McGregor takes on his first UFC fight in over a year on Jan. 23.
Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesConor McGregor is back! After fighting once last year -- mainly as a result of COVID-19 -- McGregor will enter the Octagon at UFC 257, against elite lightweight contender Dustin Poirier.
With current UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov all but officially retired, this contest is seen by many as a title eliminator. Most likely the winner will fight for the belt later down the track in 2021, potentially against Charles Oliveira. Depending on how talks between Nurmagomedov and UFC President Dana White go over the next week or so, there's a chance White lets Poirier and McGregor skip the queue, making this contest for the belt.
The fight takes place on the UFC's Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.
This isn't the first time this fight has taken place. McGregor defeated Poirier comfortably the last time they fought over six years ago at UFC 178, but Poirier has improved dramatically since then. He defeated Max Holloway for the UFC interim lightweight championship, and put up a decent showing against Nurmagomedov, the current lightweight king. The undefeated Nurmagomedov also defeated McGregor in 2018.
Despite Poirier's improvements, most oddsmakers have McGregor as a clear favorite in this bout. His destruction of Donald Cerrone in 2020, combined with the style matchup, has most people seeing this as a favorable fight for McGregor. Poirier is primarily a boxer and McGregor is still the sharpest striker at 155 pounds.
McGregor also appears to be in phenomenal shape and, by most reports, is as motivated as he's been since his legendary first run at featherweight. We could be in for something special with this performance. McGregor has predicted he'll win this fight inside 60 seconds.
Personally, I'm a big fan of the UFC's Inside the Octagon series, which breaks down the match-up. The McGregor vs Poirier one is already online.
But outside of the blockbuster main event, UFC 257 runs deep. Michael Chandler is making his UFC debut against fight of the night machine Dan Hooker in a compelling co-main event and the undercard is dotted with names like Joanne Calderwood and Shane Burgos. There's a lot of great matchups in there.
Press conference
Conor McGregor is well known for his outlandish performances during UFC press conferences, and now we know that conference will take place this coming Thursday. You won't want to miss this.
The UFC has announced that a press conference for UFC 257 featuring Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Dan Hooker, Michael Chandler and Dana White will take place on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/EPwLMWuifL
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) January 15, 2021
The press conference will feature Conor McGregor alongside his opponent Dustin Poirier. Dan Hooker and Michael Chandler from the co-main event will also feature. Dana White will also be at the event.
Here's the exact timing...
US
The press conference takes place at
- Midday EST on Thursday, January 21.
- 9am PST on Thursday, January 21.
UK
5pm on Thursday, January 21.
Australia
4am on Friday, January 22.
You'll be able to watch it live on the UFC's official YouTube channel. The UFC is also making it available on its social media channels and on its homepage. We'll also embed the livestream here, so you can watch it live on this very page.
How to watch UFC 257
This year the UFC entered into a new partnership with ESPN. That's great news for the UFC and the expansion of the sport of MMA, but bad news for consumer choice. Especially if you're one of the UFC fans who want to watch UFC live in the US.
It's worth noting, however, that the UFC has increased the price of PPVs starting with UFC 257.
In the US, if you want to know how to watch UFC 257, you'll only find the fight night on PPV through ESPN Plus. The cost structure is a bit confusing, but here are the options to watch UFC on ESPN, according to ESPN's site:
- Existing yearly ESPN Plus subscribers can order the upcoming UFC fight for $70.
- Existing monthly ESPN Plus subscribers will be able to either upgrade to an annual plan and buy UFC PPV for $85 or purchase the ability to watch the UFC event on PPV for $70 by itself.
- New ESPN Plus subscribers can buy a bundle of one UFC PPV event (streaming in HD) and an ESPN Plus annual recurring subscription for $90. This is a decent deal. The previous bundle gave a saving of 25% but this new bundle is a 35% saving. The ESPN Plus annual ESPN subscription will auto-renew after one year, at the price of an ESPN Plus annual subscription at the time of auto-renewal.
You can do all of the above at the link below.
MMA fans in the UK can watch UFC 257 exclusively through BT Sport. There are more options if you live in Australia. You can watch UFC 257 through Main Event on Foxtel. You can also watch on the UFC website or using its app. You can even order using your PlayStation or using the UFC app on your Xbox.
Start time
The card is not finalized, but based on previous UFC times, this is what we expect...
US
- The main card starts Jan. 23, 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT).
- The prelims start Jan. 23, 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT).
- The early prelims start Jan. 23, 6.30 p.m. ET (3.30 p.m. PT).
UK
- The main card starts Jan. 24, 3 a.m. GMT.
- The prelims start Jan. 24, 1 a.m. GMT.
- The early prelims start Jan 23, 11.30 p.m. GMT.
Australia
- The main card starts Jan. 24, 2 p.m. AEDT.
- The prelims start Jan. 24, 12 p.m. AEDT.
- The early prelims start Jan. 24, 10.30 a.m. AEDT.
Fight Card
This one is far from finalized at this point. We'll update when more fights are announced.
- Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier
- Michael Chandler vs. Dan Hooker
- Jessica Eye vs. Joanne Calderwood
- Khalil Rounree Jr vs. Marcin Prachnio
- Marina Rodriguez vs. Amanda Ribas
- Brad Tavares vs. Antonio Carlos Junior
- Matt Frevola vs. Ottman Azaitar
- Shane Burgos vs. Hakeem Dawodu
- Andrew Sanchez vs. Andre Muniz
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UFC 257 McGregor vs. Poirier: Press conference, start time, how to watch and full fight card - CNET
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