Poirier spoke to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto about his strategy for the trilogy bout, whether he will throw calf kicks again and what he expects from McGregor on fight night.
“I mean, obviously, he’s gonna try to check calf kicks if I throw them, right?” Poirier said (h/t MMA News).
“Yeah, the martial artist he is and the understanding of fighting he has, I’m sure he can. But I might not even throw calf kicks. I’m expecting him to throw calf kicks, honestly. I’m working on countering calf kicks over here. I’m not even working on landing them.”
“But I think he’s gonna be more aggressive. He’s not gonna let the fight unfold. I think as it unfolded and as I got more comfortable, he realized, ‘Oh, shit, this guy can really fight.’ If I was him, I would try to touch me early and keep me out of rhythm. Because if this thing starts to blossom into a fight: second, third, fourth, we start hurting in there, we start having to grind it out, we start getting a rhythm, I win that fight 10 out of 10 times.