Mike Brown: Conor McGregor ‘better be on edge’, warns Dustin Poirier’s coach ahead of UFC 264

Exclusive interview: Poirier’s chief cornerman talks to The Independent as a third bout with the Irishman looms

It’s been six months since Dustin Poirier left Conor McGregor staring up at the lights inside the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, the Irishman tethered ever so loosely to his consciousness and the image of the fighter he once was.

McGregor’s knockout defeat by Poirier in the main event of UFC 257 was the first of that nature in his career, and while Poirier’s composure, versatility and finishing instincts were all key contributors to the result, there were also decisive elements outside of the Octagon.

One of them was Poirier’s head coach, Mike Brown.

The former UFC featherweight watched on as Poirier brutalised McGregor’s calf with low kicks, setting “Notorious” up for a second-round stoppage that also saw Poirier exact revenge for his 2014 defeat by McGregor.

In January’s rematch, there were glimpses of the old McGregor – the one who knocked out Poirier all those years ago. There were flashes of his timing and range. Distinctly absent, however, was the insatiable desire to be the most complete, modern mixed martial artist possible. That was evident in McGregor’s admission after UFC 257 that he was caught off guard by the devastating effectiveness of Poirier’s calf kicks – a skill executed to perfection by the “Diamond” but hardly a revolutionary tool in MMA.

“I guess there was nobody in [McGregor’s] gym that was good with this technique,” Brown tells The Independent. “At American Top Team (ATT), there’s many fighters that are very good with this technique, so if you get hit with it in a fight, it’s not a surprise.

“Maybe that’s one of the advantages of being at a gym like ATT: if there’s a newer evolution in the sport, because we get fighters from all over the planet, somebody at our gym will be very good at one of the new techniques that people are using. You’ll be exposed to it. You’ll have a hole and then you get hit with it so many times and on your own you’ll self-adapt and find ways to close that hole. But if you don't know that you have a hole, you’re not gonna adapt.”

McGregor’s apparent lack of exposure to the most up-to-date MMA techniques and clued-in training partners might have hurt his performance against Poirier in January, but so did a lack of in-ring activity. That rematch was his first fight in 12 months and third in just over four years. In that extended period of time, Poirier (27-6, 1 no contest) had fought eight times, losing just once – to Khabib Nurmagomedov – after becoming interim UFC lightweight champion.

The one accolade to elude the American is an undisputed world title, which he could have fought for after KO’ing McGregor (22-5) at the start of the year. Instead, Poirier opted to fight McGregor for a third time – in the main event of UFC 264 this Saturday.

“I think that he’s making the right decision,” Brown says. “Maybe that first rematch should have been for the title, but it comes down to finances, I think. I believe this was the bigger fight financially, by a substantial margin – as far as I know, I don’t know the details. So it made sense.

“It made sense in a lot of ways: They’re split 1-1, the build-up is gonna be incredible, the numbers will be incredible, this is the fight everyone wants to see. And everyone knows Dustin is world-champion level, if not a world champion. To me, it felt like he won a world title when he beat Max Holloway for the interim title. It’s not like he hasn’t been there and done it before. I think at this point it’s a formality.

“I think he’ll get there, and I felt he was there. He already put gold around his waist. Even though it was considered an interim title, it was against Holloway, who was a real UFC [featherweight] champion at the time. It didn’t feel like an interim title to me. He’ll be there. And even if he doesn’t get there, we all know what he’s done, what he’s capable of. His resume stands above all the other lightweights. Look at how many world champions this guy has beat – it’s a long list.”

Indeed it is. Poirier now holds victories over McGregor, Eddie Alvarez, Anthony Pettis, Holloway (twice) and Justin Gaethje – a former interim UFC champion and undisputed champion in World Series of Fighting before that.

A title fight against Charles Oliveira will undoubtedly await Poirier if he is to beat McGregor again this weekend, even though the same applies to the Irishman – on account of his popularity, rather than his (patchy) recent record.

How will Poirier navigate this contest with McGregor, though, given his opponent will surely have found an answer to the leg kicks that were so effective last time out? How much stock can Brown and his fighter put in that bout, or even the first fight from 2014 – a featherweight meeting?

"They're both completely different guys now, but you do take something out of both [previous fights],” Brown tells The Independent. “We do realise that Conor has the ability and power to put people away. Obviously he's one of the best on the planet, one of the best to ever do it, and so is Dustin.

“I think we take a lot more out of the second fight, it’s a lot closer [more recent], so I think we’re much closer to that skillset. But both guys are gonna make big adaptations and I think we’ll see two different guys again.

Poirier celebrates beating McGregor in Abu Dhabi in January (Getty)

“Every fight is so different. Even if they didn’t change, who knows what the outcome’s gonna be on the next one? Even if they fought a week after [the last fight], you might see a different outcome. The fight game is crazy.”

It is a game that Brown knows well, however, one in which he also works with women’s featherweight and bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, Jorge Masvidal and more.

Still, he is not immune to the nerves that can accompany the biggest occasions, such as UFC 257 and UFC 264.

"The only thing that makes it better is experience and preparation,” the 45-year-old says. “If you know you’re prepared and confident, it’s much better. If you’re second guessing yourself and think maybe you cut some corners, you’re gonna be telling yourself that on fight night. It will haunt you. As long as you did the work, that back-of-the-mind chatter is minimal.

“There’s a scale. There are some fighters where the nerves run higher and some where it runs much lower. I’ve seen great fighters that are very nervous and great fighters that are cool as anyone could be. I’ve seen terrible fighters that are very confident and have no nerves and then get demolished. And then I’ve seen terrible fighters that are nervous. It almost isn’t part of the equation for winning.

“As a coach, I get nervous, too. The bigger the stage... The more confident I am in the fight, the nerves are much less. But if I’m worried about a guy... it’s natural [to feel nerves]. In fact, I think nerves are what keep you safe sometimes.

“I’ve seen guys where not having nerves has cost them a fight. It’s happened to me in my fight career. Sometimes when I was too confident and I thought nothing could happen to me, that was when I put myself in danger.”

Brown’s last appearance as an in-ring competitor came back in August 2013, on the same card on which McGregor competed in the UFC for the second time.

The pair missed one another while fighting in the featherweight division, but Brown is no stranger to the man who will be across the cage from Poirier again this Saturday.

Brown was in Poirier’s corner for his compatriot’s 2014 loss to McGregor, before playing a more pivotal role in preparing Poirier for the rematch.

“I’m not in [McGregor’s] camp, but I do believe he’s very confident in his skills,” Brown says. “And you do need that, it is important, so I don’t think that’s detrimental. I think that’s an asset to him, that he believes in himself. Even with a loss or two, I don’t think his confidence has wavered too much. He seems pretty headstrong.

“But now you know: ‘This guy can put me to sleep, I better be on edge a little bit.’”

Every MMA fan, meanwhile, will be on the edge of their seat when Poirier and McGregor collide again this weekend.

BT Sport Box Office will show UFC 264: McGregor v Poirier 3 exclusively live on Saturday 10 July. UFC 264 can be watched on BT TV, Virgin Media TV, Sky, online via the web or the BT Sport Box Office App and is available to buy at bt.com/sportboxoffice