One half of the upcoming trilogy bout between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor has been finalized.
According to a recent report by ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Poirier has signed on the dotted line to meet “Notorious” for a third fight at UFC 264 on July 10. McGregor has yet to sign his official fight contract, but the former UFC champion has already verbally agreed to the trilogy.
This is huge news for all parties as UFC tries to lock down the most lucrative fight available. Poirier was able to upset McGregor in his return to 155 pounds at UFC 257 and ended up handing the Irishman his first professional knockout loss (highlights HERE). Poirier’s performance not only launched his superstar status to another level but it evened the score with McGregor, who defeated “Diamond” via knockout back in 2014.
While Poirier had the opportunity to fight Charles Oliveira for the vacant UFC lightweight title the perennial contender ultimately chose the McGregor trilogy instead. The decision to give up another shot at UFC gold may seem odd, but Poirier is about to make the biggest payday of his career in one of the biggest trilogy bouts of all time.
For McGregor, he’s hoping to defeat Poirier in their trilogy bout this July and regain all of the momentum he lost back in January. It will be up to “Notorious” to sign his contract for UFC 264 and prepare over the next three months for one of the most important fights of his MMA career.