Good luck with that..
http://givememmastreams.com/ufc-mma/ufc-live-stream
Fantastic. Link works. Thanks.
Regarding McGregor beating Poirier in the first round. That could happen, but you guys aren't making a rational, mathematical assessment:
- The respective Khabib fights for both fighters would be the best way we can make a comparison. BOTH fighters looked just as bad/good against Khabib. McGregor made it into the fourth round, to Poirier's three. Hence based on that, I would give it to McGregor. We can't look at the 2014 fight to answer this question. Too much time has passed and weight divisions have changed. The Khabib fights are the most RECENT comparison to give us some idea.
- McGregor beating Cowboy doesn't mean very much. Cowboy was almost 38 at the time, with ample miles on him. Nice scam though - get McGregor to go up a weight class against a seasoned veteran, and act like the win was a big deal. That fast knockout was impressive though...you'd think Cowboy's team would have trained him for that possibility.
- We need to consider McGregor's wealth getting to him. My opinion on this is that his team is aware of this, and letting him know not to fall in the habit of partying, because his whole life will be a party after. Having two kids probably helps too.
Based on how Poirier looked in the Hooker fight, I think this will be a good fight. That said, where was the defense in that fight? If Poirier forgets defense this time, he could be in big trouble. Also, where is Hooker ranked?
Unless Hooker is ranked #8 or worse, this fight will not be finished in the first round. Ugh. And even if it DOES finish that fast, what is your thought process arriving at that conclusion?
So McGregor beats a washed up Cowboy in seconds, so he can therefore beat a much younger legit #2 contender?
You're not considering miles here. McGregor did NOT beat a prime Cowboy. Had he done that, I would agree - round one KO tonight.
Oh...hahaha, tl;dr, but here's another way to sum it up:
It took KHABIB - who is WAY better than McGregor - three rounds to beat Poirier, but McGregor will do it in one?
That being said, Poirier had serious surgery last year. And that is the ONLY thing I'm not considering here.
Otherwise, as I said above, "on paper", it goes to McGregor in round three or later.
But Poirier does have a chance, and does deserve this fight.
One LAST point:
McGregor is the UFC's cash cow. They are fighting him once a year, and building major hype around those fights. If the UFC thought Poirier could win, they would probably not give him this fight, and give McGregor another washed up welterweight.
