Much like 2020, we get a McGregor fight to start off the year. Perhaps we won't have a multi month sport sabbatical from Covid this year round.
Poirier vs McGregor - Much like was suggested by both parties in the Countdown special, Poirier needs to drag this fight out ala Nate Diaz, and McGregor wants to cleanly tag Poirier and put him away. Poirier has put away punch centric fighters like Gaethje, and done well against Eddie Alvarez et cetera, but McGregor, even as a punch centric fighter has that precision/accuracy that really leads to finishes, as cliched as it might sound. I think the added mileage of Poirier's subsequent fights versus Conor's much less strenuous fight schedule, looks like an advantage to McGregor. I think McGregor puts Poirier away in the 2nd or 3rd round, punches against the fence, much akin to their first fight but a bit more drawn out to get there.
Hooker vs Chandler - it's always interesting to see guys come in and test themselves against the top tier of the UFC. Ben Askren and others have tried it and had mixed results over the years. At any rate, I think Hooker is as stern a test for Chandler as there is, but Hooker's multi-faced approach to striking will prove equal to Chandler's power punching and wrestling. I actually don't feel super confident in a pick for this one, I'm inclined to pick Hooker because I think this fight plays out a lot like Poirier vs Gaethje did.
Hooker by stoppage from knees leading to a TKO in the 4th round.
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