Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier III at The UFC 264

Various sources from within the UFC suggest that Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier might clash at the UFC 264.

Several big media reported today that the two MMA superstars are currently negotiating about the fight that would headline the UFC 264, and be one of the biggest spectacles in the history of the organization. The same sources revealed that the date of the fight should be July 10, with the venue being unknown at the moment. However, the same sources reported that the organization plans to have the spectators included, which might narrow down the potential destinations.

McGregor and Poirier have a long history, that started way back in 2014. Poirier was the favorite coming into their first matchup at the UFC 178, but the Notorious shocked the American with a hard knockout in the opening round. It was a big surprise at the time and arguably the fight that launched the Irishman to the UFC’s top echelon. After that, he would win the featherweight title, before taking the lightweight, becoming the first fighter to hold belts in two divisions simultaneously.

The Poirier-McGregor trilogy fight "is close to being finalized" for July 10, multiple sources tell @arielhelwani. pic.twitter.com/EzlGNGwTCr

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 29, 2021

After that, we all know what happened. One after another, McGregor made spectacles, becoming the most popular face of the entire organization. Following his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at the UFC 229, the Notorious retired, but came back in January 2020, defeating Donald Cerrone.

The second bout against Poirier was the last time Conor entered the ring on January 24. This time, the Diamond got even with the former champion, knocking him out in the second round and inflicting him the first career KO loss. The difference between the two was massive in this match, and it was evident that Poirier looked much better than his big rival. McGregor himself stated that on several occasions after the event.

Poirier hoped to be in the combination for the title-bout following the win over McGregor. Still, the UFC took a completely different approach when picking Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira for that clash, and the former lightweight interim champion was pretty unhappy with the way things unfolded. He was the No.1 in the division rankings, and was coming following the major win against one of the best ever, but that wasn’t enough for Dana White and the company.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKcHUqZ25Xo

The Diamond won seven of the last eight matches, the only one against Khabib at the UFC 242 in a title fight. But even with that failure, the list of his victims is marvelous – Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez, Max Holloway, Anthony Pettis, Dan Hooker, and now Conor.

After the news broke out about the negotiations, the experts concluded that the UFC 264 headliner is, in fact, the title-eliminator, and whoever wins here is going to receive an opportunity to take on the new champion.

Even though Justin Gaethje and Tony Ferguson also want to step in and have their shot, the UFC would prefer to have either Poirier or McGregor for several reasons. Among them is the publicity, as both of these guys have a much wider fanbase and are more popular than all the other lightweight fighters.

The official confirmation of this battle should occur by the end of this week.