Daniel Cormier: Dustin Poirier’s mindset critical heading into Conor McGregor rematch at UFC 257

simon samano

Fri, Jan 8, 2021, 7:45 PM·2 min read

Former UFC dual champion Daniel Cormier knows a thing or two about taking part in big rematches.

During his illustrious career, Cormier twice defeated Anthony Johnson and twice lost to Jon Jones in light heavyweight title fights before moving on to heavyweight where his trilogy with Stipe Miocic ended with DC losing two of three title fights.

All of this is to say that Cormier is familiar with the mental battle that goes with facing someone a second (or third) time, especially after losing. That’s the situation Dustin Poirier finds himself in as he prepares to rematch Conor McGregor at UFC 257 more than six years after suffering an embarrassing TKO loss to “The Notorious” in a featherweight fight that lasted just one minutes and 46 seconds at UFC 178.

The way DC sees it, it’s vital that Poirier gets his mind right about that first outcome before stepping into the octagon with McGregor again Jan. 23 on “Fight Island.”

“I know a lot about it,” Cormier, who will call the UFC 257 headliner, told the South China Morning Post. “… I had seven of my 25 fights against three dudes. Any fighter can convince himself that he just got caught. And I think that’s what Dustin is gonna have to rely on to give himself a chance.

“(It’s) difficult to forget, but you want to remember it and use it to motivate you to do better in the rematch.”

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SBG Ireland head coach John Kavanagh, who trains McGregor, has said he believes “The Notorious” has a clear mental edge over Poirier heading into the rematch. Poirier, though, recently told MMA Junkie that he’s not heading into UFC 257 with personal animosity toward McGregor, much different than the buildup to UFC 178.

“When I was younger, I used to fight with a lot of emotion,” Poirier said. “This isn’t the same thing for me. This isn’t about getting even for me. This isn’t like a revenge type of thing for me. This is about moving my career forward, about putting my family in a better spot. It’s not trying to get back a guy who got me. This is just business.”