Sylvester Stallone believes Dustin Poirier has ‘big time advantage’ ahead of trilogy fight with Conor McGregor
Sylvester Stallone is well aware what’s at stake in the main event of UFC 264 but believes Dustin Poirier will have more to offer against Conor McGregor.
The star of the Rocky series has a rich history in the combat sports world and is a massive fan of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Like most of the world, he will be watching the highly anticipated trilogy matchup between Poirier and McGregor on July 10.
“That’s a tough one,” Stallone told TMZ when asked about his prediction for the lightweight matchup. “That is a real tough one. That one you can really flip a coin on. It’s like, who hits first? But you have a really hungry young guy [in Poirier] and a guy who’s made a lot of money, and is sort of hungry [in McGregor].
“You have two guys who are a little, psychologically, a little more hesitant, [but] Poirier has the big time advantage.”
In their first meeting in September 2014, McGregor put Poirier away in less than two minutes in their 145-pound matchup at UFC 178. A little less than seven years later, Poirier got the opportunity to extract revenge on McGregor at their more natural weight class. “The Diamond” weathered McGregor’s early storm and utilized a ferocious leg kick attack in lieu of a second-round TKO victory in the rematch at UFC 257 in January.
In Rocky III, Stallone played the role of Rocky Balboa, a man coming off the biggest win of his career and made a lot of money for the first time in his life. While he’s not saying McGregor is on the same exact footing, there are some similarities since “The Notorious” recently topped Forbes’ list for the highest paid athletes over the last year.
When asked if he had any advice for the former two-division champion, Stallone tapped into his iconic character.
“I’ll just give you a Rocky, just keep punching,” Stallone said.
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