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Dana White certified: Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier is official

Dana White (UFC 255) and Conor McGregor
Dana White (UFC 255) and Conor McGregor

It's taken several weeks to get to this point, but UFC president Dana White has finally confirmed that the UFC 257 headlining rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier has been inked by both parties.

How the Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier rematch came together?

Following months of frustration over his UFC scheduling and limitations stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, McGregor announced his retirement in June of 2020. He never exited the UFC testing pool, which kept him eligible to return at a moment’s notice.

While he was retired, McGregor teased a boxing match with Manny Pacquiao and then set up a mixed martial arts exhibition bout with Poirier. The exhibition bout was to take place in Dublin in December and also included a promised large donation to Poirier’s charitable foundation.

UFC president Dana White caught wind of the exhibition and offered McGregor an Poirier an official bout in the Octagon. Though they had to traverse a few bumps and boulders, the bout was finally agreed upon and now signed.

How did Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier’s first fight go down?

The first fight between McGregor and Poirier took place more than six years ago on Sept. 27, 2014, at UFC 178 in Las Vegas. It took McGregor just 1:46 to put Poirier on the back foot and land a left hook that finished the fight.

Watch McGregor vs. Poirier I below

That was the third bout of McGregor’s UFC tenure. He would quickly go on to become the featherweight and lightweight champion. His number of bouts inside the Octagon has slowed considerably as his stature has grown.

McGregor fought a blockbuster boxing debut opposite undefeated world champion Floyd Mayweather. He lost the bout, which took place on Aug. 26, 2017.

McGregor has fought twice in the Octagon since the bout with Mayweather, losing his bid to reclaim the UFC lightweight title from Khabib Nurmagomedov and then stopping Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in 40 seconds to kick off 2020.

Poirier has fought several more times than McGregor since their first bout. He has gone 10-2-1 since, including becoming the interim UFC lightweight champion. Poirier failed to defeat undisputed champion Nurmagomedov when they fought at UFC 254 in September of 2019.

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Re-watch the first Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier bout from UFC 178

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