UFC lightweight Dustin Poirier says he won’t sit out and wait for a fourth fight with Conor McGregor while the Irishman recovers from his leg break.
At UFC 264, Poirier registered his second victory over McGregor in 2021. Having become the first man to knock the Irishman out at UFC 257 in January, “The Diamond” looked to end their heated feud with a definitive victory in their trilogy fight last month.
Despite having his hand raised, Poirier’s victory inside the T-Mobile Arena did little to close out his rivalry with the former two-division UFC champion. A horrific broken leg suffered by McGregor in the dying seconds of the opening frame brought a premature end to their headlining clash.
Despite Poirier’s belief that the injury simply delayed an inevitable finish, a fourth fight with the megastar seems highly likely given the anticlimactic ending at UFC 264. The Louisianan himself even said he’d go toe-to-toe with McGregor again, whether in the Octagon or on the street.
Despite placing himself in prime position to challenge for Charles Oliveira‘s undisputed title, fellow 155-pound contender Michael Chandler recently suggested Poirier should sit out and wait for a tetralogy fight against McGregor.
But during an appearance on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour, “The Diamond” stated he wouldn’t be waiting for the Irish star to recover before entering the Octagon again. The 32-year-old said his next bout will be whatever makes the most sense, which for him, isn’t a spell on the sideline.
“We’ll see what happens,” Poirier said. “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.” (h/t MMA Fighting)
Nevertheless, Poirier admitted that his second victory didn’t provide the same feeling as his KO success on Fight Island, and left many questioning the legitimacy of the result. Despite setting his sights elsewhere for the immediate future, the former interim champion has left the door open for a potential fourth fight with McGregor.
“The rematch, obviously, I knocked him out, so there’s an ending to the fight. The [third fight], his leg breaks, so you don’t get that same feel. It’s a win on my record for sure, and I was winning, but the second fight, I put him away. The third fight, I don’t know what to say with that. That feeling, especially with the media or fans, people say, ‘You didn’t beat him.’ The second time I got that, ‘You beat him.’
“It is what it is. What a promoter the guy is sitting there holding a Gumby leg and setting up fights and still talking trash. Hey, let the guy recover and get healthy and come back, and we’ll see what happens…”
With his performances so far this year, Poirier is certainly the clear choice for Oliveira’s first title defense. “Do Bronx” won the title at UFC 262 in May when he fought through first-round animosity to finish Michael Chandler in the second frame.
However, a recent Twitter feud with Nate Diaz has provided Poirier with another option for his next walk to the cage. The pair had been set to face off back at UFC 230. But with Poirier’s recent comments on both clashes, it seems a bout with the Stockton native will have to take a backseat for now.
What would you do if you were Dustin Poirier? Fight Charles Oliveira for the title? Or wait for another money fight against Conor McGregor?