Dustin Poirier calls Conor McGregor exhibition fight "very real"; hints at pro bout
Dustin Poirier suffered a devastating submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov in their UFC Lightweight title fight back in September of last year.
Nevertheless, Poirier returned to winning ways in June by putting on a masterful performance against Dan Hooker. He won the matchup via unanimous decision and salvaged his spot in the upper end of the UFC Lightweight division.
Dustin Poirier hints at professional fight with Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor recently set the combat sports community abuzz by putting forth a tweet revealing he's set to face Dustin Poirier in an exhibition martial arts match. McGregor noted that the exhibition matchup will take place on December 12th in Dublin, Ireland.
However, owing to the fact that both Poirier and McGregor are under contract with the UFC, certain sections of the MMA community expressed their doubts as to whether the fight would come to fruition.
On that note, Poirier took to his official Twitter account and issued a response to an ESPN article questioning whether the exhibition match against McGregor would take place. In response to the aforementioned article, he simply stated: "Very Real.”
Poirier, by way of his succinct tweet, indicated that the fight against McGregor will indeed transpire. Meanwhile, UFC President Dana White explained that both fighters have been offered the opportunity to face one another in a UFC fight.
Needless to say, the fight offered to them would take place under the UFC banner and would be a professional MMA bout, rather than an exhibition match. Dana White added that the UFC is still waiting for McGregor and Poirier to respond to this offer.
Furthermore, responding to a fan who proposed that the pair would be better off facing each other in a professional MMA fight rather than an exhibition match, Poirier stated: "YES!”
Moreover, another fan questioned whether Poirier would fight in the UFC again in 2020. Poirier once again responded affirmatively, stating: “Yes!”
Will Dustin Poirier win the Undisputed UFC Lightweight title?
Dustin Poirier won the Interim UFC Lightweight title by defeating Max Holloway. However, Poirier came up short against Khabib Nurmagomedov and resultantly failed to capture the Undisputed UFC Lightweight Championship.
A victory over Conor McGregor, albeit in a UFC bout rather than an exhibition match, would most definitely enable Dustin Poirier to earn another shot at the UFC Lightweight title.
What are your views regarding the proposed exhibition match between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor? Sound off in the comments.