UFC 264: Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor 3 Preview

 

On July 10 the Ultimate Fighting Championship will give us what should be a very entertaining rematch between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. McGregor finished Poirier inside of a round at UFC 178 on September 27, 2014 when they met at featherweight (it was Poirier’s first knockout loss in the UFC) and then Poirier finally got his revenge almost seven years later at lightweight, handing McGregor his first knockout loss in the promotion. With McGregor down and unable to defend himself, referee Herb Dean jumped in to stop the fight at 2:32 of the second round. McGregor is 3-3 in the UFC (including a very close decision win over Nate Diaz) and 0-1 as a boxer since 2016.

Dustin Poirier pursued his MMA career in 2009 and he was 7-0 in regional matches across his native Louisiana. His first-round knockout against Daniel Watts at Bang Fighting Championships on October 31, 2009 helped him make a name for himself. Poirier caught even more attention after beating No. 1 contender Josh Grispi at UFC 125 on January 1, 2011. He stepped up to replace then-featherweight champion Jose Aldo, who suffered a back injury and ended up making the most of the opportunity.

His first main event was at UFC on Fuel TV 3 against Chan Sung Jung on May 15, 2012. He was submitted in the fourth round but it was an incredible performance by both fighters. It ended up being the Fight of the Night and many publications considered it the Fight of the Year.

After almost a decade in the UFC, Poirier has fought the best that the promotion has to offer and he’s beaten Max Holloway (twice), Jim Miller, Anthony Pettis, Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez, Dan Hooker and Conor McGregor. Poirier even won the interim lightweight championship against Holloway at UFC 236 on April 13, 2019. Winning the real title is still a goal of his and he’s on the right path. The UFC lightweight title was vacated by retired champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and the company gave Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler a shot, as Poirier preferred to complete a trilogy with McGregor. Whoever wins will likely get a shot at Oliveira.

 

Born: January 19, 1989

Age: 32

Country: United States

Height: 5’9″

Weight: 155 lbs

Reach: 72″

Stance: Southpaw

Association: American Top Team

Class: Lightweight

Record: 27-6-1

 

Conor McGregor’s story is inspirational. He grew up in a blue collar lower-middle class family in Dublin, Ireland and then became a multi-division champion and the highest-earning athlete in the UFC. His skills inside the octagon and his personality helped cement his name in combat sports history and he still has a lot to give to MMA.

A two-division champion at Cage Warriors, a British MMA promotion, McGregor made so much noise that UFC President Dana White noticed and in time, he became the second Irishmen in history to sign with the UFC. ‘Notorious’ made his presence known in the promotion, changing the business forever. He’s done it all, dominating the featherweight and lightweight divisions with wins against Max Holloway, Saturday’s opponent Dustin Poirier, Chad Mendes, Jose Aldo, Nate Diaz and Donald Cerrone.

Facing Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 after almost two years out of the octagon wasn’t a wise move but stopping Donald Cerrone in just 40 seconds following over 15 months away at UFC 246 on January 18, 2020 put him in a position to take any fight in the division. Poirier made a statement against him at UFC 257 and now Conor will be fired up, looking to get some payback, win their epic trilogy and go after the Oliveira.

 

Born: July 14, 1988

Age: 32

Country: Ireland

Height: 5’8″

Weight: 155 lbs

Reach: 74″

Stance: Southpaw

Association: SBG Ireland

Class: Lightweight

Record: 22-5