UFC superstar Conor McGregor is climbing back inside the cage at UFC 257 on January 23, and the 32-year-old Irishman says he’s already competed in what amounts to “15 championship MMA fights” over the last six weeks of training to get ready for it.
McGregor posted, “Word just back from the team…In the last 6 weeks of my training, I’ve completed 375 minutes of Sparring. This equates to 75×5 minute rounds. Or 15 championship MMA fights. My last fight lasted 40seconds. This is why though.”
McGregor faces Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier in a rematch six years after their first fight in the main event of the UFC’s first pay-per-view card of 2021.
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McGregor Touts Training Methods
McGregor believes his training methods are what helps separate him from the pack.
McGregor’s last fight was a 40-second knockout win over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. McGregor plans on doing something similar in his second fight against Poirier at UFC 257.
McGregor defeated Poirier by first-round knockout in 2014, but most observers expect a tougher battle this time around. Both fighters have improved tremendously since their first big battle, and both have proved themselves to be top-class stars in the UFC’s stacked 155-pound lightweight division.
While both have already been submitted by UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, that UFC champ retired from MMA after his last fight and isn’t likely to return to the Octagon for anything but his long-desired superfight against retired UFC legend Georges St-Pierre.
That makes McGregor vs. Poirier 2 an important showdown between top contenders, one that could help decide where UFC gold resides next in 2021.
Last week, McGregor posted a few seconds of sparring footage. You can see that video below.
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Poirier Channels ‘The Greatest’ Boxing Champ
Meanwhile, Poirier has also been getting ready for the rematch.
The 32-year-old American channeled boxing great Muhammad Ali in one of his latest Instagram posts.
Those famous words from Ali came before the brash young heavyweight scored the massive upset win over Sonny Liston back in 1964.
“Rumble, young man rumble. AHH!” – #MuhammadAli
After Ali’s stunning win over a scary fighter most people believed was unbeatable, Ali screamed at the press sitting ringside, “I shook up the world! I shook up the world! I shook up the world!”
I shook up the world against Liston, now 50 years later I’m taking it to Twitter #AliTweet http://t.co/3eCm72USis
Might Poirier pull the same move if he upsets McGregor at UFC 257?
Whatever the case, “The Diamond’ also suggested the pressure he experiences inside the cage as one of the best and most accomplished fighters in the sport is something that helps make him the best UFC fighter he can be.
Poirier posted, “Without the pressure, there’s no me.”
McGregor vs. Poirier 2 is one of the biggest and best fights lined up for 2021, and it’s scheduled to happen at the beginning of the year.
Both fighters are in training camp for the massive showdown, and each man believes he’ll be the one with his hand raised at the end of the night.
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Conor McGregor: ‘15 Championship MMA Fights’