Owen Roddy believes it will only be a matter of time until Conor McGregor lands a fight-ending blow on Dustin Poirier.
McGregor meets Poirier in a lightweight bout that will headline the upcoming UFC 257 pay-per-view event taking place January 23 in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
It will be a rematch of their featherweight contest in 2014 that saw the Irishman comfortably knock Poirier out in the first round.
And while “The Diamond” has improved significantly since and isn’t depleting himself to make 145 anymore, he is still very much hittable according to McGregor’s striking coach Roddy.
“He’s technically good,” Roddy told The Mac Life of Poirier. “Good hands, he’s tough, he’s durable and he sets a pace. I think it’s a combination of those things that’s allowed him to have that success. But he always gets rocked in every fight and people don’t punch like Conor.
“His opponents don’t punch like Conor. All Conor needs is a split second. All he needs is half an inch to see the shot, and once he bangs the shot, you’re going to be out. You’re going to be on wobbly legs, and if you’re on wobbly legs, it will be the next one that finishes you.
“Poirier gets hit an awful lot, so I believe it’s just a matter of time. When Conor hits him, how long can he last after that? Whether he goes to sleep straight or he toughs it out a little bit, but Conor has 25 minutes in there to land on the chin. For me, there’s serious odds, you know?”
Poirier Has Absorbed Plenty Of Damage
Roddy certainly has a point about Poirier being hittable.
After all, the former interim champion has absorbed over 100 significant strikes in three of his last five fights, with two of them being over 150 significant strikes absorbed.
One would imagine with the power and precision of McGregor, he wouldn’t need that many strikes to put out Poirier.
Then again, this is a Poirier at lightweight who hasn’t been knocked out since 2016 and has been in a number of wars since. Perhaps his chin will hold up this time and lead him on his way to a win over McGregor?
