It’s official. Conor McGregor (22-4) will face Dustin Poirier (26-6, 1NC) for the second time at UFC 257 in January.
Per McGregor’s own website, The Maclife, the former double-champ signed his bout agreement on Thursday. With Poirier already having signed his own bout agreement, the fight is officially set. UFC 257 takes place January 23, 2021 at a venue yet to be announced. However, given the UFC’s schedule over the past several months, the options are essentially the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, or “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi.
It’s been a long road to get to this point. McGregor had a falling out with UFC President Dana White some time after UFC 246, as the UFC’s head honcho refused to book the Irish star any of the fights he desired — despite McGregor’s willingness to fight. Originally, the UFC had suggested a July date for McGregor, who preferred to fight months earlier.
McGregor then wound up leaking text messages between himself and White detailing the back-and-forth over dates and opponents. At that point, McGregor and Poirier agreed to a charity exhibition bout. That’s when the UFC got back in the picture, and while McGregor pushed for a fight in 2020, January it is.
“The Notorious” last faced Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 in a welterweight fight, defeating “Cowboy” with ease. It was his first fight since a loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in 2018, which ended in infamy when his opponent jumped out of the octagon to attack McGregor’s corner.
Overall, McGregor is 10-2 in the UFC, his only losses coming to Khabib and Nate Diaz, the latter of which he avenged.
Dustin Poirier’s last defeat also came against Khabib Nurmagomedov. But “The Diamond” bounced back in July with a win over Dan Hooker. Poirier is a former interim lightweight champion, an honor he won by defeating Max Holloway at UFC 236.
McGergor and Poirier first met in 2014 at UFC 178 in a featherweight bout. Poirier found himself finished via TKO less than two minutes into the fight. The pair’s rematch at UFC 257 will be contested at lightweight.
