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ABU DHABI – An untitled UFC lightweight rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier is official for UFC 257 on Saturday, as both fighters managed to put on some weight in Friday’s weigh-in.
McGregor (22-4), a former undisputed lightweight champion, weighed 155 pounds. Poirier (26-6), who won an interim lightweight champion in 2019, tipped the scales at 156. The contest made headlines for UFC 257 on Saturday at the Etihad Arena.
This will mark the second competition between the two lightweight. The first took place in 2014, and at the featherweight limit of 145 pounds. McGregor knocked out Poirier just 1:46 am into the fight, with his infamous left hand. This would actually be Poirier’s last featherweight fight, as he moved into the lightweight division in his next fight.
Surprisingly, McGregor has only competed at lightweight twice in his UFC career. He won the belt on his lightweight UFC debut in late 2016, knocking out then-champion Eddie Alvarez. In 2018, he lost to defending champion Khabib Nurmagomedov by submission in the fourth round. McGregor, 32, has said on several occasions that he designed his frame for an extended 155-pound run in 2021.
In the co-main event, former Bellator MMA lightweight champion Michael Chandler (21-5) and New Zealander Dan Hooker (20-9) each managed to gain some weight. Chandler and Hooker weighed 156 pounds.
It’s a huge week for the lightweight division as UFC president Dana White teased defending champion Khabib Numragomedov could return for one more fight, if one of the top four lightweight on the map was impressive enough. Nurmagomedov, for his part, has repeatedly said he has no plans to fight anytime soon, but he remains the current lightweight champion nonetheless.
McGregor and Poirier were the first fighters to step on the scales on Friday. Immediately afterwards, UFC’s Jon Anik announced that the fight between Ottman Azaitar and Matt Frevola had been called off.
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