The first two fights between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor had two very different vibes in the lead-up. Before UFC 178 there was a great deal of hate and animosity. Before UFC 257, respect and love of the fight game prevailed. While the lead in to the pairs UFC 264 trilogy has been mostly quiet, the trash talk business is starting to pick up.
Dustin Poirier says Conor McGregor ‘reeks of insecurity’ ahead of UFC 264
In a tweet this week, the former two-division champion suggested the first man to shoot for a takedown next Saturday night should be considered a “dusty b*tch.” The Twitter post was brought up in a brand new interview Poirier conducted with ESPN. In response, the former UFC interim lightweight champion had some sharp criticism of his long-time rival.
“Isn’t he the one whose always preaching about the flow, the full martial arts, no holds barred, no rules, the ultimate fighting, when he’s talking about boxing and stuff, right?” Poirier told ESPN. “How about the first one to get taken down is dusty b*tch? This is mixed martial arts. Put it all together. It reeks of insecurity to me.”
Although Poirier, 32, believes “Notorious” may be a less mentally secure version of himself on July 10, that doesn’t mean McGregor is any less dangerous than the duos two previous encounters. This includes a technical knockout loss for Poirier in their first go-around back in 2014. From “Diamond’s” perspective, before this fight, he sees an ultra-competitive athlete who is returning to the Octagon to prove his relevance as one of the best in the game, because he certainly doesn’t need the money.
“When I think about Conor, and his approach to this fight and fighting in general, the man doesn’t have to fight. He’s got money. He doesn’t have to work a day again in his life. So he’s doing this not because he has to, but because he wants to, and that just shows me that he’s motivated,” Poirier says. “He’s not going out there to lose, or collect a check. He’s not showing up to work, he’s showing up to try to prove to himself and the world that he’s still the best. And that motivates me to show up my best. He’s doing this because he wants to, and that’s a dangerous man right there.”
Dustin Poirier looking for a blood and guts war on July 10
Just eight days away from their highly anticipated third clash, Poirier is making it known he wants all-out war inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. He wants his very heart and soul to be tested on fight night, and he wants to offer the same in kind to the Irishman. He admits it’s one of the few things he still loves about an industry he now calls a “fashion show” and race to see “who can get more followers.”
“I want a blood and guts war,” Poirier said. “I want to question my will to fight. I want it to be uncomfortable from the first second of the first round. I want to find out all this stuff – that’s the thing about fighting too, the only thing that’s real is when that bell rings or whenever you show up and you’re training. That’s the only real part about fighting that I love anymore,” said Poirier.
“Everything else is who can say some cool sh*t, get a lot of likes on Instagram, who can get more followers, who can do some kind of funny video. It’s just disgusting, it’s a fashion show. It’s all fake. But the real part about it is, when that bell rings, it’s 100 percent real and I want to show him that and find that out about him. Talk it up, say this, say that, let’s find out who really wants to fight, because I know I can count on me. Not a question in my mind.”
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