The winner of Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier's match this month will be thrust into a title shot straight afterwards
- The winner of Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier's lightweight fight on January 23 will advance into a championship fight.
- Khabib Nurmagomedov is the current champion in the 155-pound division but announced an abrupt retirement after his submission win over Justin Gaethje in October.
- The UFC boss Dana White is meeting Nurmagomedov on Fight Island to discuss the status of the lightweight title.
- Even if McGregor beats Poirier in Abu Dhabi, it is unlikely Nurmagomedov will fight him as he's shown no interest in returning to the Octagon, and even said he was disappointed the Irishman lacked mental toughness in their wild fight in 2018.
FIGHT ISLAND - The winner of the upcoming Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier match this month will be thrust into a title shot straight after.
According to MMA Mania, UFC President Dana White confirmed the stakes for January 23. "Whoever wins that fight is probably next in line," he said.
The lightweight spectacle caps a third series of UFC events on Fight Island - a quarantined area on Yas Island that the UFC built in conjunction with the Abu Dhabi department of culture and tourism. It did so to ensure international MMA events could be held safely during the coronavirus pandemic.
Unlike previous COVID-era shows on Fight Island, all of which Insider has attended, the three events in January will take place in front of a partial fan allowance at the newly built 18,000 capacity Etihad Arena.
It is a fine way to oversee McGregor's return to the Octagon, but the Irish striker's fight has added importance as a victory guarantees a shot at the 155-pound championship.
Nurmagomedov will likely remain retired
Nurmagomedov fought on Fight Island in October, submitting Justin Gaethje before dropping to his knees to weep and mourn his father's death. He then announced an abrupt retirement.
White will meet Nurmagomedov ahead of McGregor and Poirier's fight, and the status of the Russian's title will be discussed.
The UFC boss has previously talked about the likelihood of luring Nurmagomedov back into the Octagon for one more match, despite the fighter's comments that he no longer has any "competitive interest."
McGregor, meanwhile, said on Instagram that he's in such good shape he'd "destroy" previous versions of himself on the same day.
The former two-weight UFC champion is confident of defeating Poirier and winning that title shot.
But that may not be enough to fight Nurmagomedov, who has expressed no interest in returning, and even said how disappointed he was at how McGregor lacked mental toughness when they fought three years ago.
Nurmagomedov submitted McGregor in the fourth round of a wild fight in 2018, and said at a recent Moscow press conference that he could tell the end of that fight was in sight when McGregor apparently tried to "calm" him in the heat of battle.
"I was a bit disappointed," Nurmagomedov said. "I expected him to be mentally tougher.
"When I was ground-and-pounding him, talking to him, and he responded that it was 'just business,' it looked like he was trying to calm me down to avoid a real beating, just like a son trying to justify himself in front of his angry father.
"Psychology is a very strong tool."
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