Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLCConor McGregor's defeat has been viewed as a major accomplishment in UFC. But top-ranked welterweight Colby Covington doesn’t see it that way.Covington was asked by Mike Heck to predict the UFC 264 main fight between McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and his former American Top Team colleague, McGregor.Covington stated, in reference to Poirier: "Yeah. He'll probably beat Conor once more." "But, I don't know what that saying means."Covington stated that McGregor is not the same fighter as he was once and that he is not committed to becoming the best fighter in the sport."You beat a guy who has no passion for the sport. Conor is my favorite. Conor has had a wonderful career and accomplished great things in the sport. But, your time is up. It is obvious that you aren't training every day. It's evident you're not learning your craft. Additionally, it's clear you are working on other business deals to fill your pockets and boost your bank account."It's not the same Conor as a few years ago. Conor is a different person towards the end of his journey, and it's hard to beat him.McGregor and Poirier will face off Saturday night in a rematch from their fight at UFC 257 back in January.Surprisingly, Poirier won the fight via technical knockout in the second round. This was avenging McGregor's first round TKO loss at UFC 178.McGregor became one of the most prominent stars in UFC history with his win in 2014.McGregor's success has been harder to achieve since then. He is currently 3-3 in six fights, losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov, Poirier, and Nate Diaz.McGregor has been absent from the sport on several occasions in recent times. He went almost two years between fights between 2016-18 and more than one year between fights between October 2018 and January 2020.Poirier has been on the best run of his career, with only one loss in nine fights. That was to Khabib.Poirier beat McGregor, Dan Hooker and Max Holloway during his hot streak.Poirier's win over McGregor means that he could next be in line to fight Charles Oliveira for the UFC lightweight title.
