Dustin Poirier has given a specific reason why he is against engaging Conor McGregor in a fourth fight.
Dustin Poirier seemed open to a fourth fight against Conor McGregor following his knockout win over Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 299 in March. However, that stance appears to have now changed.
Dustin Poirier Talks Down Fourth Fight Against Conor McGregor
Poirier and McGregor have fought three times already, with Poirier winning twice
Following his win over Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 299, Dustin Poirier seemed to be open to the idea of a fourth fight against his bitter rival Conor McGregor. However, with Poirier now having a title shot against reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in just over a week at UFC 302, ‘The Diamond’ is fully focused on achieving championship gold, and doesn’t remotely seem interested in a fourth fight against ‘The Notorious.’
Poirier was asked in a recent interview with ESPN about potentially fighting McGregor a fourth time.
“I think that ship has sailed. All I want is the UFC lightweight championship.”
Poirier and McGregor will headline back-to-back UFC pay-per-view cards, UFC 302 and UFC 303, with Poirier getting an unexpected lightweight title shot against the formidable Islam Makhachev at UFC 302, and McGregor making his highly anticipated Octagon return in a welterweight bout against Michael Chandler on June 29.
Even though Poirier gave his current financial stability as a reason as to why he is not interested in fighting McGregor again, whether he is successful or unsuccessful at UFC 302, it may be hard for him to turn down the amount of money he could earn if he and the Irishman were to face off against each other once more.
If Poirier finds success against Makhachev and is able to win a UFC title for the first time in his career, money may talk and McGregor may find himself in a position where he could be awarded another, perhaps final, shot against Poirier.
Later on in the interview with ESPN, Poirier doubled down on his statement about not wanting to fight McGregor again. This time, it seemed like he gave a specific reason why he was shooting the fight down.
“I don’t feel the need to fight him again at all. I don’t need that energy in my life.”
The History Between Poirier and McGregor
The pair have fought three times, with their first and third fight being seven years apart
The second fight took place seven years later at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi. The build-up to this fight couldn’t have been much more different than the first fight, with McGregor opting for a respectful approach and Poirier reciprocating the positive mood.
Just like the build up, the fight itself also couldn’t have gone much differently either. McGregor had some success in the first few minutes of the fight, but once Poirier adapted his game plan and started hammering McGregor with calf kicks, it swung the momentum to the American. McGregor was essentially fighting on one leg which led to him getting knocked out for the first time in his career around two and a half minutes into round two.
McGregor and Poirier booked their trilogy six months later at UFC 264 and, once again, the build was a polar opposite to their second fight. McGregor came in ultra disrespectful as he believed Poirier looked at his kindness as a weakness going into their second fight. McGregor again had success early on in this fight, but once again, Poirier landed nasty calf kicks on him and that changed the fight completely. Just like the second fight, once Poirier started landing the kicks, McGregor became flat-footed and Poirier started teeing off on him. Poirier eventually landed a takedown, and unleashed some nasty ground and point on the Irishman. Once they both got back up to their feet, McGregor stepped back and his left leg snapped, which resulted in ‘The Diamond’ winning the trilogy via doctor stoppage.
McGregor believes there is unfinished business between him and Poirier due to the ending of the third fight, but the latter does not seem remotely interested at this point.
