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It is almost showtime as far as UFC 257 is concerned and Conor McGregor is the overwhelming favorite heading into the main event against Dustin Poirier. We are just a few hours away from the first pay-per-view of the year and the crowd favorite seems to be the oddsmakers' favorite as well.
According to Sports Business Reporter Darren Rovell, a staggering 92% of people have put their money on the Irishman winning the contest. However, the aforementioned stats only pertain to Draftkings Sportsbook.
McGregor had previously claimed that he would finish Poirier within 60 seconds of the very first round. McGregor's knockout artistry is known to many but is Poirier still the same guy that went down to McGregor in 2014?
Could Dustin Poirier pull off a major upset against Conor McGregor?
Poirier's career inside the octagon has been nothing short of an inspiring underdog story so far. After getting knocked out against Conor McGregor at UFC 178, The Diamond went on to beat a host of former champions and top contenders to establish himself as one of the best lightweights in the world.
Poirier picked up KO wins against the likes of Anthony Pettis, Eddie Alvarez, and Justin Gaethje in the lightweight division. Although McGregor was the UFC lightweight champion back in 2016, he has only competed in the division twice. His first fight was for the title against Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 and the second one was against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229.
McGregor has one win and one loss in the 155lbs division while the overwhelming underdog, Poirier, is more experienced and successful in the weight class as compared to his Irish counterpart. McGregor is known for his quickfire knockout victories in the promotion while Poirier's last fight was a 25-minute slugfest against Dan Hooker.
While it's safe to say that it could be all Conor McGregor in the opening exchanges, it will be interesting to see whether Poirier manages to survive the initial onslaught. According to many pundits, if the fight goes the distance, it will be Poirier who will get his hand raised.
