Conor McGregor returns to action in the quickest turnaround of his MMA career since 2016 as he seeks to right the wrongs of an emphatic stoppage defeat to Dustin Poirier back in January by claiming victory in the trilogy bout headlining UFC 264 on Saturday night.

McGregor came face-to-face with Poirier ahead of their rubber match in an unmissable final press conference on Thursday night - and you can catch up with the full event in the video player above.

The Irishman looked to have the better of the opening exchanges at UFC 257 before unravelling under the pressure of Poirier’s masterful game plan.

Exorcising the demons of his own defeat to McGregor some six years ago, Poirier produced one of the crowning performances of his career to halt the former two-weight UFC champion in some style.

But with the trilogy now level at one victory apiece, the scores will be settled once and for all under the bright lights at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night in a fight that could take on even greater significance in the context of the lightweight title landscape.

The recently-crowned Charles Oliveira will be looking to return to action himself in the latter half of the year and with no obvious contender stating their case otherwise, the victor of this bout will surely secure the next shot at the 155lb belt.

For Poirier, this trilogy came at the expense of a second shot at the undisputed title with the Louisiana man confirming he had turned down the opportunity to fight Oliveira for the vacant strap in order to make the third McGregor fight happen.

Former Bellator king Michael Chandler stepped up in his absence, putting on a thrilling show at UFC 262 before coming unstuck against the Brazilian, falling to a second round knockout.

UFC 264: More build-up

Whether Poirier lives to regret that decision hinges on his fortunes at UFC 264: a repeat of the masterclass we saw in January and the 32-year-old will look like the smartest man in the room.

Defeat, however, does not bear thinking about.

The stakes are similarly high for McGregor, who comes in to this bout with just one win inside the Octagon since November 2016 having largely elected to prioritise business interests outside the UFC over the past few years.

In the moments of humility and clarity we have come to expect from a beaten McGregor, the proud Dubliner conceded his inactivity had cost him dearly last time out.

“The leg kicks were good. That low calf kick was good. The leg was dead and then… I just wasn’t as comfortable as I needed to be. It’s inactivity and that’s it… If you put in the time in here, you’re going to get cosy in here and that’s what I need to do,” he told Jon Anik in the aftermath of that night at UFC 257.  

Emerging from another gruelling camp for his second Octagon appearance in six months, McGregor’s fans will hope their man has rediscovered his mojo – but will it be enough to conquer a red-hot Poirier seeking to write his own history?

The two men will come face-to-face in Las Vegas this week to resume hostilities and we’ve got you covered with a live stream of the press conference on Thursday.

Tune in to see what the two main event fighters, as well as the stars of the undercard, have to say for themselves ahead of the big fight.