By Michael Gallagher0ShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberSee more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.Dustin Poirier has been retired from the UFC for 10 months, but he recently admitted there is a small chance he could return to the Octagon.
Of all the fights Poirier had over the years, perhaps none were more entertaining than his back-to-back bouts against former two-division champion Conor McGregor in January and July 2021.
During a recent appearance on the “Weighing In” podcast, Poirier admitted that if the UFC offered him another serious shot at McGregor, he would come out of retirement to fight the controversial Irishman.
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“If it was realistic and they called me and said, ‘Hey,’ I would probably get back in the drug-testing protocol and get licensed again, yeah,” Poirier said.
...If that offer came Poirier’s way, it wouldn’t be for months.
McGregor is scheduled to fight former featherweight and BMF champion Max Holloway at UFC 329 on July 11. It’ll mark McGregor’s first fight in over five years. In fact, the last time he fought was against Poirier — a TKO loss after suffering a broken leg at the end of the first round.
Despite the long layoff, Poirer doesn’t think McGregor will get steamrolled as easily as some have speculated.
“Yeah, I don’t think Conor’s going to look as bad as Nate [Diaz did against Mike Perry at MVP MMA], that was really bad,” Poirier said. “I think the punching power’s going to be there regardless. Conor’s going to come back from the injury and still have that natural punching power.
“The question for me is the timing, the athleticism, the movement, all those questions need to be answered. I don’t know. We haven’t seen him, so I don’t know. If his counter-punching and his timing is anywhere near what it was, he has a chance to beat Max.”
...Poirier also has some familiarity with Holloway, who beat him for the BMF belt in his retirement fight last July. He defeated Holloway back in April 2019 for the interim lightweight championship.
Holloway has gone to a decision in his last two fights against Poirier and Charles Oliveira, and he’s had recent wars with Ilia Topuria, Justin Gaethje, and Alexander Volkanovski that Poirier thinks could factor into the McGregor fight.
“Look, I love Max, but the career he’s had and the longevity he’s had, he’s touched the canvas in his last three fights. That’s more than he’s touched it in his entire career. I just think time’s catching up with him.
“He’s still a young man, but he’s taken a lot of shots, and Conor can punch. No matter how long he’s been out, he still has the great equalizer and that’s power. Some guys are born with it.”
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