Just recently, the president of the UFC Dana White confirmed to all fans that Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor will meet again in the Las Vegas UFC octagon in July this year. This will be their third meeting in Las Vegas and UFC fans have much to look forward to, with the match coming on July 10th. For those who don’t know, Conor McGregor first defeated Poirier back in 2014, but the Louisiana born fighter got his revenge in a rematch held earlier this year.
All UFC fans are waiting for July to come around and according to USSportbonus.com both fighters have a fighting chance in this third match. Dana White also confirmed that the match would happen in a packed T-Mobile arena, with more than 20.000 fans watching, as Las Vegas is scheduled to re-open in full. In a short video that Dana White posted on his Twitter account, he simply said “Vegas is back”, announcing the major things to come for UFC in the months ahead.
How Did the First Fight Go?
The first fight between Poirier and McGregor took place in September of 2014 at UFC 178 and the Irishman won in the first round. Born in 1988, Conor McGregor is a former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion. The Notorious is ranked sixth in the lightweight rankings as of January 2021 and fifteenth in the pound-for-pound rankings.
On the other hand, there is Dustin Poirier born in 1989 in the United States. Nicknamed The Diamond, Poirier is a former Interim Lightweight Champion with several notable victories. He defeated five UFC champions including Conor McGregor, Max Holloway two times, Anthony Pettis, Eddie Alvarez, and Justin Gaethje. He is ranked first in the lightweight rankings and sixth pound-for-pound rankings.
Back in September 2014 when McGregor and Poirier met in the octagon for the first time, Poirier went into this match after three successive wins. As for McGregor, he came after defeating Diego Brandao, Max Holloway, and Marcus Brimage. In the first fight, we saw Notorious defeat The Diamond in the first round much to the displeasure of loyal fans who wanted to see more action.
Poirier Gets His Revenge
Years after the first fight, The Notorious and The Diamond met again in Abu Dhabi. Since the first fight in Las Vegas, both UFC fighters have gone through a lot both outside and inside the octagon. Before the second fight took place in January this year, Poirier’s coach Mike Brown said that Dustin had changed a lot since the first encounter with McGregor.
In the rematch, Dustin Poirier defeated Notorious by knockout at the highly anticipated UFC 257. This was doubtlessly one of the most-watched lightweight UFC fights ever and we saw The Diamond getting his revenge on the former UFC champion. In the rematch, it was Conor McGregor who had a very strong start but Poirier caught his opponent with strong head shots. After a series of headshots, Poirier buckled McGregor’s knees before he sent the Irishman to the canvas with a right hand to finish the match and take down the legend.
Everything to Fight For
The stakes could hardly be any higher for these two elite combatants. For McGregor, this is a matter of honor and legacy. Not only has Poirier hurt his ego by defeating him in January, but he has also called him out for backing out of a promised donation to Poirier’s charity, which The Notorious did not take lightly.
On the other hand, the American fighter is looking to advance his career and take a leap towards the lightweight belt, which is going to be awarded in an earlier fight between two of their closest rivals. If Poirier can take down McGregor, he is going after that belt in the months to come.
