Conor McGregor: ‘I Accepted the UFC Offer To Fight’

UFC superstar Conor McGregor revealed that he’s ready to return to the UFC to fight Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier next, and the Irishman also listed the dates he expects the fight might happen. McGregor posted the information on Thursday via social media in response to Poirier’s question from the prior day about their planned rematch.

McGregor posted, “Hello Dustin! I accepted the @ufc offer to fight you, but told them it must happen in 2020. I’m ready for Nov 21st, given that cards recent injury issues, as well as any of the December dates, the 12th and the 19th. I’ll also still donate the $500k to The Good Fight Foundation.”

Poirier responded, “We’ll get it worked out! Good man, We will use the donation to open a Boxing/MMA Academy on the side of town me and [Daniel Cormier] grew up where the tuition for the kids will be good grades.”

So it looks like McGregor vs. Poirier 2 is happening before the end of the year.

All that’s left now is for the UFC to select and announce the official date for the fight.

Poirier later revealed via social media, “…I have accepted, Conor has accepted, and the fans demand it! Let’s go [UFC and ESPN].

So the world waits for the UFC to either make the official announcement or explain why the fight isn’t happening.

At this point, the latter seems incredibly unlikely.

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McGregor and Poirier Waiting on UFC To Decide  Date for Megafight

According to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, McGregor and Poirier are now waiting for the UFC to decide which of the dates works best.

Helwani posted, “As noted on Twitter, Conor McGregor has accepted a fight vs. Dustin Poirier. UFC offered the fight on 1/23. McGregor, per sources, said he wants to fight again in 2020 & doesn’t want to wait. He asked to book it on the 11/21 or 12/12 PPV. He’s awaiting a reply from UFC, I’m told.”

Both UFC 255 on November 21 and UFC 256 on December 12 recently lost their planned main event attractions, so McGregor vs. Poirier 2 could easily and reasonably slide into either slot.

UFC 255 on November 21 was originally supposed to feature UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo vs. former bantamweight champ Cody Garbrandt, but that fight had to be scrapped after Garbrandt suffered an injury during training.

Now, Figueiredo is set to take on Alex Perez on November 21 instead, as reported by Combate and confirmed by ESPN. But it remains unclear whether the new flyweight title fight would remain in the main event slot for UFC 255.

That’s especially true now that McGregor vs. Poirier 2 is an option.

Meanwhile, UFC 256 on December 12 was originally slated to feature UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman vs. top-rated contender Gilbert Burns, but that fight has also had to be postponed.

Per ESPN, Usman is still recovering from some lingering injuries.

Now, McGregor vs. Poirier 2 could land in either slot.

According to ESPN, Poirier would accept either of the dates McGregor prefers.

Either way, the UFC suddenly has a tremendous main event fight to offer fans in 2020.

McGregor is easily the most popular UFC fighter in the world today, and Poirier is a beloved and accomplished action fighter.

Whichever date the UFC chooses for the fight, McGregor vs. Poirier 2 is a definite upgrade from a pay-per-view buyrate perspective.

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More Info About McGregor vs. Poirier Rematch

McGregor defeated Poirier six years ago at UFC 178 via first-round knockout, but both fighters have gone on since to become popular and accomplished UFC champs.

McGregor was the first-ever UFC fighter to simultaneously hold two championships, and Poirier is a former interim lightweight champ.

Both are coming off wins in their last UFC fights.

McGregor, 32, defeated Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 246 by first-round knockout in January. UFC 246 was McGregor’s first back in the UFC since his fourth-round submission loss UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in October 2018, and he looked better than ever.

Poirier, 31, defeated Dan Hooker at UFC on ESPN 12 in June via unanimous decision in a Fight of the Year candidate. The American seemed to be on his way to facing fellow former interim lightweight champ Tony Ferguson at UFC 254 on October 24 before that fight fell through over money issues.

Now, Poirier is seemingly going to get his chance to face McGregor in a rematch, and it’s a much bigger and better fight.

All that’s left to decide is the date.

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