Dustin Poirier has dismissed a potential fourth MMA fight against Conor McGregor. However, Poirier appears to be willing to face ‘Notorious’ in a boxing match.
‘The Diamond’ currently leads the series of MMA fights against Conor McGregor by a 2-1 margin. On being asked whether he’ll fight McGregor again, Poirier tweeted:
“Probably not”
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Another Twitter user went on to suggest that Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor could face one another in a boxing match. Poirier responded by tweeting:
“Book it”
McGregor defeated Poirier via first-round TKO in their first fight at UFC 178 in September 2014. Their rematch transpired at UFC 257 in January 2021 and saw Poirier win via second-round TKO. Following this, their trilogy fight took place at UFC 264 in July 2021. It ended with Poirier winning via first-round TKO as McGregor suffered a fight-ending lower leg injury.
Speaking of a possible Poirier-McGregor boxing match, Poirier’s win in their rematch at UFC 257 purportedly led to one of the most lucrative MMA-boxing crossover matches in history falling apart.
Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao’s team and UFC president Dana White touched upon this last year. McGregor was expected to beat Poirier at UFC 257 and then face Pacquiao in a boxing match.
Nevertheless, he suffered a TKO loss to Poirier, which severely dented fan interest in the dream boxing matchup between ‘PacMan’ and McGregor. Regardless, many believe that ‘Notorious’ could return to the boxing ring someday, albeit not against Pacquiao who retired from the sport in late 2021.
Chael Sonnen explains why a fourth Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor fight doesn’t make sense
Chael Sonnen recently took to his YouTube channel and suggested that Conor McGregor – who’ll be returning from his injury hiatus later this year – shouldn’t fight Dustin Poirier next. He explained that McGregor was decisively beaten in his last two fights against Poirier, which is why an immediate fourth fight between them makes no sense.
Presently, neither fighter's next opponents have been announced. Sonnen admitted, however, that the fourth fight would garner a considerable amount of PPV buys. He stated:
"Poirier versus Conor works, I understand that but part four is a little weird particularly when two and three didn't have a single round one by Conor. It was very uncompetitive and Conor being out and Conor being hurt.”
Sonnen alluded to McGregor recently bulking up to 190 pounds and opined that ‘Notorious’ is probably unsure whether he wants to continue at lightweight or move up to the welterweight division. Meanwhile, Poirier has teased a move up from lightweight to welterweight. Regardless, Poirier is yet to make his debut in that division.