UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier looks to be in phenomenal shape ahead of his upcoming rematch with Conor McGregor.
Poirier and McGregor will collide in the main event of UFC 257 on January 23. The bout, which is rife with lightweight title implications, will be a rematch of a 2014 featherweight fight, which McGregor won by knockout.
Evidently, Poirier is taking the challenge ahead very seriously.
On Thursday, the lightweight star took to Instagram with a post that proves he’s in tip-top shape.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJwGANcrrts/
While Poirier will be looking to even the score in his rivalry with McGregor, that is not his main motivation heading into the matchup. The lightweight start discussed the things that are driving him during a recent interview with comedian Theo Von.
“This isn’t about payback,” Poirier said on This Past Weekend. “This isn’t a revenge fight for me. Of course those things are great. I go out there and beat him, those are all part of this storyline, [they’re] things I’m going to think about and be happy with, but that’s not the driving force of each day.
“I’m driven by the main goal: becoming the world champion, being the best,” Poirier continued. “I know that a win over a guy like this, at this point of our careers, it etches my name in the history books—on its own page.
“I’m in the books. I’m in the honorable mentions right now,” Poirier added. “I’m trying get my own numbered page. I think a win over this guy does that and cements me as a legitimate combat sports professional in a time that’s full of great athletes: Conor, Khabib [Nurmagomedov].
“It’s so much history involved in this fight. The full circle, fighting him again now, becoming the interim champ, switching weight classes. [There’s] so much going into this that I know what a win does not only for me and for my legacy, but for my family, their future financially. I know what comes with a win, and I’m ready to bear that weight at this point in my career.”
Do you think Dustin Poirier will defeat Conor McGregor at UFC 257?