ABU DHABI — A non-title UFC lightweight rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier is official for UFC 257 on Saturday, as both fighters successfully made weight during Friday’s weigh-in.
McGregor (22-4), a former undisputed champion at lightweight, weighed-in at 155 pounds. Poirier (26-6), who won an interim lightweight champion in 2019, tipped the scales at 156. The contest headlines UFC 257 on Saturday inside Etihad Arena.
This will mark the second contest between the two lightweights. The first took place in 2014, and at the 145-pound featherweight limit. McGregor knocked out Poirier just 1:46 into the bout, with his infamous left hand. That would actually be Poirier’s final fight at featherweight, as he moved up to the lightweight division in his next bout.
Amazingly, McGregor has only competed at lightweight twice in his UFC career. He won the belt in his UFC lightweight debut in late 2016, by knocking out then-champion Eddie Alvarez. In 2018, he lost to defending champion Khabib Nurmagomedov via submission in the fourth round. McGregor, 32, has repeatedly stated he has crafted 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 Zealand’s Dan Hooker (20-9) each successfully made weight. Both Chandler and Hooker came in at 156 pounds.
It’s a massive week for the lightweight division, as UFC president Dana White has teased defending champion Khabib Numragomedov could return for one more fight, if any of the four top lightweights on the card are impressive enough. Nurmagomedov, for his part, has repeatedly stated he does not intend to fight any time soon, but he nevertheless remains the current lightweight champion.
McGregor and Poirier were the first of the fighters to step on the scale on Friday. Immediately after, the UFC’s Jon Anik announced that the bout between Ottman Azaitar and Matt Frevola had been canceled.