Khabib Nurmagomedov gives his official prediction for the Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier trilogy fight at UFC 264

Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has predicted the outcome of the upcoming trilogy fight between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor.

During his massively successful stint in the UFC, Nurmagomedov picked up submission wins over both Poirier and McGregor in title fights.

Khabib Nurmagomedov's prediction for the trilogy fight between McGregor and Poirier is similar to his prediction of their rematch from earlier this year.

According to 'The Eagle', all Poirier has to do is survive the first round against McGregor. If 'The Diamond' manages to take the fight into the second or third round, he's likely to pick up the all-important win according to Khabib.

Next stop...💎@DustinPoirier 🆚 @TheNotoriousMMA 🇮🇪 3🎰 T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas🔥 For all the marbles#UFC264 | July 10 | BT Sport Box Office pic.twitter.com/VcLA6fepBE

— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) June 28, 2021

Having said that, Khabib Nurmagomedov acknowledged that his arch-rival McGregor is a dangerous fighter in the opening round of any fight and against any opponent in the division.

The Russian predicts that McGregor will win the first round, regardless of the final outcome.

"Like I said before, I think if it goes past the first round, well I think McGregor takes the first round. If it goes past the first, it's Poirier's."

Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier will face off in a number one contender fight at UFC 264 on July 10. The winner of the fight will be next in line to challenge Charles Oliveira for the UFC lightweight title.

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Khabib Nurmagomedov misses fighting, claims his head coach

AKA head coach Javier Mendez has claimed that Khabib Nurmagomedov misses competing in professional MMA fights.

In a recent interview with Betway Insider, Mendez claimed that although he wants to fight, Nurmagomedov won't step out of retirement unless his mother permits. (h/t Bloody Elbow)

“I guess you could say he wants to fight again - but absolutely not, because his mother would have to give him permission before any of that. I mean, he misses training, he misses coaching. I took it as he misses being around me and coaching. He loves the fighting, the energy, and he loves watching his cousins and his teammates perform. He gets nervous for them. You know, when we went to the last fight and his cousin Abubakar was to fight, he just got all energized and he said ‘I miss this feeling’. And it’s a feeling that he’s gonna miss for a while because of that adrenaline you get from entering that octagon with all those people cheering you on. It’s hard to replace that in normal life because normal life is not like that,” said Mendez.

I can't wait for Coach khabib to lead the Dagestani Gang again pic.twitter.com/8LCGKBSxk6

— 𝕽𝖆𝖎𝖓𝖒𝖆𝖐𝖊𝖗❂ (@Eaglesmesh) June 21, 2021