Dustin Poirier says win against him could land Conor McGregor a rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov
Former UFC two-division champion Conor McGregor just can't stay off the headlines. The power-punching Irishman recently took to Twitter to reach out to former interim lightweight champion and his former foe Dustin Poirier for a charity MMA match in Dublin, Ireland.
The fight, McGrgeor said, would have "zero to do with the UFC" and the proceeds generated from the fight would go to charities close to both fighters' hearts. However, soon after Dustin Poirier gave his nod to the matchup, UFC President Dana White jumped into the mix of things by claiming that he had extended offers to both Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.
It's been almost a couple weeks since White announced that the promotion is trying to book the matchup and though the UFC frontman has confirmed that Dustin Poirier has agreed to fight, there has been no confirmation on Conor McGregor's part yet. Poirier later confirmed that he's been "paid in full" and is looking to "earn it in blood" inside the Ocatgon. In a recent appearance on UFC Unfiltered, Dustin Poirier revealed his take on the whole situation surrounding his next fight.
“I don’t really know, honestly, what’s going on with the whole situation. Of course I would take the fight. I would fight him, I would fight Tony (Ferguson), I just want big fights and I think that’s what’s coming. I would like to fight again this year. We’ll see. I haven’t heard back from negotiation side of the UFC or Conor, but it’s a new week and I’m hoping to hear something.”
Dustin Poirier believes that running it back against him is what makes the most sense for McGregor because if the Irishman manages to beat Poirier again, "The Notorious One" will gets a shot at revenge against undefeated lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“Look at it from his side, for sure there’s some upside there,” Poirier said. “Khabib said if him or Tony beat me that he would give them a shot at the title, so if that holds any weight, he’s looking at that. I don’t know what his ambition is, I don’t know how hungry he is to be the UFC lightweight world champion. If it is, a fight with me makes a lot of sense to get the next title shot.
Even Dana White has consistently reiterated his desire to book a rematch between Khabib and Conor and let's say that Justin Gaethje causes an upset and beats Nurmagomedov at UFC 254, even then, a win against Poirier, who is the #2 ranked lightweight in the UFC will surely fetch McGregor a title shot against "The Highlight". Having said that, Dustin Poirier just wants to fight. he'd love to fight Conor McGregor again but even if that matchup doesn't come to fruition, "The Diamond" says he's ready to fight before the new year.
“I want to fight this year. I want to fight before the new year,” Poirier said emphatically. “I don’t know about (this) fight but somebody. I want to fight somebody. If something else falls through or doesn’t come together, I want to fight. I’ve been fighting since 2007 and I’ve never fought one time in a 12-month period. I’ve only got one fight in this year. I’m healthy, I’m training, I’m fit, I want to scrap. I’m ready right now. Tomorrow. Knock on the door, we can go right now.”