Former UFC two-division champion Conor McGregor promised to make a $500,000 donation to Dustin Poirier’s “Good Fight” foundation as a condition of accepting a “Notorious” rematch, but the power-punching Irishman was dragging his feet when it came time to cut the check, which led to a public (and somewhat messy) Twitter dispute.
McGregor, unhappy with how the business was handled, instead donated the hefty sum to the Boys & Girls Club of Acadiana in Lafayette, Louisiana, which has worked with “Good Fight” in the past but is not directly affiliated with Poirier’s charity. The gift was regarded as an amazing display of generosity — and perhaps a big “fuck you” to “The Diamond.”
Then again, maybe not.
“I see a lot of people want to attach negativity and say that it was a slap in the face, this and that stuff,” Poirier told ESPN (transcribed by Farah Hannoun). “When it comes to the donation, Conor didn’t donate it to my charity, but it’s not my money. It’s the people’s money. I don’t know why people would think that or where they would get that from, but the charity wins at the end of the day, so it’s great. I’m very thankful. It wasn’t a slap in the face. It was a high five because the people in the community are gonna win. It’s gonna help a lot of kids out.”
The Boys & Girls Club of Acadiana has six locations.
Poirier finished McGregor in the UFC 257 pay-per-view (PPV) main event earlier this year and with the score tied one apiece, has agreed to run it back with “Notorious” in the UFC 264 headliner in July, an event that will help bring fight fans back to “Sin City.”
The winner is likely to be next in line for a shot at the lightweight title, up for grabs in the Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler showdown at UFC 262 in Houston, Texas, assuming that fight doesn’t end in a draw or get postponed due to COVID.