Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov thinks the upcoming trilogy bout between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor could go either way.
Nurmagomedov thinks McGregor will either finish Poirier in the first round or ‘The Diamond’ will drag ‘The Notorious’ into deep waters and pick up the late stoppage victory.
“It’s the same thing [as the previous fights],” Khabib told UFC Russia in a recent interview (h/t RT Sport).
“If it’s the first round [for a finish], I’d back Conor. From the second and further, then Dustin [wins].”
McGregor and Poirier are tied one apiece, with the latter avenging his 2014 KO loss with a second-round finish of his own at UFC 257 this past January.
The winner is expected to go on to challenge newly-crowned champ Charles Oliveira for the title, with ‘Do Bronx’ capturing the lightweight belt following a career-defining TKO victory over Michael Chandler at UFC 262.
Khabib is excited to see how the current situation unfolds, with the undefeated legend likening the lightweight division to a world war between three competing nations: Russia, America, and Brazil.
“It’s a nice composition of the division. The Brazilians, if you look at [Charles] Oliveira and [Rafael] dos Anjos. The Americans are well represented. Poirier, [Justin] Gaethje, Chandler,” Khabib said.
“You could say it’s like a world war, the Brazilians, the Americans, the Russians. This division has always been the most interesting and the strongest… it will be fun by the end of the year”.
UFC 264: Poirier vs. McGregor III is scheduled to take place next month, July 10 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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