‘I don’t really want to fight Conor again’ - Poirier nixes 4th McGregor fight
The former interim lightweight champion hopes to fight Nate Diaz sometime this summer and doesn’t sound all that interested in seeing the ‘Notorious’ Irishman in the Octagon again.
Heading out of UFC 264, Dana White and Conor McGregor seemed to be in full agreement: there was unfinished business between the former double-champ and Dustin Poirier. Despite the ‘Diamond’ taking their trilogy two wins to one, a nasty leg break for McGregor in their third fight seemed to leave the SBG talent certain that things would have gone differently had he not suffered the injury. And even though his timeline to return was unknown, the UFC president sounded more than willing to entertain the idea.
“The fight didn’t get finished,” White told the assembled media after the bout. “You can’t have a fight finish that way. We’ll see how this whole thing plays out. Who knows how long Conor’s out, so Poirier will do his thing until Conor’s ready.”
Seven months later and McGregor looks like he’s in the gym and keeping fit, and Dustin Poirier is three months clear of losing his second bid for the unified title. Could that fourth fight between them be right around the corner? It doesn’t sound like it.
“Me and Conor have a history,” Poirier told reporters during a UFC 271 media scrum (transcript via MMA Fighting). “Fighting him at ‘45 and bumping up, then bumping up, fighting him seven years later, beating him. 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? What can I do? I’ve done it. If I do it again, it’s just for money, right? So that’s a completely different thing.”
Instead, the longtime ATT talent appears to still have his sights firmly set on a bout against fellow former McGregor opponent Nate Diaz. The two men were briefly linked to a potential booking sometime early this year, but the idea of a the realtively short-notice fight quickly fell apart. Poirier, however, still sounds hopeful that he and Diaz can meet sometime this summer.
“I think there’s a good chance it’s going to happen,” Poirier said. “I think summer is probably a good target if I were to put one on a calendar, but I’m not sure, but I have a good feeling that it’s going to happen. I’m not sure if I’m going to stay at 170 pounds, but this fight makes sense.”
For his part, Diaz seems more interested in finishing out his UFC contract and moving on to other things—possibly even out of MMA altogether. Still, if he’s got one fight left on his current deal before he becomes a free agent, a bout against Poirier would be a thrilling way to wind up his Octagon career.