Poirier laughs off McGregor's insults during heated presser
Conor McGregor got in Dustin Poirier's space before Thursday's UFC 264 press conference even started, making it immediately clear this presser would be different from the cordial one that took place ahead of their rematch in January.
Fans at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas were witness to the closest thing we've seen to vintage McGregor - at least as far as press conferences go - in a while. The former two-division champion, known for his trash talk during his rise in the UFC, hurled insults at Poirier for the better part of 20 minutes. Poirier largely remained calm, sending one back McGregor's way now and then.
Poirier avenged a 2014 loss to McGregor earlier this year, knocking out the Irishman at UFC 257 to even their series 1-1. Both fighters immediately expressed interest in a trilogy bout, and this time, Poirier knows he can beat McGregor.
"For me, the aura is not there anymore," Poirier said of his foe. "Very dangerous fighter sitting right here for sure, no doubt. ... But I see a man here in front of me that I've defeated and I know I can defeat again."
McGregor countered with his own prediction.
"I'm going to go through his head, put holes in them, and take it off the shoulders," McGregor said. "That's the goal here. He's done here. This is it for him. This is the end of the road. ... Saturday night, he's getting walked around that Octagon like a dog and put to sleep."
McGregor expressed doubts that Poirier would make weight Friday morning, saying he looked "rough" on stage.
"It looks like the weight cut is getting to him," McGregor said. "I can see it in his eyes - the stress in his eyes, lack of sleep."
Poirier said the rubber match hadn't gotten personal for him, despite all of McGregor's verbal jabs.
"It's just business," Poirier said. "I see a man here, a man that likes to get crazy."
"I see a corpse," McGregor responded. "I see a dead body."
McGregor said his 2016 win over Eddie Alvarez - when he became the UFC's first-ever simultaneous two-division champion - is the greatest performance in the promotion's history.
"This performance on Saturday night, I'm going to top it," McGregor said.
"(Poirier's) not in the same stratosphere as me," he added. "The man looks disgraceful up here. He looks frail."
Poirier said he thinks McGregor returned to his trash-talking self ahead of their third match "because he got knocked the f--- out" in January.
When asked if he'll show Poirier respect after Saturday regardless of the outcome, McGregor said he doesn't care about his opponent. He also compared Poirier to Buster Douglas, who pulled off one of the biggest upsets in boxing history when he knocked out Mike Tyson in 1990 but then lost the heavyweight championship in his next bout.
"And that's the way (Poirier's) going to go down," McGregor said. "He's going to be known for that. It was a fluke win, and I'm going to correct it on Saturday night."