Conor McGregor’s return to the octagon is close to becoming a reality. So much so that there is already a date set, with the Irish fighter set to take on Dustin Poirier on January 23 at UFC 257.
The two have fought before, with McGregor knocking out Poirier in the first round at UFC 178 in September 2014. That fight was in the featherweight division. This will be in the lightweight division.
The news was first reported by MMA Fighting and has since been confirmed by ESPN, so McGregor’s return is almost guaranteed. Poirier has already put pen to paper for the fight, while McGregor has reached a verbal agreement.
UFC president Dana White aired on the side of caution but is clearly optimistic that the fight will come to fruition.
“It’s not true that the fight is booked,” White told ESPN.
“Dustin is signed, but Conor hasn’t received or signed his bout agreement.
“We sent the bout agreement to Conor today, but nothing is done yet.
January 23 on Fight Island [Yas Island in Abu Dhabi] if everything goes according to plan.
“There are a ton of ‘ifs’ right now. I have to see where the world is in the next couple of months.”
McGregor announced his latest withdrawal from mixed martial arts last June, the third time in the last four years. McGregor, 32, has not fought since January 2020, when he defeated Donald Cerrone by knockout 40 seconds into the first round. Poirier, meanwhile, comes from beating Dan Hooker in June.
It should be pointed out that under no circumstances will the lightweight world title (155 pounds) be at stake, as White is still confident that Khabib Nurmagomedov, the current belt holder, will reverse his announced retirement.