Dustin Poirier has welcomed the prospect of calf kicks from Conor McGregor ahead of the lightweight pair's UFC 264 showdown as the Louisiana native called for a 'war' against the Irishman.
Poirier, 32, meets McGregor, also 32, in Las Vegas on July 10 with the Notorious bidding to avenge his defeat to the American on Fight Island in January.
The former two-weight world champion was undone by a kickboxing masterclass in which Poirier combined lethal calf kicks with crisp hooks to hand McGregor his first ever professional defeat by knockout.
Dustin Poirier has called for a 'blood and guts war' against Conor McGregor at UFC 264
Poirier, 32, put in a kickboxing masterclass to defeat the Irishman at UFC 257 in January
The duo are tied at a one apiece over each other with their Sin City showdown the decider and the winner is expected to challenge Charles Oliveira for his 155-pound title.
And Poirier says he hopes for a 'blood and guts war' and wants his will to be tested in a ding dong matchup in the Nevada desert.
'If I was him, I would try to touch me early and keep me out of rhythm,'he told "ESPN.
'Because if this thing starts to blossom into a fight, second, third, fourth, we start hurting in there, we start grinding it out, getting into a rhythm, I win that ten out of ten times.
The lightweight stars are set to meet on July 10 in a highly-anticipated trilogy bout in Las Vegas
'I want a blood and guts war, I want to question my will to fight, I want to be
