'It's been a while' - Dustin Poirier hasn't seen Conor McGregor since their UFC 178 fight in 2014
Dustin Poirier has revealed that he hasn’t seen Conor McGregor in person since their UFC 178 matchup in September 2014.
Poirier and McGregor faced one another in a featherweight bout at UFC 178 on September 27th, 2014. McGregor won that fight via first-round TKO.
In an interview with ESPN MMA, Dustin Poirier opened up on his all-important clash against Conor McGregor at UFC 257 (January 23rd). Poirier notably shed light upon the fact that he hasn’t met McGregor in person since their fight almost seven years ago.
“Conor? Twitter, I mean we talked a little bit on Twitter; that you guys saw. But I haven’t seen him, I don’t think, since the fight.” Dustin Poirier said, noting that he hasn’t seen Conor McGregor since their September 2014 fight.
“I don’t think so…It’ll be good to see him in the flesh again, you know. It’s been a while. But I don’t play a whole lot into that type of stuff. Like I said, that’s just noise. And I don’t want to waste energy on that stuff and get back into thinking all angry and emotional. It’s all good, man.” (*H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)
Upon being questioned whether he would like to see Conor McGregor face to face and size him up before their UFC 257 fight, Dustin Poirier suggested that he doesn’t feel the need to do so, but would still like to see McGregor in person.
Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor haven’t engaged in as much trash talk as their first fight
In the buildup to their UFC 257 lightweight bout, neither Dustin Poirier nor Conor McGregor has engaged in as much trash talk as they had before their UFC 178 fight.
Poirier had previously admitted that Conor McGregor’s trash talk adversely affected his UFC 178 matchup performance. The Diamond has chosen to stick with a more calm and composed approach to his UFC 257 fight against McGregor. On the other hand, McGregor has also refrained from utilizing his well-known trash-talking against Poirier ahead of UFC 257.
Conor McGregor is regarded as one of the best at mental warfare. The Notorious One is known for using his trash talk to mentally break his opponents before they even step foot inside the octagon. That said, the consensus is that the different approach that Poirier and McGregor have adopted for UFC 257 could prove to be an advantage for Poirier in their fight.