UFC 257: Dustin Poirier Only Wants One Thing In Conor McGregor Rematch

Former interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier only has one thing in mind ahead of his highly-anticipated rematch with Irish superstar Conor McGregor.

After six long years, Poirier has now granted a chance to redeem himself with a second showdown with McGregor at UFC 257, which is set to take place at a yet-to-be-announced venue on Jan. 23.

The pair first met in 2014 at UFC 178 in a match that turned out to be one of the most humiliating losses in Poirier’s career.

Now, “The Diamond” believes that he has grown by leaps and bounds as a competitor since that disappointing setback a few years ago,

However, Poirier assures that he’s not holding any grudge against his rival as he only wants to "outsmart" him.

“He was obviously a great fighter in finishing a bunch of guys before me in his UFC career, but at this point, we’re both so much more established and have so much more experience, just more mature fighters, and I think you get a completely different fight here,” Poirier told MMA Junkie on Monday.

“I was emotional in the first one. I wanted to hurt (McGregor) the guy. This time I just want to outsmart him, just want to beat him. This is business. This isn’t any ill will towards the guy.”

Despite being TKO'd by McGregor in the first round during the first fight, the 31-year-old stressed that he has matured enough to consider this rematch plain “business.”

“When I was younger, I used to fight with a lot of emotion,” he stated. “This isn’t the same thing for me. This isn’t about getting even for me. This isn’t like a revenge type of thing for me."

"This is about moving my career forward, about putting my family in a better spot. It’s not trying to get back a guy who got me. This is just business.”

As for how he would execute his plans on McGregor, Poirier emphasized that he is well aware of the former two-division champ’s proven record in countering attacks.

The Lafayette, Louisiana native also admits he would need to figure out the holes in McGregor’s game as the bout goes on.

“We have to get in there and find out how it aligns right,” he conceded. “Watching footage and stuff like that, I can tell you (McGregor) the guy has one of the best counter twos in the game, no doubt about it.”

“His timing, his balance, his understanding of distance when guys are being too heavy on their front foot and throwing power shots,” Poirier continued. “He is a great counter puncher. He really is, I give him credit for that.”