s will in the octagon on Saturday

‘We’ll see whether he has enough to deter Poirier because Dustin in my opinion felt what Conor had when he got hit with that really good shot – and it didn’t do anything to him. 

‘Dustin just became stronger, so I don’t know if Dustin is gonna go right at him off the bat.

‘That’s a good possibility. It’s a different fight, it’s gonna be a better fight. If I had to favourite anybody I’d probably favour Dustin, but you can never count Conor out.’

UFC 264 represents last chance saloon for McGregor. Some fans view the Irishman as being slightly fortunate in being granted an immediate rematch with Poirier, who has most certainly earned his shot at the lightweight title.

The AKA coach also suggested that McGregor could question his future if he suffers defeat

A third defeat in four fights could leave McGregor with limited fight options moving forwards, and Mendez believes that the former two-weight world champion would consider retirement in the event of a loss.  

‘If he did lose a second time, I think he would really question if he really needs this or if he still has it – so yeah, it could definitely make him think about it,’ Mendez added.

‘But he’s a real fighter too, so if he does lose again he’ll probably say “I’m not leaving the sport like this” because guys that are able to gain the type of attention he does, they’re going to want to end it on a good note.

‘He’s still young too, so he’s not going to want to end it on a bad note, so that’s a possibility. If he does lose, he may not just be finished because he’s too much of a fighter.’