Conor McGregor pushed further down in lightweight rankings ahead of UFC 257

Conor McGregor drops one place into fifth in the UFC Lightweight rankings. Tony Ferguson, Dan Hooker, and Rafael Dos Anjos all dropped a place after Charles Oliveira climbed up to third in the rankings.

Oliveira dominated Tony Ferguson in the 3-round co-main event at UFC 256. The Brazilian was able to take the American down and keep top position for the majority of the fight.

Next on PPV!💎 @DustinPoirier vs 🇮🇪 @TheNotoriousMMA 2 pic.twitter.com/tKmQb01ZhC

— UFC (@ufc) December 13, 2020

Oliveira deserves his third spot after racking up his 8th win in a row. During the run, the Brazilian has defeated the likes of Jim Miller, Jared Gordon and Kevin Lee.

Conor McGregor has the opportunity to climb up the rankings in January

A win against Dustin Poirier will certainly earn Conor McGregor the number one contender spot in the division. With Khabib Nurmagomedov retiring from the sport, it leaves the door wide ajar for the Irishman to reclaim gold.

Khabib Nurmagomedov of Russia compete against Dustin Poirier of United States

McGregor, however, is fighting at Lightweight for the first time since the Khabib fight at UFC 229. The 32-year-old made short work of Donald Cerrone earlier this year, but can expect a much tougher fight against Poirier.

2020 - The Fastest Main Event K.O. #40seconds #StillTheBread #PPVMonster #KOMerchant pic.twitter.com/VvbpNOhcBe

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) December 9, 2020

Conor McGregor had defeated Dustin Poirier back in 2014 at UFC 178 when the duo fought in the Featherweight division. The American has since come a long way, beating the likes of Justin Gaethje, Max Holloway, Eddie Alvarez and most recently Dan Hooker.

A durable fighter who has excellent boxing, Porier is the perfect frame for 155 pounds. McGregor, on the other hand, will need to deal with the southpaw style of Poirier in the fight.

A pressure fighter, Conor McGregor uses has rear leg round kicks and jabs to line his opponents up to land the left-hand. However, against a southpaw, McGregor has to find other ways to cut the cage if Porier does look to stall in the first couple of rounds.

Going into the fight, Poirier is saying the right things, wary of McGregor's mindgames:

I think you get a completely different fight here. I was very emotional in that first one, I wanted to hurt the guy, this time I just want to outsmart him, just want to beat him. That’s it this is business, this isn’t any ill will towards the guy.