Rubber matches are a class of their own. Even when they lack class — like when the UFC decided we had an appetite for watching Tito Ortiz beat up a hapless old Ken Shamrock for three consecutive fights in a row — there’s something unique about watching two fighters tell a three-act story about how bloody a confrontation between them can get.
Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor, on the other hand, has plenty of class. Well, inside the cage at least. The first match was at featherweight. McGregor was the blue chip prospect on the rise while Poirier — having suffered recent losses to Cub Swanson and Chan Sung Jung — was the blue chip prospect on the mend.