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With losses in two of his past three fights, former two-division champion Conor McGregor knows his status as the biggest star in mixed martial arts is on the line in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier. The brash Irishman has told the media the third fight is for “all the marbles” when he meets Poirier in the main event of UFC 264 on Saturday, July 10. Their rubber match closes the jam-packed UFC 264 fight card from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with the main card set for 10 p.m. ET. McGregor’s last two losses have come in lopsided fashion, including a knockout loss to Poirier in January.
McGregor is a -115 favorite (risk $115 to win $100), while Poirier is offered at -105 in the latest Poirier vs. McGregor 3 odds from William Hill Sportsbook. In the co-main event, welterweight contenders meet as fifth-ranked Stephen Thompson (-140) faces second-ranked Gilbert Burns (+120). Before making any UFC 264 picks of your own, make sure you see the MMA predictions and expert UFC picks from SportsLine analyst Ian Parker.
A former fighter who’s been in the industry for 15 years, Parker has managed some of the world’s best, including former UFC middleweight champ Chris Weidman, Costas Philippou and Gian Villante. Parker trained alongside UFC Hall of Famer Matt Serra. Now, Parker breaks down fights and makes betting picks for the Voice of the UFC, Jon Anik.
Parker is coming off a mind-boggling 2020 season. On the Anik & Florian Podcast, Parker went an astounding 58-14, returning $9,465 to $100 bettors who followed him. He hit 11 of his 17 underdog picks and 19 of 30 main events. Overall, Parker nailed an astonishing 81 percent of his plays.
The revered MMA analyst already has had a standout 2021 campaign for SportsLine members. Last week at UFC Fight Night, he posted a 7-2 record and his winners included calling for a relatively easy win by heavyweight prospect Cyril Gane (-145) against veteran Alexander Volkov (+125) in their five-round main event. Anyone who has followed him has seen massive returns.
Now, with UFC 264: Poirier vs McGregor 3 in sight, Parker has studied the MMA odds and each matchup on the UFC 264 card from every angle and released his top selections. A successful parlay of his top UFC 264 picks would generate a payback of better than 10-1. Those picks are available only at SportsLine.
UFC 264: McGregor vs. Poirier 3 preview
Parker knows the main event will have a serious impact on the legacy of both fighters. With the help of the UFC marketing machine, McGregor cut a nearly mythical figure for himself with his distinctive look and infamous, verbose swagger.
The “Notorious” fighter held up his end of the storyline with dominance inside the cage for the early stages of his UFC career. Perhaps his coming-of-age moment happened seven years ago in his first meeting with Poirier, who was similarly considered a brash prospect with the talent and sinister disposition to match.
After weeks of nonstop trash talk, McGregor (22-5) put Poirier away at the 1:46 mark in the first round as the Louisiana native offered little in the way of resistance or resilience. McGregor went on to become the UFC”s first active two-division champion.
Poirier (27-6-1), meanwhile, quietly won nine of his next 10 fights to emerge as one of the world’s best lightweights. His resume includes two wins over celebrated former featherweight champion Max Holloway, the latter of which came for the interim title in April 2019. Later that year, he came up short for the unified title against Khabib Nurmagomedov, who has since retired as an undefeated champion. You can only see who to back here.
UFC 264: McGregor vs. Poirier 3 predictions
We’ll reveal one of Parker’s UFC 264 selections here: He is siding with Brad Tavares (-175) to get past Omari Akhmedov (+155) in a battle of ranked middleweights.
Tavares (18-6) is a 10-year UFC veteran who has spent a portion of his career in the upper echelon of the division but has never contended for the title. The 33-year-old Hawaiian saw his stock soar amid a four-fight winning streak. He suffered setbacks in the form of back-to-back losses to current champion Israel Adesanya and another to Edmen Shahbazyan, who is now ranked No. 10.
Tavares cracked the rankings again at No. 15 following his decision win against Antonio Carlos Junior in January.
Akhmedov (21-5-1), ranked No. 13, is an eight-year UFC veteran who is emerging as a title-contender with wins in four of his last five outings, all against top-tier competition. His lone defeat in that span came against former champ Chris Weidman, and the 33-year-old Russian is looking to build on a submission win over Tom Breese in January.
“Look for Tavares to stuff the takedown attempts of Akhmedov and force him into a kickboxing match in which he will have the advantage,” Parker told SportsLine.
How to make UFC 264 picks
Parker also has strong picks for Poirier vs. McGregor 3 and other fights on the UFC 264 card. He’s also backing one fighter to use his “karate-style striking” to pull off a decisive win. Those picks and other UFC 264 predictions are only available at SportsLine.
Who wins Poirier vs. McGregor 3? And which fighter is a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed top picks on UFC 264: Connor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 3, all from the UFC insider who’s up nearly $9,500 on MMA picks in the past year, and find out.
UFC 264 odds
Dustin Poirier (-105) vs. Conor McGregor (-115)
Stephen Thompson (-140) vs. Gilbert Burns (+120)
Tai Tuivasa (-140) vs. Greg Hardy (+120)
Irene Aldana (-145) vs. Yana Kunitskaya (+125)
Sean O’Malley (-430) vs. Louis Smolka (+350)
Max Griffin (-175) vs. Carlos Condit (+155)
Michel Pereira (-160) vs. Niko Price (+140)
Trevin Giles (-120) vs. Dricus du Plessis (+100)
Ilia Topuria (-240) vs. Ryan Hall (+200)
Jennifer Maia (-190) vs. Jessica Eye (+170)
Brad Tavares (-175) vs. Omari Akhmedov (+155)
Zhalgas Zhumagulov (-400) vs. Jerome Rivera (+320)
Alen Amedovski (-175) vs. Yaozong Hu (+155)