Conor McGregor has a war mentality ahead of his UFC 264 trilogy against Dustin Poirier. The Irishman asserted Poirier is nothing more than "a corpse, a dead body, a blank face" to him.
McGregor bested Poirier via first-round TKO at UFC 178 (September 2014) and lost to Poirier via second-round TKO at UFC 257 (January 2021). They're currently 1-1 in their series of fights.
In an interview with TheMacLife, Conor McGregor opened up on multiple topics. In response to being asked whether his mindset towards this fight is that of fighting an enemy, Conor McGregor said:
“Yeah, for sure. Corpse. It’s (sic) a corpse.”
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
“I don’t give a fu** about him, to be honest. It’s just how I am. He’s a corpse, a dead body, a blank face that’s gonna get his a** whooped and took out on a stretcher.”
Conor McGregor went all-in against his longtime rival, issuing a rather chilling message ahead of his UFC 264 fight against Dustin Poirier. The Irishman stated:
“You know, just focus. Keep the enemy in a suspended amount of terror. That’s it. Keep him in a suspense of terror. That’s it. He paid to see my work.”
Conor McGregor has indicated that he’s heading into UFC 264 intending to defeat Dustin Poirier in dominant fashion. The Irishman believes Poirier will have to be taken out on a stretcher.
Conor McGregor predicts a devastating KO win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 264
Conor McGregor noted that in the aftermath of his second-round TKO loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 257, he simply did what he always does after his fights. McGregor explained:
“It’s what I always do. Analyze the fight – win, lose, or draw. And, you know, get back to the drawing board. Improve the what – the do’s, the don’ts, the what worked, what didn’t, etc. It’s what I do. This is my bread and butter.”
Alluding to his UFC 257 training camp being largely boxing-centric for his much-discussed boxing match against the legendary Pacquiao, the Irishman said:
“Just, you know, focus on mixed martial arts, first of all. It was an 85 percent camp for boxing, for Manny Pacquiao."
Conor McGregor continued, saying:
“That’s how the (Dustin Poirier) fight came about. You know, it was going to be a charity event. You know, not even under the UFC banner. It was just because he was a southpaw.”
McGregor further added that he wanted to help Poirier out with his charity, saying:
“And that’s it, you know. It went the way it went. Got a setback in there. But that’s, you know, setbacks are a beautiful thing, you know what I mean. Defeat is the secret ingredient to success. I say, it’s put me right where I need to be.”
The Irish megastar was then asked whether this fight would be similar to when he avenged his loss to Nate Diaz at UFC 202. Conor McGregor responded:
“The only difference between the Nate Diaz fight and this fight is that I’m throwing kill shots now. Every shot I’ve thrown in this camp is a kill shot. So, you know, that’s it. I’m gonna kill this man.”
Moreover, Conor McGregor predicted a devastating KO win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. McGregor reiterated:
“Just a slaughter. Play with a scared little boy, you know what I mean. He’s fighting scared like he always does, like they always do against me. So, I’m gonna play with the little boy, play with me food, and then just devour it.” (*Video courtesy: TheMacLife; H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)
The trilogy fight between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier will headline the UFC 264 fight card on July 10th, 2021.