When does Conor McGregor fight in 2021? All you need to know about the UFC superstar's upcoming bout

Conor McGregor will be back in action at UFC 257 in less than three weeks, following after a hiatus of one year.

'The Notorious' will fight Dustin Poirier on January 23 at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.

Conor McGregor could not have the 2020 that he wanted. He fought for a total of 40 seconds, wherein he knocked out Donald Cerrone at UFC 246.

He had planned to fight two more times last year, including a potential championship bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov. But the Coronavirus pandemic interfered with those plans.

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How did Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier II come to be?

Frustrated at having to sit at home, Conor McGregor had announced his retirement for a third time last summer. However, that decision quickly took a backseat as he started talking about a boxing match with Manny Pacquiao, followed by a charity match with Dustin Poirier.

A rematch of Conor McGregor's 2014 bout with Dustin Poirier has been in the works for a long time. A lot has happened since the two last met at UFC 178, and Conor McGregor came out victorious with a first round knockout, just like he said he would.

Both men have grown, as fighters as well in their personal lives. They have apparently put their bitter rivalry behind.

Conor McGregor offered to have an exhibition fight with Dustin Poirier on Twitter, where he promised to donate half a million dollars towards Poirier's charity. Dustin Poirier agreed to it, saying a lot of people will benefit from it.

Hey bro! You want to do an MMA charity fight? Zero to do with the ufc. I will donate half a mill towards your charity for it. Sell it on ppv or work a tv deal and we work out other charities that are close to my heart also. I am engaged in many. Strictly a charity “exhibition”

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) September 29, 2020

I'm in! Lets do it! A lot of people will benefit from this @TheGoodFightFDN https://t.co/Hy0ZlPFyFv

— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) September 29, 2020

However, Dana White and UFC quickly intervened and set up a fight for them instead. It took a while for both the parties to officially sign the fight deal, but they had both verbally agreed before the paperwork was done.

Both the fighters also revealed on social media that the fight would be at lightweight.

This will be Conor McGregor's fight fight since his win over 'Cowboy' last January. He has been giving regular updates of his training sessions on social media and has promised to deliver a "masterpiece" come the day of the fight.

Dana White recently dropped a video package on his Twitter account to hype up the fight, which is 18 days from now. The Irishman is yet to open up on who else he would like to face this year. Justin Gaethje is a real possibility, as well as the winner of Dan Hooker vs. Michael Chandler.

If he goes through either of them, he will likely be in line to face the champion Khabib Nurmagomedov eventually, in a rematch of their iconic UFC 229 bout.