5 Reasons why Dustin Poirier will beat Conor McGregor in 2019

#2 Ring rust and distractions have hurt Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor's mainstream popularity is a double-edged sword for the man

Coming into his UFC 229 fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov, the vast majority of combat sports fans, as well as experts, questioned whether the Conor McGregor's long layoff from the sport of MMA may adversely affect his performance inside the Octagon.

And to be honest, it did, albeit to a certain extent. It's an undeniable fact that the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov has made every opponent look helpless inside the MMA ring/cage...And with that in mind, his dominant showing against McGregor could very well be attributed to the fact that "The Eagle" is just that good!

Nevertheless, yet another fact which is irrefutable, is that McGregor looked off-rhythm in the striking department as well. He just couldn't seem to find his footing inside the Octagon. Ring rust is real, and has been known to have negative effects even on the greatest athletes in the world.

Moreover, McGregor's mainstream popularity is a double-edged sword of sorts, especially because with all the fame and attention, come several distractions. Well, heading into a fight against the current version of Dustin Poirier, whilst battling a myriad of distractions, isn't really a good thing.

As a matter of fact, if McGregor comes in distracted against Poirier, I wouldn't be surprised in the least to see the latter knock him spark out.