McGregor vs Poirier 2 Preview
At the time of writing, the potential rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier is close to being finalized. It is believed both men have agreed to a deal which will see them meet for the second time on the upcoming UFC 257 card in January 2021. Talks have been ongoing for some time regarding a rematch and it now appears as though we are reaching the final stages of the discussions and the fighters are happy to sign on the dotted line. In fact, some betting sites are already offering prices for the fight, and McGregor is currently best priced at 8/15 for the win while Poirier is best priced at 7/4.
Prior to the first meeting, McGregor was happy to talk about how he was going to stop Poirier in the first round. He was as good as his word and a left hand behind the ear dropped Poirier in the opening round of the contest. A flurry of decent follow up shots sealed the deal for McGregor and it was a quick end to the fight, as predicted by the Irishman.
It was a calm performance by McGregor who appeared in full control of the fight from the outset. The event was staged in Las Vegas, Nevada and it was only the second time McGregor had fought in the United States. It is worth remembering, that the first meeting between McGregor and Poirier took place back in 2014 and a lot has happened since that occasion.
However, the victory over Poirier was somewhat of a springboard for McGregor, who had little trouble stepping into the spotlight. McGregor went on to defeat Dennis Siver in January 2015 at UFC Fight Night 59, earning his third successive ‘Performance of the Night’ award in the process. McGregor was named 2015 Fighter of the Year by ESPN and went on to achieve great things, including the UFC Featherweight Championship and UFC Lightweight Championship.
Poirier bounced back from the defeat against McGregor by winning four fights in succession. Having won the interim UFC Lightweight Championship at UFC 236 against Max Holloway, Poirier came up against the formidable Khabib Nurmagomedov in September 2019 and lost by submission in the third round. However, the American has since bounced back with a victory by unanimous decision against Dan Hooker in Las Vegas on the 27th of June 2020.
That means Poirier has fought more recently than his opponent and you must go back to January 2020 to find the last time McGregor was in the octagon. He recorded a victory, beating Donald Cerrone thanks to a technical knockout in the first round.
For Poirier, this fight will not only be an opportunity to potentially earn another shot at a UFC title but to also get revenge for his loss in the previous meeting with McGregor. The Irishman has not been kept as busy as he would have liked by the UFC, especially considering his only fight this year ended in the first round. Could that work to Poirier’s advantage?
There has been plenty of talk about this fight on social media, and either way, it is shaping up to be a tremendous contest and a great way to start 2021.
