Why UFC superstar Conor McGregor must go back to the old ways if he’s to beat Dustin Poirier

For UFC superstar Conor McGregor to get back in the winner column against Dustin Poirier on Sunday he needs to go back to the old ways.

The best way for Conor McGregor to beat Dustin Poirier in their trilogy bout at UFC 264 on Sunday (AEST) – and perhaps the only way the Irishman can avenge January’s knockout loss – is to go back to the old ways.

That’s not to say McGregor has to load up on thunderous left straights, although that might not hurt, nor does he need to blast Poirier out of the Octagon inside two minutes like he did in their first meeting.

Instead, McGregor must turn back into the mouth, back into Mystic Mac, back into the snarling, quick-witted, sharp-tongued prophet of doom who won many a fight before he even walked inside the cage.

McGregor was always an exceptional fighter. All the talking in the world is no good if you can’t back it up, and McGregor’s words might have carried him to the top of the sporting world but his fists are what kept him there. But it has been a long time since we could say he was one of the best fighters in the world on fighting talent alone.

Watch Poirier v McGregor 3 at UFC 264 live on Main Event, available on Foxtel and Kayo on Sunday 11 July at 12pm AEST. ORDER NOW >

Conor McGregor needs to go back to his old ways. Picture: Steve Marcus/Getty Images/AFP

All his greatest moments – the win over Chad Mendes, the record knockout of Jose Aldo, the titanic victory over Nate Diaz and the coronation against Eddie Alvarez – are long ago and get further away all the time.

In the past five years, his sole UFC victory is against a shopworn Donald Cerrone, currently riding a six-fight losing streak.

While McGregor was off making his millions with Floyd Mayweather, then spending some of those millions, the game went and changed.

While McGregor was busy becoming an icon, Poirier stuck with just being a fighter – he’s miles away from the skinheaded brawler McGregor struck down seven years ago, as he showed in their rematch.

Using calf kicks, sharp counterpunching and well-timed shifts, Poirier didn’t just beat McGregor, he became the first man to outclass and outwit the Irishman on the feet, then the first to knock him out.

And so we enter their trilogy bout. Perhaps McGregor will boast a ­renewed focus, as he did when he faced Diaz the second time – the only occasion in his career he’s had a loss to avenge.

Dustin Poirier after defeating Conor McGregor in his last bout. Picture: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

But it has been so long since we saw McGregor at the peak of his powers he could well be better off playing the hits – and that’s running his mouth, early and often, in an attempt to goad Poirier into mistakes.

It’s how he had Poirier on toast the first time around, with the American clearly flustered by the chat, and it’s how he broke Jose Aldo’s iron discipline before the Brazilian even entered the cage.

And perhaps McGregor is already going back to the old ways.

The build-up to this fight has­ been more bitter than a northern January, when McGregor and Poirier were downright convivial.

This time there’s some added heat from a donation McGregor pledged to make to Poirier’s charity that fell through. There have been little snipes at each other already this week – McGregor even brought Poirier’s wife into it, a line he never crossed even at his most wicked.

As the fight draws nearer, McGregor should play the hits.

Make a prediction, pick a round, spit as much fire on the mike as possible, whip the crowd into a frenzy and turn them into a weapon. Do anything and everything to win the fight before it even starts.

McGregor was always at his best when his talking and fighting were one, and he had his opponents so flustered and desperate to hit him right in the face just so he’d shut up they’d lose themselves and their gameplan.

Poirier may be too savvy to fall for the same trick twice, especially given he’s already taken the McGregor mythos and beaten plenty of dents in it. But McGregor has to give it a shot.

A legend can only be beaten up so many times before he becomes a man again.

Originally published as Why UFC superstar Conor McGregor must go back to the old ways if he’s to beat Dustin Poirier