It has been confirmed by UFC President Dana White that Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor will meet for their trilogy fight on July 10th in Las Vegas. This comes after McGregor seemingly pulled out of the fight for Poirier accusing him of not donating the $500,000 he verbally agreed to give to the “The Good Fight Foundation”.
Poirier, who has compiled a 27-6 record, is ranked as the #1 contender in the Lightweight division. McGregor, 22-5, sits at #6. McGregor is seeking his first win inside the octagon since January of 2020.
The two last met in January, where Poirier won via TKO in the second round. Leg kicks became a common theme, as Poirier landed 18 of 21 attempts down low. Poirier posted a significant strike rate of 52% in the bout, while McGregor finished with a rate of 43%.
Regardless of who McGregor fights, there will be plenty of attention from the media and fans alike. With full capacity permitted in Las Vegas, it’s important to remember that Poirier vs McGregor II had pay-per-view success as well. The second fight between the lightweight contenders surpassed 1.6 million PPV buys; the second-highest total in UFC history. The only card to gather more pay-per-view buys? McGregor vs Nurmagomedov (2.4 million). To this point, McGregor owns seven of the UFC’s top ten pay-per-view cards.
The newfound “bad blood” between McGregor and Poirier should spark some excitement for fans as well. With the back-and-forth dialogue on social media, this will truly be McGregor’s first fight with a chip on his shoulder since encountering Nurmagomedov in October of 2018.
Each fighter makes a valuable case to contend for the Lightweight title with a victory in July. Poirier has secured six victories across his last seven bouts, including four KO/TKO finishes during that span. McGregor is only 1-1 since fighting Nurmagomdov in 2018, but his 40-second finish over Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 showcased the same flash that sold fans on the Irish superstar in the first place.
Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira are scheduled to fight on May 15th for the vacant Lightweight title. By July, we will have a clearer picture on what the future of the division looks like.
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