No. 2 ranked UFC lightweight Dustin Poirier clapped back at Nate Diaz after the latter said he “smoked” Poirier. “The Diamond” has been linked to a bout with Conor McGregor next. For the past few weeks, Poirier and “Notorious” have publically discussed fighting on social media, agreeing to compete in a charity exhibition match later this year.
It appears that the charity fight isn’t happening as McGregor recently accepted UFC’s offer to fight The Diamond on January 23, 2021.
On October 13, Diaz tweeted about the aforementioned charity exhibition match between Poirier and McGregor. He wrote, “Let’s don’t get it twisted I already smoked these 2 now they play fighting …”. See below:
Diaz has fought McGregor twice, winning the first fight by second-round submission and losing the second via majority decision. Diaz and Poirier have never fought, however, they were briefly scheduled for a match in the past.
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On Diaz, Poirier Said He Will ‘Slap Him Up’ if They Fought
While speaking to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, The Diamond addressed Diaz’s comment.
“He beat Conor,” Poirier said. “He didn’t beat me.”
Helwani told the fighter that it appears Diaz believes he defeated Poirier in some way. Poirier continued, “He can get it, too. I’ll fight him, too. At 170 [pounds].”
The reporter then said that in “Diaz’s world,” Diaz acts like he has a victory over Poirier because he pulled out of their bout with a hip injury. When asked for his thoughts, Poirier answered, “No, I don’t live in the Diaz world. I live in reality. If he wants to fight, let’s go. I’ll slap him up.”
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McGregor Accepted to Fight Poirier on January 23, 2021, Hopes to Fight at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas
Notorious originally accepted a match with The Diamond on social media with the caveat that it had to be in 2020. However, UFC president Dana White told ESPN that there is no room for McGregor on any of the pay-per-view fight cards left in 2020. He also confirmed that he had offered Notorious the Poirier fight for January 23, 2021.
“We offered him a fight, we got him his own date,” White said to ESPN. “We didn’t have a date this year. We have everything laid out for this year, with world champions fighting for titles. He wants to fight Dustin Poirier apparently, so we went to [broadcast partner] ESPN and got him his own date. He’s been offered Dustin Poirier on Jan. 23.”
A few hours after the interview with White was shared by ESPN, McGregor took to Twitter to accept the January 23 date. Notorious also stated that he wants to have the fight at Cowboys Stadium, now known as AT&T Stadium, in Arlington, Texas.
He tweeted, “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.”
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UFC Star’s Warning to Nate Diaz: ‘I’ll Slap Him Up’