In the early hours of Sunday morning Conor McGregor aka ‘The Notorious’ will face off against old rival Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier in the main event of UFC 257.
However, there is no bad blood in this sequel as McGregor was the clear winner the last time these two met in 2014 and the Irishman has even promised a sizeable donation to Poirier’s foundation.
There is a certain buzz for the fight as it’s McGregor’s latest return to the Octagon since he announced his ‘retirement’ for the fourth time in June.
Back in 2014, McGregor managed to knock out Poirier in the first round with a fierce combination of hammer fists forcing referee Herb Dean to stop the fight.
The victory propelled McGregor to global stardom and earned himself a professional record of 16-2 in the meantime.
As well as fuelling the nickname ‘The Notorious’, the fight also earned McGregor the nickname of ‘Mystic Mac’ as he predicted the outcome of this fight, as well as others before and beyond.
McGregor has become one of the world’s most famous athletes as well as being one of the most decorated UFC fighters in history alongside that.
He went on to win both the lightweight and middleweight titles simultaneously with clear superior boxing skills in the UFC throughout.
But will this fight be as easy as the first for the Irishman?
Although Poirier lost the first fight back in 2014, he has become one of the most feared fighters in UFC.
He switched from lightweight to featherweight weight class and went on to secure a four-match win streak until he was stopped in his tracks in the first round by Michael Johnson in 2016.
Poirier managed to bounce back and go on a five-win streak. Beating two former world champions, Anthony Petis and Eddie Alvarez, in the process.
He then claimed himself the interim lightweight title by defeating Max Holloway in 2019 by decision and got himself the title shot he thoroughly deserved.
However, the celebrations did not last long as his title chance brawl against Khabib Nurmagomedov ended in defeat for Poirier, with Nurmagomedov’s wrestling prowess proving too much for ‘The Diamond’.
Poirier then returned a few months later in 2019 to face off against Dan Hooker. He won by decision while also creating a contender for fight of the year.
Then McGregor came calling.
The Irishman is keen to obtain the lightweight title once again and Poirier, being the ranked No 2 contender, seems to be the perfect opponent for him.
However, it will be a much tougher opponent to the one he faced in 2014.
Poirier has only lost two of his last 16 fights, while McGregor has only fought twice since 2016.
McGregor has stuck true to his belief that he will knock out Poirier within 60 seconds of the bout right until the night before the fight.
But will Mystic Mac predict right again?
By Louis Moore
