Conor McGregor is not looking beyond Dustin Poirier, but “The Notorious” definitely had a big image in mind as he prepared for the UFC 257 main event on Saturday at “Fight Island”. And that great image includes staying active and, eventually, fighting for the lightweight belt.
Defending champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has made it clear that he intends to retire, and it seems a question of whether – not when – Nurmagomedov will give up the belt, so Saturday’s main event has huge implications for the title.
ESPN ranked Poirier 3rd and McGregor 10th in the world with 155 pounds. It will be McGregor’s first fight since the 40-second knockout over Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 in January 2020, and his first time at lightweight since his 2018 loss to Nurmagomedov. McGregor and Poirier fought before, with McGregor winning a featherweight fight by technical knockout in the first round at UFC 178 in 2014.
McGregor (22-4) won three of his last four fights, with the only loss during that period coming to Nurmagomedov in a title fight. The Irishman was the first two-time champion in UFC history, winning the lightweight belt against Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in November 2016, while holding the featherweight title. McGregor, 32, is the biggest moneymaker in UFC history and even surpassed MMA in 2017, moving on to boxing in a fight against Floyd Mayweather.
Poirier (26-6, 1 NC) has only one defeat in his last eight fights, also for Nurmagomedov. The Louisiana native, who trains outside the American Top Team in Florida, comes from a unanimous decision victory over Dan Hooker last June. Poirier, 32, is 10-2 (1 NC) since losing in 2014 to McGregor and has been a permanent contender in the lightweight division.
In the main co-event, ex-Bellator three-time lightweight champion Michael Chandler will make his long-awaited UFC debut against Hooker. ESPN has Hooker No. 6 and Chandler No. 7 in the world at lightweight. The winner would also place himself in the conversation about the title.
Also on the card, Jessica Eye and Joanne Calderwood find themselves in a rancorous female flyweight fight; Amanda Ribas faces Marina Rodriguez in a women’s fight for the strawweight; and top contender Arman Tsarukyan faces Matt Frevola in a lightweight competition.
Fight in progress:
Men’s flyweight: Amir Albazi (13-1, 1-0 UFC, -110) vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov (13-4, 0-1 UFC, -110)
Yet to come:
Lightweight: Dustin Poirier (26-6 1 NC, 18-5 1 NC UFC, +250) vs. Conor McGregor (22-4, 10-2 UFC, -310)
Lightweight: Dan Hooker (20-9, 10-5 UFC, -140) vs. Michael Chandler (21-5, 0-0 UFC, +120)
Women’s flyweight: Jessica Eye (15-8 1 NC, 5-7 1 NC UFC +100) vs. Joanne Calderwood (14-5, 6-5 UFC, -120)
Middleweight: Andrew Sanchez (13-5, 5-3 UFC, +120) against Makhmud Muradov (24-6, 2-0 UFC, -140)
Strawweight: Marina Rodriguez (12-1-2, 2-1-2 UFC, +260) against Amanda Ribas (10-1, 4-0 UFC, -330)
Lightweight: Matt Frevola (8-1-1, 2-1-1 UFC, +475) against Arman Tsarukyan (15-2, 2-1 UFC, -650)
Middleweight: Brad Tavares (17-7, 12-6 UFC, -125) vs. Antonio Carlos Junior (11-4 1 NC, 7-4 1 NC UFC, +105)
Women’s bantamweight: Julianna Pena (10-4, 5-2 UFC, +110) vs. Sara McMann (12-5, 6-5 UFC, -130)
Light heavyweight: Khalil Rountree Jr. (9-4, 2-2 UFC, -330) vs. Marcin Prachnio (13-5, 0-3 UFC, +260)
Weight weight (150 pounds): Movsar Evloev (13-0, 3-0 UFC, -575) vs. Nik Lentz (30-11-2 1 NC, 14-8-1 1 NC UFC +425)