Conor McGregor starts off 2021 against Dustin Poirier.
2020 has been a whirlwind year for both McGregor and Poirier; The former UFC Lightweight Champion came back strong against Donald Cerrone at UFC 246, but McGregor’s MMA career was put on pause when he announced his “retirement” shortly after.
The 32-year-old is back and arguably in the best shape of his life; however, McGregor hasn’t fought in the lightweight division since 2018, with his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 299 being his last bout in the 155-pound division. Still, the former UFC Lightweight Champion owns at victory over Poirier, who dropped “Diamond” at UFC 178 in a first-round TKO.
Following his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242, Poirier came back strong against Dan Hooker and silenced the critics by soundly beating the lightweight to maintain his top spot in the 155-pound division. Poirier has won nine fights since his first-round loss to Conor McGregor in 2014, with his bouts against Michael Johnson and Nurmagomedov being the only blemishes on his record.
In the co-main event, Michael Chandler will finally step into the UFC octagon against top-ranked competitor Dan Hooker. The former Lightweight Champion was an accomplished fighter in Bellator MMA, with 15 wins under his belt and three title reigns.
However, Dan Hooker is no joke as the lightweight is currently ranked at No. 6 thanks to his wins over James Vick, Al Iaquinta, Paul Felder, and Gilbert Burns. Check out the latest countdown episode following the training regime of Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler, and Dan Hooker for UFC 257: