Mcgregor, Poirier bout set to headline 264 trilogy fights

ABU DHABI: Middle Eastern UFC fans are primed and ready for one of the world’s most highly anticipated trilogy bouts.

Former interim UFC lightweight champion and No.1 ranked contender Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier and former two-division UFC champion and No. 5 ranked Conor ‘The Notorious’ Mcgregor return to the Octagon on July 10.

In January of this year, the pair went headto-head at the international home of UFC on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, where Poirier put on a performance of a lifetime, defeating The Notorious in the second round.

The pair first met in the Octagon at UFC 178 in 2014, with Mcgregor cementing his status as a UFC star by knocking out Poirier in the first round.

The climax to the rivalry will play out in the main event of UFC 264: Porier vs Mcgregor on Saturday at the T-mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Both Poirier and Mcgregor have strong fan-base in the UAE. Poirier has fought at UFC Fight Island twice and has hosted public workout sessions in Abu Dhabi, while Mcgregor spent several months in Dubai following UFC 257 and began his training for the trilogy bout at the UFC Gym in Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai, before heading to his intensive training camp in California.

This is the first time since 2016 that Mcgregor will have two appearances in a year.

He admited it is going to be difficult fight with some one as tough as Poirier ater logging just 40 seconds in the Octagon in the nearly 40 months prior to their rematch on UFC Fight Island, UFC reported.

Following his incredible march to the featherweight throne, his standout is just 3-3 over his last six fights and 1-2 since claiming the lightweight strap at Madison Square Garden.

Welterweight contenders looking to make a case for another championship opportunity meet in the co-main event as Gilbert Burns and Stephen Thompson share the Octagon on Saturday night.

Initially slated to challenge for the welterweight strap last summer, Burns finally had his first bite at the apple in February, coming out hot and putting champion Kamaru Usman in a vulnerable position out of the chute before “The Nigerian Nightmare” was able to steady himself and secure a third-round stoppage victory. Burns had won six straight ahead of that contest and sees this weekend’s pairing as the chance to make an expedited return to a championship matchup by solving the difficult riddle that is ‘Wonderboy,’ read a UFC preview.