Conor McGregor will make his highly anticipated return to the octagon on Saturday when he takes on Dustin Poirier in a lightweight clash at UFC 257 as a -325 betting favourite on the UFC odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
McGregor has been idle for 12 months since tallying a first-round TKO victory over Donald Cerrone in welterweight action at UFC 246, and will be making just his fourth octagon appearance in over four years in Saturday night’s bout at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Despite his relative inactivity, McGregor remains listed as the No. 4 challenger in the UFC lightweight division, and will be aiming to duplicate his winning effort from the first meeting between these two fighters at UFC 178. The 32-year-old Irishman wasted no time disposing of Poirier in that featherweight clash, recording a TKO victory in just 106 seconds to pay out on -250 odds at online betting sites, while taking home a Performance of the Night bonus.
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Overall, McGregor has earned the win in three of his past four outings, and sports a 22-4 professional MMA record. That includes a solid 10-2 record as a lightweight. However, McGregor has produced mixed results while fighting at 155 pounds since joining the UFC, going 1-1, capped by his controversial fourth-round submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 as a +215 underdog.
Poirier enters his long awaited rematch with McGregor sporting lengthy +250 odds. He is coming off a five-round unanimous decision win over Dan Hooker at UFC Vegas 4 as a -230 wager, and has earned a Fight of the Night bonus in five of his past eight contests. The 32-year-old American just celebrated 10 years since making his first UFC appearance, and has racked up an 18-5 record with one no-contest during that stretch.
Poirier has seen four of his past eight fights go the distance, and is undefeated in three of four fights that have gone beyond three rounds.
Elsewhere on the UFC 257 odds, Hooker aims to rebound from last summer’s loss to Poirier as he battles fellow lightweight Michael Chandler as slim -135 chalk. The 30-year-old native of New Zealand has now fallen to defeat in two of his last five outings, but has also claimed performance bonuses on three occasions during that stretch. Chandler makes his UFC debut sporting +105 odds, following a successful decade with Bellator, capped by first-round finishes in his past two outings.
As well, Joanne Calderwood edges out Jessica Eye with -120 odds ahead of their women’s flyweight tilt, while Ottman Azaitar puts his perfect 13-0 record on the line against fellow lightweight Matt Frevola as a -160 betting favourite.
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