Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier come face-to-face ahead of UFC 257 rematch

On Thursday morning, Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier came face-to-face for the first time ahead of their imminent lightweight showdown.

McGregor and Poirier will collide in the main event of UFC 257 this Saturday on Fight Island. The bout will be a rematch of a 2014 featherweight fight, which McGregor won by first-round knockout.

See the pair’s most recent staredown, at the UFC 257 pre-fight press conference, below (via Dana White on Twitter).

.@DustinPoirier vs @TheNotoriousMMA! #UFC257 is LIVE Saturday on @espn+ PPV #InAbuDhabi @visitabudhabi pic.twitter.com/RAkSUMUJNc

— danawhite (@danawhite) January 21, 2021

McGregor and Poirier kept things quite civil at the UFC 257 press conference—a stark departure from the buildup to their first fight.

Ahead of their first fight, McGregor hit Poirier with ceaseless trash talk, and ultimately successfully got into his rival’s head.

“I’ve always been an emotional fighter, and that emotion fueled a lot of my early performances,” Poirier told Flo Combat in 2016, two years after his loss to McGregor. “I would get angry because I’m about to step in there and go toe-to-toe with someone who is trying to hurt me just like I intend to hurt them, and that energy shifts gears into that kill or be killed mindset.

“I always saw it as a plus, but the Conor [McGregor] fight was the turning point. I remember I was backstage getting ready to walk out and I saw him and he threw this smile and pointed at me. I don’t know why but it really got to me, man. It really messed with my head. I mean I’m about to go out and fight this dude and he’s back there smiling at me? After that fight I knew I had to find a different way to use my emotion.”

Needless to say, it will be interesting to see what kind of fight we’re in for when neither man is attempting to get under the other’s skin.

Who do you think will come out on top when Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor collide for a second time at UFC 257 this weekend?