LAS VEGAS — One of the most anticipated trilogy bouts in MMA history is now official.
Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor both successfully made weight Friday morning at the UFC Apex. Poirier and McGregor both weighed in at 156 pounds. The two men will meet in the main event of UFC 264 on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.
The score between the two men is 1-1. McGregor beat Poirier by first-round knockout at UFC 178 in 2014. Poirier returned the favor, stopping McGregor by second-round TKO in January at UFC 257. UFC president Dana White has said the winner will receive the next lightweight title shot against champion Charles Oliveira.
Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos weighed in as a backup in case either McGregor or Poirier withdrew this week. Dos Anjos weighed 156 pounds.
Poirier (27-6, 1 NC) has won two straight and has been beaten just once since 2016, a defeat in a lightweight title fight against undefeated all-time great Khabib Nurmagomedov. The Louisiana native, who fights out of Florida’s American Top Team, is the former UFC interim lightweight champion. Poirier, 32, is ESPN’s No. 2-ranked lightweight in the world, just behind Oliveira.
McGregor (22-5), currently unranked by ESPN, is the most recognizable star in the history of the sport, the UFC’s most bankable fighter of all time. The Ireland native owns all of the promotion’s pay-per-view records. Inside the Octagon, he was the first-ever concurrent two-division champion in UFC history when he won the lightweight title from Eddie Alvarez in 2016 while already holding the featherweight belt. McGregor, 32, has just one win and three fights since that Alvarez bout, though. And he’s looking here to regain the momentum he had during the hottest run ever in MMA.
Ahead of the co-main event, two of the top welterweight fighters in the world both made weight without a hitch. Gilbert Burns and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson both hit the scale at 170.5 pounds. Burns (19-4) had a six-fight winning streak snapped in a welterweight title loss to Kamaru Usman at UFC 258 in February. Thompson (16-4-1) has won two in a row and has just two losses in his past 14 fights. ESPN has Burns ranked No. 4 and Thompson ranked No. 5 in the world at welterweight.
Irene Aldana missed weight by 3.5 pounds, coming in at 139.5 pounds for her bout with fellow women’s bantamweight contender Yana Kunitskaya. The bout will go on, per the UFC, but Aldana will forfeit 30% of her purse. ESPN has Aldana ranked No. 6 and Kunitskaya at No. 7 in the world at women’s 135 pounds.
If Colby Covington was trying to get under Dustin Poirier’s skin ahead of his fight at UFC 264, the always outspoken welterweight contender will be sorely disappointed.
On Tuesday, Covington released a brief 15-second clip that showed Poirier dropping a training partner during a sparring session at American Top Team in Florida.
Initially, Covington called Poirier’s sparring partner an amateur but he later amended that statement saying “the guy with no headgear, wrestling credentials or brain cells left is ‘Khabib’” as he hinted this was a training session from the training camp to face Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2019.
In response, Poirier posted on Twitter that the teammate he was working with was a professional fighter with a deep resume, who was later revealed as Titan FC veteran Felipe Douglas. Poirier then offered further reaction to the footage released when addressing Covington during an interview with UFC Arabia.
“That’s why I kind of put that out there. I don’t want people to think this is an amateur kid or something like that,” Poirier said. “That was a professional fighter. I mean that’s what happens in gyms during hard sparring, real sparring.
“There’s times where you drill and train and stuff like that. There’s times where you do hard sparring and that was a hard sparring session. It is what it is.”
As much as Covington might have been attempting to make Poirier look bad with the sparring footage released, numerous fighters came to his defense while explaining that the video didn’t look like anything different than you’d see in most high profile mixed martial arts gyms across the globe.
Fellow American Top Team fighter Jorge Masvidal added to the conversation by asking Covington to also release the sparring footage that shows him being dropped with a body shot delivered by Poirier.
For his part, Poirier wasn’t looking to get into an exchange with Covington and truth be told he’s been shutting out all social media in the weeks leading into his fight against Conor McGregor on Saturday night.
“I’ve actually been off of social media for like the last month,” Poirier explained. “I have a team that runs it for me and puts captions to pictures and posts and stuff like that. I’m trying to be away from it, just to get away from all the negativity.
“As I was sitting here waiting for these interviews to start, I picked up my phone and saw that the video was out and I was like let me just let people know that this guy was a professional fighter. It wasn’t an amateur fighter or something like that. Other than that, it’s all good, it’s whatever. It’s just noise.”
The easiest matchup to make after UFC 257 appeared to be Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler, after both emerged from Saturday’s pay-per-view event with impressive knockout victories.
But Poirier doesn’t believe they’re in the same category, and he’s not keen on fighting the former Bellator champ after stopping Conor McGregor in the pay-per-view headliner.
“I can guarantee I won’t be fighting Michael Chandler,” Poirier told reporters, including MMA Fighting, at the UFC 257 post-fight press conference. “They can do whatever they want with the division. I don’t really care. If something makes sense, then we’ll do it.”
UFC 257 was initially framed by UFC President Dana White as something of an audition for the top lightweights, with Poirier vs. McGregor and Chandler vs. Dan Hooker competing to impress current UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Chandler certainly did his part, stopping Hooker in the first round with a ferocious display of striking. But with Nurmagomedov looking less and less likely to reverse a decision to retire from the sport, Poirier thinks he should be considered the champ.
Of course, Poirier doesn’t actually hold the belt. But he should be fighting for it very soon, and if the UFC is doing things the way he believes they should be done, he said, then the person standing across from him next will be someone who’s earned the opportunity.
“I’ve just been putting in work,” he said. “That’s why I’m sitting here feeling like I can talk about it, because I’ve been in the division and the UFC for a long time, fighting the best of the best of the best.
“No disrespect to [Chandler], he seems like a good husband, a good father, he speaks well, has a lot of respect, carries himself very well. It’s not a knock against him. It’s just my feelings toward the division and the sport. I lost to Khabib, I came out and put on a ‘Fight of the Year’ for you guys, got my hand raised against a top-five opponent after that. Then I come in there and Khabib doesn’t want to come back, then I knock out one of the biggest fights you can get. I knock this guy out, too.
“Khabib reiterates he doesn’t want to fight any more – dude, I’m the champ. I’m not going to fight, some – and like I said, respect to Chandler – a new guy to the UFC who just beat a guy that’s coming off a loss that I just beat for the belt. That’s not exciting to me.”
This past June, Poirier bested Hooker by decision to rebound after a loss to Nurmagomedov in a title-unifier. A candidate more appealing to him was Charles Oliveira, who’s won his past eight fights and most recently outpointed ex-interim champ Tony Ferguson in a commanding performance.
“I think he has more [of a case for the title shot],” Poirier said. “I’ve been watching that guy for 10 years in the UFC, two different weight classes. He’s fought the best of the best, over and over again. And, he’s been knocked down and gotten up, and he’s proven what MMA and perseverance is. I respect that. Not that I don’t respect Michael Chandler. I just think there’s more work for him to do than beat a guy I just beat.”
Oliveira was one of two names broached for the title shot, the other being Justin Gaethje, who, like Poirier, lost a bid to unify the belts. Before that, however, Gaethje was stopped by “The Diamond” in a brutal bout.
Asked whether Oliveira or Gaethje had a better claim to the title shot, Poirier chose the Brazilian.
“Just because he’s never had the opportunity,” Poirier said. “Gaethje just came out here and got beat, as I did. Not a knock on Gaethje, but he lost. I think Oliviera, probably, or let them fight to see who gets it.”
Poirier will ultimately see what the UFC has in store for him after getting some rest and relaxation. He put a huge feather in his cap by beating McGregor, the UFC’s biggest box office star and a former two-division champion. The next fight he takes has to be one he can justify as a veteran who’s earned his keep.
Conor McGregor is not looking past Dustin Poirier, but “The Notorious” definitely had a big picture in mind as he prepared for their UFC 257 main event Saturday on Fight Island. And that big picture includes staying active and eventually fighting for the lightweight belt.
Current champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has made it clear he intends to retire, and it seems a matter of if — not when — Nurmagomedov relinquishes the belt, so Saturday’s main event has huge title implications.
ESPN has Poirier ranked No. 3 and McGregor ranked No. 10 in the world at 155 pounds. It’ll be McGregor’s first fight since a 40-second knockout over Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 in January 2020, and his first time at lightweight since a 2018 loss to Nurmagomedov. McGregor and Poirier fought before, with McGregor winning a featherweight fight by first-round TKO at UFC 178 in 2014.
McGregor (22-4) has won three of his past four fights, with the only loss during that span coming to Nurmagomedov in a title bout. The Ireland native was the first concurrent double 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 transcended MMA in 2017, crossing over to boxing in a match against Floyd Mayweather.
Poirier (26-6, 1 NC) has just one loss in his past eight fights, also to Nurmagomedov. The Louisiana native, who trains out of American Top Team in Florida, is coming off a unanimous-decision win over Dan Hooker last June. Poirier, 32, is 10-2 (1 NC) since that 2014 loss to McGregor and has been a perennial contender at lightweight.
In the co-main event, former 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 put himself in the title conversation.
Also on the card, Jessica Eye and Joanne Calderwood meet in a women’s flyweight grudge match; Amanda Ribas faces Marina Rodriguez in a women’s strawweight contender bout; and top prospect Arman Tsarukyan takes on Matt Frevola in a lightweight contest.
Fight in progress:
Light heavyweight: Khalil Rountree Jr. (9-4, 2-2 UFC, -330) vs. Marcin Prachnio (13-5, 0-3 UFC, +260)
Movsar Evloev headed to Fight Island with a purpose — to get a number next to his name. It didn’t look promising early, but he ultimately topped UFC veteran Nik Lentz in a 150-pound catchweight fight, and when the next set of featherweight rankings come out, Evloev likely will have just that. Evloev remained undefeated and won the bout by split-decision 29-28, 29-28, 28-29. He has won all four of his UFC bouts by decision.
The fight didn’t start out in Evloev’s favor. The -700 favorite from Russia was caught in a number of Lentz’s guillotine choke attempts in the first round. Evloev remained patient and fought his way out, ultimately landing a few key shots on Lentz in the closing seconds. Even though Evloev was in inferior positions for most of the round, Lentz’s face was bloodied as he walked back to his corner.
The second round showed a different side of Evloev, who landed at will with furious combinations. Lentz went back to the guillotine attempt nearly every time Evloev changed levels, but Evloev was evasive and showed brilliance in the scramble to avoid getting finished.
The third round was nonstop aggression from Evloev with essentially the entire round taking place on the feet. Evloev mixed in some kicks with his never-ending jabs, constantly touching Lentz at all times and putting his cardio to the test.
After the fight, Evloev pleaded to Dana White and asked for a top-15 opponent next.
Lentz has lost his past three bouts. The former D-1 wrestler had the record for most guillotine attempts in UFC history entering the bout with 20, and added to that total throughout the night.
— Andrew Feldman
Watch this fight on ESPN+.
Men’s flyweight: Amir Albazi (14-1, 2-0 UFC) vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov (13-5, 0-2 UFC) by unanimous decision
It’s early in his UFC career, but Albazi sure seems like he’ll be a handful for even the best fighters in the flyweight division.
Albazi defeated Zhumagulov via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in a complete performance to open UFC 257 on Saturday. Albazi got it done with every aspect of MMA, from striking to wrestling to grappling.
“I like to finish fights to be honest,” Albazi said. “But Zhalgas is very tough. I hope to get a finish next time.”
Amir Albazi dedicates his win tonight to city of Baghdad, which was recently hit by a pair of suicide bombings. Albazi has a great story, his family fled from Iraq when he was 7, but he still loves it and wants to be a symbol of hope for his birthplace.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) January 24, 2021
Albazi was in Zhumagulov’s face from the opening bell. Zhumagulov got some licks in early, swinging with hard punches and landing a few of them in the first round. Albazi, though, would not be deterred. He moved forward with feints followed by combinations and never let Zhumagulov truly get comfortable in the cage. He took Zhumagulov down briefly at the end of the round and then did so again in the third, taking Zhumagulov’s back.
Albazi, 27, has won three straight, including his first two in the UFC. The Sweden-born fighter of Iraqi descent has lost only to former UFC flyweight Jose Torres in his career. Zhumagulov, a 32-year-old Kazakhstan native, has dropped two in a row and is still searching for his first UFC victory.
— Raimondi
Watch this fight on ESPN+.
Still 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) vs. Makhmud Muradov (24-6, 2-0 UFC, -140) Strawweight: Marina Rodriguez (12-1-2, 2-1-2 UFC, +260) vs. Amanda Ribas (10-1, 4-0 UFC, -330) Lightweight: Matt Frevola (8-1-1, 2-1-1 UFC, +475) vs. 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)
The time has finally arrived for one of the most anticipated rematches in recent memory. Nearly seven years later, Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier will link up once again in the main event of UFC 257 on Saturday night in the U.S while competing in the wee hours of the morning from Abu Dhabi. McGregor successfully returned to the Octagon in January 2020 by stopping Donald Cerrone after nearly 18 months away.
In the time since the first meeting in 2014, so much has changed. Poirier made the leap up to 155 pounds immediately after the contest and began a torrid run through the division, amassing an impressive 10-2 record with wins over the likes of Eddie Alvarez, Justin Gaethje, Anthony Pettis and Max Holloway. McGregor, meanwhile, went on the collect both the featherweight and lightweight titles before a one-off boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2017, which he lost by TKO.
Plus, former Bellator MMA lightweight champion Michael Chandler is set to make his promotional debut when he takes on Dan Hooker in the co-main event. Chandler held the Bellator belt on three different occasions and is widely considered one of the best success stories in promotional history. Now, he begins his attempt to claim UFC gold when he takes on the powerful kickboxer from New Zealand, who just lost a decision to Poirier last June in a Fight of the Year contender.
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Below is all the information you need to catch UFC 257 on Saturday night.
How to watch UFC 257 prelims
Date: Jan. 23 | Location: Etihad Arena — Yas Island, Abu Dhabi Time: 8 p.m. ET Channel: ESPN | Stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
How to watch UFC 257 main card
Date: Jan. 23 | Location: Etihad Arena — Yas Island, Abu Dhabi Time: 10 p.m. ET Stream: ESPN+ | Price: $69.99
Now, here’s a look at the UFC 257 main fight card and betting odds via William Hill Sportsbook.
UFC 257 main card, odds
Conor McGregor -310
Dustin Poirier +250
Lightweight
Dan Hooker -140
Michael Chandler +120
Lightweight
Joanne Calderwood -120
Jessica Eye +100
Women’s flyweight
Amanda Ribas -330
Marina Rodriguez +260
Women’s strawweight
Makhmud Muradov -140
Andrew Sanchez +120
Middleweight
Who will win McGregor vs. Poirier 2, and how will each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on every fight at UFC 257, all from the incomparable expert who’s up more than $22,000 on MMA in the past 23 months, and find out.
MMA Fighting has UFC 257 results for the Poirier vs. McGregor 2 event Saturday night, live blogs of the main card, and live UFC 257 Twitter updates.
Former two-weight UFC champion Conor McGregor makes his return to square off against former UFC interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier in a pivotal lightweight contest.
In the co-main event, Dan Hooker tries to spoil former Bellator champion Michael Chandler’s debut in the Octagon.