Conor McGregor wants Dustin Poirier to make him square and meet him in the middle of the octagon when they fight for the third time this summer.
Their series drew one win at UFC 257 last January, when Poirier avenged a September 2014 loss with a second-round TKO from McGregor. The two have now been booked to determine the score at UFC 264 on July 10th.
It is not surprising that the build-up to the fight started prematurely, with the two recent shots hitting each other on Twitter. On the eighth anniversary of his UFC debut, McGregor recalled the hard work that brought him to the top of the UFC mountain and promised to take the same approach to what he calls his ‘comeback fight’ against Poirier.
When Poirier responded, McGregor pointed out that he felt Poirier had ‘backed up’ in their first fight and was the first to start the fight. He promised that he would be ‘in the middle’ from the start if Poirier wanted to be for it and that this time he would also be ‘ready for Poirier’s tactics’.
Duplicate skills work. I also did not take rest days unless I absolutely had to. Not one. Not even a Sunday.
I will follow this approach again for my fightback fight.
I did not become ufc champion with this method, but I did become ufc 145 champion. Also the cage fighter champion champion.– Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) 5 April 2021
Good to hear Dustin, I hope so. Like the last time you back up and shoot within the first 30 seconds. I’ll be in the middle from the start if you want it. You know what. I will also be ready for the tactics this time.
See you in there. https://t.co/RMiwF1rpGD– Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) 6 April 2021
As for McGregor’s memory of the first fight, Poirier did indeed achieve a removal around the 30 seconds of first round. McGregor recovered and got the fight back on track shortly afterwards, delivering a strong performance for the first time five minutes before conceding to Poirier’s strike. Poirier used calf kicks destructively to pull McGregor apart and hide him with blows at the 2:32 mark of the second round.
Poirier later responded to a fan who suggested he was happy in the rematch, saying that “happiness exists, but it finds that you work.”