Conor McGregor’s longtime coach John Cavanagh claims his star pupil is aiming for a third fight with Dustin Poirier following his loss to the American on Saturday.
Six years after defeating Poirier at UFC 178, McGregor suffered a shock defeat in the highly-anticipated rematch, and SBG boss Cavanagh says the Irishman is now looking for a trilogy fight to settle the score once and for all.
“It’s currently 1-1, one a piece,” Cavanagh told the Ariel Helwani show. “They’re right up there in the rankings and they’re very popular fighters, the two of them. Stylistically it’s beautiful to watch and I’d love to see more rounds. Dustin’s riding high on confidence right now and with more experience and more weight he took some of those shots so I’m sure he’s feeling very confident now.”
An action packed opening round saw both men land on each other, ut a takedown by Poirier and some heavy calf kicks appeared to turn the tide in his favour, with McGregor’s mobility compromised by the damage to his lower leg.
“We’ll need to adjust our training for that kick because it caused a lot of damage and really turned the tde in Poirier’s favour.
” Before the rematch, Cavanagh was adamant the first encounter would play a psychological impact on Poirier’s performance. However, after seeing American Top Team fighter level the score at one win each, Cavanagh said he was impressed by the American’s mental strength.
“I think the way he approached the fight was very impressive. Being knocked out by someone will always play on your mind, and nine times out of ten if someone defeats you once they defeat you again. But hats off to Dustin. He managed to shake off any feelings of doubt he might have had and he looked confident, and ultimately he got the job done so fair play to the man.”
After the event Dana White said UFC 257 was the promotion’s second highest-ever PPV, so a rematch is guaranteed to draw big numbers, which may ultimately prove crucial to McGregor’s hopes of a third encounter.
