Not long after UFC President Dana White told ESPN that he had offered Conor McGregor a fight with Dustin Poirier in 2021, the Irishman took to Twitter to confirm that he is all in.
Of course, “accepting” the fight on social media isn’t the same as signing a bout agreement – something which ESPN’s Ariel Helwani confirmed hasn’t happened as yet – but this could signal the end of a brief stand-off between White and McGregor as the latter pushed for fight activity in 2020.
I accept, Jan 23rd is on!
My goal is to see this fight take place in Cowboy stadium. Proper Style! Jerry Jones is a friend and the stadium can hold our crowd. I will be ready for Texas and Texas will be ready for my fans!
Then Manny. #McGregorSportsandEntertainment— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 14, 2020
One caveat is that McGregor wants the fight to take place in Cowboy Stadium in Dallas, Texas. The Dallas Cowboys NFL franchise have held games in the arena with fans in attendance, though at a reduced capacity, which would give the UFC some added incentive to make that happen.
Poirier is unsurprisingly game too. The Louisianan would love nothing more than to avenge his defeat to “The Notorious” and is fairly local to McGregor’s proposed fight location.
McGregor last fought in January against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 246, winning on his Octagon return in triumphant fashion in just 40 seconds.
Like his potential opponent, Poirier got over his loss to UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2020. “The Diamond” won an entertaining, back-and-forth war against Dan Hooker in June behind closed doors.
McGregor said he would donate $500,000 to Poirier’s Good Fight Foundation charity if their proposed bout goes ahead.
Beyond Poirier and the UFC, there has been plenty of noise about the Dubliner returning to boxing’s squared circle to take on living legend Manny Pacquaio in the near future.