A staredown between McGregor and Poirier, from their fight earlier this year.
Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
The Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier fight is incredibly close now.
It’ll be the third time the pair have faced off. The ledger currently stands at one a piece. McGregor defeated Poirier at Featherweight back in 2014, with a first round KO. Poirier returned the favour earlier this year at UFC 267 with a second round finish. The third contest will be the rubber match, and will almost certainly determine who fights the current UFC Lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira, next.
Who wins this time? Current odds have it almost exactly 50/50. I expected McGregor to make short work of Poirier in the second fight given how conclusive the first was, but Poirier’s improved defence, along with an improved chin at Lightweight, allowed him to withstand early pressure in the first round before taking over the fight. An accumulation of calf kicks, and some sharp boxing, allowed Poirier to take McGregor out in the second round.
Can McGregor find an answer to those calf kicks? Will he switch his current, boxing-heavy style for a return to the light-footed karate movement of his earlier fights? Can Poirier make lightning strike twice?
The UFC just released a brand new promo video to get us riled up.
Make no mistake, there is extra heat on this fight. After McGregor promised a $500,000 donation to Poirier’s Good Fight Foundation, Poirier took to Twitter when the donation was delayed, which started a back-and-forth feud between the two. While their second fight had a cordial and respectful lead up, the third fight will no doubt be a far more personal affair.
In short: expect fireworks.
When is the press conference?
A Conor McGregor press conference is almost as heavily anticipated as the fight itself. Now, we finally have a date.
The Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier press conference takes place on July 8 at 5 p.m. PDT (8 p.m. EDT). It’ll be available to watch on pretty much every possible platform: YouTube, UFC’s homepage, Twitch, and TikTok.
In the UK that’s 1 a.m. on July 9.
In Australia that’s 10 a.m. on July 9.
We’ll embed the YouTube stream on this page closer to the time, so feel free to come back here and watch.
UFC 264 Start time
The UFC 264 main card starts at 10 p.m EDT (7 p.m. PDT) but here are all the details from multiple timezones.
US
The main card starts July 10, 10 p.m. EDT (7 p.m. PDT).The prelims start July 10, 8 p.m. EDT (5 p.m. PDT).The early prelims start July 10, 6.15 p.m. EDT (3.15 p.m. PDT).
UK
The main card starts July 11, 3 a.m. BST.The prelims start July 11, 1 a.m. BST.The early prelims start July 10, 11.15 p.m. BST.
Australia
The main card starts July 11, 12 noon AEST.The prelims start July 11, 10 a.m. AEST.The early prelims start July 11, 8.15 a.m. AEST.
How to watch UFC 264
The UFC now has a partnership with ESPN. That’s great news for the UFC and the expansion of the sport of MMA, but bad news for consumer choice. Especially if you’re one of the UFC fans who want to watch UFC in the US.
In the US, if you want to know how to watch UFC 264, you’ll only find the fight night on PPV through ESPN Plus. The cost structure is a bit confusing, but here are the options to watch UFC on ESPN, according to ESPN’s site:
Existing yearly ESPN Plus subscribers can order the upcoming UFC fight for $70.
Existing monthly ESPN Plus subscribers will be able to either upgrade to an annual plan and buy UFC PPV for $85 or purchase the ability to watch the UFC event on PPV for $70 by itself.
New ESPN Plus subscribers can buy a bundle of one UFC PPV event (streaming in HD) and an ESPN Plus annual recurring subscription for $90. This is a decent deal. The previous bundle gave a saving of 25% but this new bundle is a 35% saving. The ESPN Plus annual ESPN subscription will auto-renew after one year, at the price of an ESPN Plus annual subscription at the time of auto-renewal.
You can do all of the above at the link below.
MMA fans in the UK can watch UFC 264 exclusively through BT Sport. There are more options if you live in Australia. You can watch UFC 264 through Main Event on Foxtel. You can also watch on the UFC website or using its app. You can even order using your PlayStation or using the UFC app on your Xbox.
Need more international viewing options? Try a VPN to change your IP address to access those US, UK or Australian options listed above. See the best VPNs currently recommended by CNET editors.
Fight card
Main card
Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregorGilbert Burns vs. Stephen ThompsonTai Tuivasa vs. Greg HardyIrene Aldana vs. Yana KunitskayaSean O’Malley vs. Louis Smolka
Prelims
Carlos Condit vs. Max GriffinNiko Price vs. Michel Pereira LimaSean Brady vs. Kevin LeeTrevin Giles vs. Dricus Du Plessis
Early prelims
Ryan Hall vs. Ilia TopuriaJennifer Maia v. Jessica EyeOmari Akhmedov vs. Brad TavaresZhalgas Zhumagulov vs. Jerome RiveraHu Yaozong vs. Alen Amedovski