'Has he?' - Dustin Poirier doesn't agree that Conor McGregor has been 'respectful' this time around
Dustin Poirier contradicted the idea that Conor McGregor has been respectful ahead of their rematch, but he admitted that the Irishman has 'grown.'
In their last meeting, over six years ago, McGregor knocked Dustin Poirier out in under two minutes at UFC 178. The build-up to the fight had a very active McGregor doing a lot of trash-talking that, for many, entered into Dustin Poirier's head, leading to the bout.
Dustin Poirier gave a sharp answer when being asked by BT Sport's Adam Catterall on his thoughts about McGregor's attitude this time around. Catterall introduced the question by saying that McGregor was paying Dustin Poirier compliments instead of the "normal trash-talking," to which 'The Diamond' replied, "Has he?"
The interviewer then gave some examples of how McGregor's approach at this time seems much more relaxed than when they met six years ago. Dustin Poirier agreed:
"Yeah, I mean, it's not as much trash talk as there was before, you know, obviously, leading to the first fight. And we haven't been going at each other or stuff like that. Maybe, you know, I'm sure he's grown too. Six years is a long time, you know? He's a father now as well. He's had some big ups, some downs, you know, that's just growth, I guess, but I don't really... like I said, that's just noise," said Dustin Poirier.
The two will enter the octagon for the first time in 2021 on January 23 as the main event of UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi. Dustin Poirier hopes that their rematch will be very different than the first time they fought back in 2014.
Dustin Poirier is frustrated with Khabib Nurmagomedov's decision
In an interview with MMA Junkie regarding Khabib Nurmagomedov's retirement, Dustin Poirier talked about how he expected a straightforward decision instead of a riddle.
According to UFC president Dana White, Khabib "will be looking for something spectacular" at UFC 257 to give him incentive to return. Besides Dustin Poirier versus Conor McGregor, the event will have a second lightweight bout with Michael Chandler versus Dan Hooker.
"I thought we would have some clarity if he was retired or not, like, I didn't know it was going to be gray. I thought that it was going to be black or white, yes or no. We are pretty much in the same position we were before they had the meeting, you know? [It is the] same," related a frustrated Dustin Poirier.
Besides all the names mentioned above, the UFC lightweight division still has Tony Ferguson, Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje, and now Nate Diaz as strong contenders for the championship.