Dustin Poirier is not worried about Conor McGregor’s infamous trash talk leading up to their trilogy bout.
The two men are set to face off for the third time at UFC 264 on July 10th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. In their first fight back in 2014, McGregor’s trash talking got into Poirier’s head as the Lafayette man admitted that when it came to fight night, he was like a deer in the headlights. In the rematch back in January at UFC 257, McGregor was very cordial and respectful towards Poirier leading up to the fight, which was quite different from the first fight.
As the days tick closer to UFC 264 for the trilogy bout, whether its Mr. Nice Guy McGregor or the “Notorious” McGregor that shows up come fight week, Poirier is not concerned as he explained in a recent interview with ESPN.
“The good thing about this one is if it’s crazy Conor again, I really don’t care,” said Poirier. “And in the last one, too, if he would’ve been crazy, I would’ve been all right. Mentally, I’m not a kid anymore. I’m a grown man, and I know what matters, and I know what I can’t control, and I just don’t beat myself up mentally like I used to with the critics. So I think it’s gonna be crazy Conor again, I’m pretty sure.”
Fans and media alike expect the Irishman to return to his trash-talking ways for this upcoming fight as there have already been many back-and-forths between Poirier and McGregor leading up to UFC 264.
The bad blood for the trilogy bout stemmed from a donation dispute where McGregor promised to donate to Poirier’s charity organization called “The Good Fight Foundation” before their second fight but never followed through on it. Poirier called him out on it after the fight, which led to a war of words between the two men.
But going into the third fight, Poirier went on to question how cocky and brash can McGregor be, considering the fact the Irishman just got knocked out by him earlier this year.
“How crazy can you be?” said Poirier. “You got knocked out last time out, you know? We put you on airplane mode in front of the world in Abu Dhabi. And what can you say?”
Both men have a TKO win over each other, with McGregor getting the edge in their first bout back in 2014. When they first shared the cage, both fighters were rising contenders in the 145-pound featherweight division. McGregor swiftly dispatched Poirier in the first round with relative ease and went on to become the featherweight champion the following year.
In their second bout earlier this year in January, both men had become seasoned veterans of the game, with Poirier becoming one of the most dominant names in the 155-pound lightweight division.
The Lafayette native moved up to lightweight ranks after his loss to McGregor and had 13 fights in the division before their rematch at UFC 257. By this time, Poirier had established as one of the best fighters in the division defeating the likes of Anthony Pettis, Eddie Alvarez, and Max Holloway to earn himself an interim lightweight belt at UFC 236 in 2019.
Do you think Conor McGregor’s infamous trash talking will return full force for UFC 264?
