All Black Codie Taylor joins us in the studio ahead of his game against Fiji this weekend. Video / NZ Herald
Christopher Reive runs through all you need to know for the UFC 264 card, headlined by Conor McGregor's return against Dustin Poirier.
So, what's going on?
In the saga of Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier, revenge has been front and centre. They'll meet in the headline bout at UFC 264 in Las Vegas on Sunday for the third and (most likely) final act to their story.
It began back in 2014, when both men were fighting in the featherweight division. Poirier was established as one of the bright young stars of the company while McGregor's stocks were quickly rising with every dominant win. His meeting against Poirier was his first big test with the UFC, and one he passed with ease.
As McGregor does, he bantered his way into the head of Poirier before their meeting, and then put him out in the first round. McGregor went on to fight for UFC featherweight gold just two fights later, while Poirier moved up to lightweight following the loss.
Fast forward to 2021. Both fighters have held UFC gold in the lightweight division – McGregor the champion in 2016 and Poirier the interim champion in 2019 – and remain among the biggest stars in the sport. Both men also had one win to their name since they came up short against now-retired champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. It was time to run it back, and on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi in January, they did.
Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor meet in the headline bout at UFC 264. Photo / Getty Images
There was little animosity surrounding the bout this time; no fiery exchanges or altercations, just well-mannered chat. They left all the action for the octagon, and delivered.
While both had their moments, this time it was Poirier who put an early end to the fight, knocking McGregor out in the second round.
It's an interesting question. Many believe Poirier would have been fighting for the vacant title following his win over McGregor earlier in the year had he not instead decided to chase another money-fight with McGregor. But the winner of Sunday's bout will likely have the opportunity to fight for the belt in their next appearance.
That's not to say they would want the title shot over fighting bigger names, but with no clear challenger to Charles Oliveira's throne at the moment, the UFC could well be looking at this as a No 1 contender's fight.
Anything else exciting on the card?
In the past, cards headlined by Conor McGregor have often not been the strongest in terms of a complete product, but there are no such issues with UFC 264. From top to bottom, the UFC have put together a card that should keep the action coming.
A few fights to look out for include Niko Price vs Michel Pereira at welterweight (sure to be a frantic affair with two of the promotion's most entertaining fighters squaring off), Trevin Giles vs Dricus du Plessis at middleweight (two rising stars in the division who can win a fight from anywhere) and Ryan Hall vs Ilia Topuria at featherweight (a bout between two fighters who will have advantages over the other in different areas).
Fight card
Early prelims
Jennifer Maia vs. Jessica Eye (women's flyweights) Omari Akhmedov vs. Brad Tavares (middleweights) Zhalgas Zhumagulov vs. Jerome Rivera (flyweights) Hu Yaozong vs. Alen Amedovski (middleweights)
Prelims
Carlos Condit vs. Max Griffin (welterweights) Niko Price vs. Michael Pereira (welterweights) Ryan Hall vs. Ilia Topuria (featherweights) Trevin Giles vs. Dricus Du Plessis (middleweights)
Main card
Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor (lightweights) Gilbert Burns vs. Stephen Thompson (welterweights) Tai Tuivasa vs. Greg Hardy (heavyweights) Irene Aldana vs. Yana Kunitskaya (women's bantamweights) Sean O'Malley vs. Kris Moutinho (bantamweights)
The early prelims kick off at 10am on Sunday on UFC Fight Pass – the company's streaming platform.
The main prelims get underway at midday on UFC Fight Pass, ESPN, Sky Sport Now and Prime.
The main card gets underway at 2pm and is available to watch on pay-per-view on Sky Arena, Sky Sport Now, Spark Sport or UFC Fight Pass. The main event is expected to go down no earlier than 4pm.
The Herald will have live updates of the card from 3.30pm.
