Dustin Poirier embraces being the underdog against Conor McGregor at UFC 257?

No. 2 ranked UFC lightweight Dustin Poirier has no illusions of grandeur as he faces Conor McGregor at UFC 257. He has embraced the moniker of the underdog in his fight against the Irishman and will be looking to start 2021 with a major upset.

Dustin Poirier recently took to Twitter and stated ‘Have no fear, underdog is here’, thus self-validating the status of the underdog.

Have no fear, underdog is here!💎

— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) January 5, 2021

Dustin Poirier will take on Conor McGregor at UFC 257 on January 23, 2021. Incidentally, this will be the first PPV of 2021 and will serve as the finale of a week which includes three amazing fight cards.

While Conor McGregor is sure to have his hands full with Dustin Poirier, ‘The Diamond’ is thought to be a slight underdog by various MMA analysts. These thoughts are resonated by bookmakers too. Betting site vegasinsider.com has Conor as the -250 favorite for the fight as of 29th December. Dustin is the +210 underdog.

Surprisingly, Poirier is an underdog even though he is ranked higher than Conor in the official UFC lightweight rankings.

The two fighters had earlier fought in 2014 at UFC 178. McGregor would win that fight via first-round KO. However, both fighters were competing at featherweight back then.

While Conor McGregor has promised a masterpiece against Dustin Poirier, ‘The Diamond’ will be looking to spoil McGregor’s party and avenge his 2014 loss.

Can Dustin Poirier capture the lightweight gold in 2021?

UFC 236 Holloway v Poirier 2

Ever since Khabib Nurmagomedov announced his retirement at UFC 254, Dana White has been looking for a new king at 155-pounds.

There were speculations that the Dustin Poirier – Conor McGregor rematch will crown the new lightweight champion, but those rumors have been dismissed by the UFC boss.

Poirier is currently ranked No. 2 in the UFC lightweight rankings, and a win over McGregor puts him right on top of the championship conversation.

Dana White had commented recently that he would want to make a between Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira.

Keeping in mind the current rankings and form, it would seem that the winner of the Poirier – McGregor fight will take on the winner of the Oliveira – Gaethje bout to crown the new lightweight king.

Therefore, Dustin Poirier might just be one win away from fighting for the UFC lightweight championship.

2021 can very well be the year of ‘The Diamond’. Fight fans globally can hardly wait for UFC 257.

Who else is counting the days until @DustinPoirier vs @TheNotoriousMMA at #UFC257?! pic.twitter.com/OGLTa1tVup

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) January 5, 2021