UFC 263: Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor – Betting Odds and Predictions
MMA fans are looking forward to July as the UFC has put together a fantastic pay-per-view card headlined by a trilogy fight between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor. UFC263 is set to take place on July 10 at the T Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The UFC has lined up some great fights on both the Main Card and the prelims. We take a look at the Main Event, co-Main event, and a third fight that is set to be a banger. We look at the betting odds and share our predictions on who we think will win and why.
Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor – 3
This will be the third time that Dustin and Conor McGregor fight each other. In the first match, McGregor won at featherweight, the second match, which took place in Jan 2021 at lightweight Poirier won. They will headline this card in a 5 round Main Event and look to establish who is the better fighter in the trilogy.
In the second fight, Poirier did quick work of McGregor and won by TKO after he devastated McGregor’s leg with great calf kicks. Sportsbooks has both fighters at 10/11 going into their third fight but expect those odds to change as more bets come in as we get close to the fight.
McGregor has made adjustments to his stance and is expected to adopt his old karate stance that will limit the impact of Poirier’s leg kicks. Conor McGregor knows that if he can win this fight, he will definitely put himself in a position to press for a title shot against current UFC lightweight champ Charles Oliveira.
McGregor has the best chance to finish the fight in the first couple of rounds. If the fight goes into the third round, Poirier’s chances of winning improve significantly as McGregor has shown in past fights that he tends to gas quickly and is no longer as dangerous in the later rounds.
We are going to pick McGregor to win the trilogy and do so by stoppage.
Gilbert Burns vs. Stephen Thompson
The last time Burns fought was for the title, and he ended up losing to the champ, Kamaru Usman. Wonderboy Thompson last fought in Dec 2020 when he had a decision win against Geoff Neal. If Wonderboy ends up winning this fight, he will put himself in a line for a title shot after Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington’s fight.
If Burns wins, he will once again put himself in title contention and be one or two fights away from another crack at the title. Bookmakers have Stephen Thompson as the favorite with odds of 8/11, while Burns is the underdog with odds of 11/10.
If this turns into a pure striking match, Wonderboy is definitely the better striker, and he should be able to either secure a stoppage or a decision win. However, Burns is phenomenal on the ground, and it will be a test between his takedown prowess and Wonderboy’s takedown defense.
If Burns can take Wonderboy down, he will be in a better position to win. However, we think Wonderboy’s takedown defense will work, and he will walk away with a decision win.
Niko Price vs. Michel Pereira
If you like to watch fighters stand and bang, then you must check out this welterweight fight between the dangerous Niko Price and the exciting Michel Pereira. This fight is not on the Main Card but on the prelims, so do consider that and tune in early to watch the fight.
Price last fought in Sep 2020 when he faced Donald Cerrone, and it ended in a draw while Pereira is coming off a good win against Khaos Williams in Dec 2020. Bookmakers have Price as the betting favorite with odds of 7/5, while Pereira is the underdog with odds of 10/17.
Price is a KO specialist and has some great power in his hands. Pereira has such a unique style that he can sometimes be hard to hit. This is a difficult fight to predict, but we will side with the bookmakers and back Price to win.
Other Exciting Fights
Some of the other exciting fights on this card include a heavyweight clash between Aussie Tai Tuivasa (8/11) and Greg Hardy (11/10), the return of the Natural Born Killer Carlos Condit (7/5), who fights Max Griffin (10/17) at welterweight and a middleweight clash between Trevin Giles (4/5) and Dricus Du Plessis (1/1). We will back Greg Hardy, Max Griffin, and Dricus Du Plessis to come out on the winning side.
