Coming up this Saturday night from Yas Island in Abu Dhabi is UFC 257 carrying the main event that will grab the attention of fans everywhere. Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier (26-6 (1) MMA, 18-5 (1) UFC) brings his June 2020 unanimous decision win over Dan Hooker against Conor “The Notorious” McGregor (22-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC).
Conor McGregor looks to be in the best shape of his career. pic.twitter.com/x4ozYedp3g
— MMA History Today (@MMAHistoryToday) January 8, 2021
He brings a big knockout win over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone last January into the Octagon as well. McGregor has been getting ready for a year now since his last fight. Looking more prepared than ever, he looks to add a second win to his record over the man he defeated six and a half years ago.
“There comes a time when you need to stop handing out flyers and get back to the damn shop”
– Conor McGregor
He’s laser focused headed into January 23rd. pic.twitter.com/69iVgj0I2L
— MMA History Today (@MMAHistoryToday) January 5, 2021
With McGregor returning to action after fighting last year, he feels that he has unfinished business with the entire lightweight division. As he looks to reclaim one of his thrones in the UFC, he claims that he never really lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov following the UFC 229 defeat back in October of 2018. Speaking with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, he supremely states how he feels about his feelings towards the currently retired UFC Lightweight Champion.
"Do you know that the unified title was never crowned? … Khabib fled the cage and left me fighting with his family members in the cage.”@TheNotoriousMMA says he is still lightweight champion because the post-fight ceremony at UFC 229 never took place. (via @arielhelwani) pic.twitter.com/nWBGPsZMPQ
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 17, 2021
Of course, McGregor is going into his element of trash-talking as he heads into an epic fight. Many feel that he’s more than itching to return to work and reclaim the strap. As for Poirier, it’s safe to say that he has earned McGregor’s respect as he comes into the rematch with a 10-2 win-loss record with a no-contest since April of 2015. He’s definitely earned more than that, including the second chance to beat McGregor, but time will tell if he can on Saturday night at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT on Pay-Per-View.
