Dustin Poirier questions Conor McGregor’s reason to withdraw from UFC 303.
McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) pulled out of his return fight vs. Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) last month due to a broken pinky toe, marking the first time “The Notorious” has withdrawn from a UFC fight.
McGregor clarified that after over three years away from the octagon, the fans deserve a fully healthy version of him. However, Poirier (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC) isn’t sure if his injury warrants canceling the fight.
“A pinky toe? I fought with so much injuries,” Poirier said on The MMA Hour. “Like Conor said, he’s fought with so many injuries, I fought with so many injuries over the years, but a pinky toe doesn’t seem like a reason to pull out of a fight. Giving him his respect, I also don’t know the severity of it.”
McGregor hasn’t competed since breaking his leg in a TKO loss to Poirier in July 2021. That gave Poirier a 2-1 lead in their trilogy, but McGregor insists that there’s unfinished business between them.
He continues to poke at Poirier on social media, and “The Diamond” admits it’s hard to hold back sometimes.
“He crossed lines you can’t come back from,” Poirier said. “I want to whip his ass (when I see the Tweets). He’s trying to bring that out of me. He wants me to fire back. I’m just like, ‘Nah.’ Of course I want to say something back and try to set up a fight with him, but it is what it is. We have a lot of back-and-forth over the years, since 2014.”
So, is a fourth fight between them possible?
“I don’t know – no clue,” Poirier responded.
