HOUSTON – Dustin Poirier doesn’t see a need to fight Conor McGregor again.
Poirier (28-7 MMA, 20-6 UFC) is up 2-1 in his trilogy series with McGregor with wins in their second and third fights. The third fight at UFC 264 in July 2021 ended by TKO due to doctor’s stoppage after McGregor broke his leg and the fight was waved off at the end of Round 1.
Although McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) claimed that their rivalry is not over, Poirier thinks his knockout win in the rematch at UFC 257 and his performance leading up to the doctor’s stoppage in the trilogy bout were enough to close out their chapter.
“Me and Conor have history,” Poirier told reporters at Saturday’s UFC 271 event in Houston. “Fighting him at (1)45, then bumping up and fighting him seven years later, beating him, and even that fight, I’m probably not going to fight Conor again. I don’t really want to fight Conor again. For me, that door is closed.
“The only reason I’d do it is for money. I beat him two times in a row. Can I best my two performances? Can I knock him out quicker? Can I 10-7 him? I mean what can I do? I’ve done it. If I do it again, it’s just for money, right?”
Poirier is coming off a title-fight loss to lightweight champion Charles Oliveira at UFC 269 this past December. After falling short in his quest to claim undisputed gold for a second time, “The Diamond” currently is angling for a fight with Nate Diaz at welterweight.
AP Photo/John Locher
Dustin Poirier went on the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani on Monday and spoke about a variety of topics, including the possibility of a fourth fight with Conor McGregor.
Steven Marrocco of MMA Fighting provided the quotes.
“We’ll see what happens. I’m not sitting back waiting to fight him a fourth time. If it makes sense and it comes about, we’ll do it again. I’m just training and living my life. My daughter just started her first day of school today. I’m having fun trying to continue to grow as a martial artist.
“I’m not committing to anything. I haven’t spoken to the UFC about the title fight or their timeline. I haven’t been reached out [to] by the company. Anything’s possible, but we’ll go with what makes the most sense.”
The 32-year-old Poirier is next in line to challenge UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira for his belt.
He earned that honor after beating McGregor twice this year—once by second-round TKO in January and the second time via TKO (doctor's stoppage) following the first round after the Irishman suffered a broken leg.
The latter win polished off a trilogy victory for Poirier, who fell to McGregor when the two first met in Sept. 2014. McGregor won that bout via first-round TKO.
As Marrocco noted, any potential McGregor-Poirier rematch would have to depend on McGregor's recovery as he looks to recover from the gruesome injury.
But Poirier is looking to claim the undisputed lightweight belt for the first time ever at this point. He previously won the interim lightweight belt but lost a chance at the title when he fell to Khabib Nurmagomedov in Sept. 2019.
UFC president Dana White said in July that a fourth Poirier-McGregor fight will happen:
Poirier also said after his latest win that he would fight McGregor "whether it's in the Octagon or on the sidewalk" after the latter fighter's vicious and offensive trash talking, which included death threats, per Steven Muehlhausen of DAZN:
“There’s no holds barred with the trash talk, right? But murder isn’t something you clown around with. There’s no coming back from that and this guy was saying he was going to murder me and all kinds of stuff.
"He was telling me he was going to kill me tomorrow (and that I) was going to leave here in a coffin. You don’t talk like that to people, man. I hope this guy gets home safely to his beautiful family, you know?”
McGregor clearly wants another shot at Poirier as well, saying as much in the Octagon to Joe Rogan as he sat with a broken leg:
For now, McGregor needs to recover, and Poirier has his eyes on the lightweight belt.
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Dustin Poirier said his rivalry with Conor McGregor is a chapter of his career that "will never be closed."
Poirier, who will face off with lightweight champion Charles Oliveira in a title fight at UFC 269 on Saturday night, told TMZ Sports he can't rule out another clash with McGregor in the future.
"I don't know [about a fourth fight], we'll see what happens," he said. "[Conor and I are] in two completely different spots if I get my hand on this belt."
Poirier heads into Saturday's championship bout off two straight victories over McGregor in January and July. Both wins came via TKO.
It gave the 32-year-old American a 2-1 advantage in his rivalry with the 33-year-old Irishman, who won their first career meeting in September 2014 by knockout.
As Poirier alluded, what happens next is heavily dependent on whether he's able to overcome Oliveira to become a full-time UFC title-holder for the first time. He previously held the interim belt for five months in 2019 before losing a unification bout to Khabib Nurmagomedov.
If he becomes the new champ, he'll have a host of challengers waiting for the opportunity to face him, starting with a potential rematch against Oliveira. McGregor, who's lost three of his last four fights, probably won't be in the conversation for a title chance.
Should "The Diamond" fall short against Oliveira, however, then the door to a fourth McGregor matchup could open since their rivalry has proved it can still be a ratings draw.
"The Notorious" suffered a broken tibia in their last meeting and is still in the recovery stages. He wrote on Twitter last month he expects to receive full clearance by April and at that point would be looking at an "imminent" return to the Octagon.
That timeline would create a path to another clash with Poirier, but there are too many variables in play to predict whether that's a realistic outcome at this stage.
For now, Poirier is focused on what should be a competitive, entertaining battle with Oliveira on Saturday night.
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