UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier has revealed why he’s chosen to fight Conor McGregor for a third time over a championship opportunity.
Poirier placed himself in prime position for a 155-pound title fight when he became the first man to knock out McGregor at UFC 257 in January. Having turned down the chance to fight for the vacant belt left behind by the retired Khabib Nurmagomedov, “The Diamond” will instead enter the Octagon on July 10 with MMA’s biggest star for the second time this year.
The winner of the UFC 264 headliner will likely face new champion Charles Oliveira for what will be the Brazilian’s first title defense. In Poirier’s absence, “Do Bronx” battled relative promotional newcomer Michael Chandler at UFC 262. After a shaky opening round, Oliveira battled back to knock out the former Bellator champion in the second round.
Many have questioned why Dustin Poirier favored a trilogy bout with McGregor instead of the chance to achieve his dream of having undisputed UFC gold wrapped around his waist.
During an interview with ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto, the former interim champion revealed that the decision wasn’t a difficult one.
“I made that decision pretty easily. If I’m the best in the world, then I’m gonna beat Conor and fight for the belt. It’s like doubling down on yourself. I’m a gambling man, and I believe in my skills in fighting. So I just doubled down. That’s all it was. I mean, I don’t know how much you want to get into the actual contractual stuff with this, but me fighting for the belt, I wouldn’t have got pay-per-view. I would’ve got a base salary of probably not even a third of my base salary for this fight. It just doesn’t make sense. I’m a prize fighter.”
Poirier added that although reaching the top of the division is his ultimate aim, he has to think about his family when it comes to choosing between a title fight and a money fight.
“If I’m gonna make 5, 6, 7, 10 times the amount of money to fight Conor again, like I said, I’m a father, I’m a husband, and I have priorities.”
With the rivalry between McGregor and Poirier heating up as we draw closer to UFC 264, their memorable rivalry, which began at UFC 178 in 2014, is set to come to a thrilling conclusion on July 10 inside Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
Who do you think comes out on top in UFC 264’s blockbuster trilogy fight?
