McGregor is back at UFC 257. Here’s everything you need to know.
Conor McGregor is back! After fighting only once last year against Donald Cerrone — mainly because of COVID-19 — McGregor is fighting once more at UFC 257, against perennial lightweight contender Dustin Poirier, a man he previously defeated at featherweight all the way back in 2014.
With current UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov all but officially retired, this contest is seen by many as a title eliminator. Most likely the winner will fight for the belt later down the track in 2021, potentially against Charles Oliveira. Depending on how talks between Nurmagomedov and UFC President Dana White go over the next week or so, there’s a chance White lets Poirier and McGregor skip the queue, making this contest for the belt.
The fight takes place on the UFC’s Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.
McGregor defeated Poirier comfortably the last time they fought over six years ago at UFC 178, but Poirier has improved dramatically since then. He defeated Max Holloway for the UFC interim lightweight championship, and put up a decent showing against Nurmagomedov, the current lightweight king. The undefeated Nurmagomedov also defeated McGregor in 2018.
Despite Poirier’s improvements, most oddsmakers have McGregor as a clear favorite in this bout. His destruction of Donald Cerrone in 2020, combined with the style matchup, has most people seeing this as a favorable fight for McGregor. Poirier is primarily a boxer and McGregor is still the sharpest striker at 155 pounds.
McGregor also appears to be in phenomenal shape and, by most reports, is as motivated as he’s been since his legendary first run at featherweight. We could be in for something special with this performance.
But outside of the blockbuster main event, UFC 257 runs deep. Michael Chandler is making his UFC debut against fight of the night machine Dan Hooker in a compelling co-main event and the undercard is dotted with names like Joanne Calderwood and Shane Burgos. There’s a lot of great matchups in there.
