The return of the biggest star in Mixed Martial Arts is mere days away.

Conor McGregor will grace the octagon for the first time in over a year when he meets Dustin Porier for the second time in his career in the UFC 257 headliner at Abu Dhabi’s Fight Island early on Sunday morning.

The action will be broadcast live on SuperSport Action, Grandstand and Variety 3. The prelims begin at 3am with the main card scheduled to start at 5am.

The fight is an eliminator for the UFC’s lightweight belt, although the match is really an audition to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov, the champion, who is retired but says he may change his mind if he sees something special this weekend.

McGregor himself has come out of retirement to re-enter the hard game. He’s repaired his fractured relationship with UFC boss Dana White, recommitted himself to training and even taken his infamous smack talk down a notch in the build-up.

“The Notorious”, whose sole fight last year lasted just 40 seconds, has praised Poirier and been notably more relaxed and laidback this week, a far cry from his image as the bad boy of the sport.

McGregor and Poirier first met in 2014 when McGregor scored a first-round knockout win. But both fighters have grown since, garnering solid wins and moving up in weight.