With UFC 264 just around the corner, Dustin Poirier explains why he’s fighting Conor McGregor for a third time rather than aiming straight for the strap.
Poirier told MMA Weekly that:“I made that decision pretty easily. If I’m the best in the world then I’m going to beat Conor and fight for the belt.
Poirier explains his trilogy fight: “I’m going to beat Conor and fight for the belt!”
It’s like doubling down on yourself. I’m a gambling man and I believe in my skills in fighting, so I just doubled down.”
Either McGregor or Poirier will likely go on to challenge newly crowned lightweight champ Charles Oliveira for the title. Oliveira won the vacant belt when he knocked Michael Chandler out at UFC 262. When Khabib Nurmagomedov vacated the belt, retiring from mixed martial arts, he left a power vacuum in the lightweight division that its elite fighters have been scrambling to fill.
Poirier, who once held the interim lightweight title, could have challenged directly for the strap. However, doing so wouldn’t have made financial sense for Poirier, who can earn far more by fighting McGregor than he can by challenging directly for the title.
“Me fighting for the belt, I wouldn’t get pay-per-view [revenue]. I would have gotten a base salary of probably not even a third of my base salary for this fight.
It just doesn’t make sense. I’m a prizefighter. I’m going to make six, seven, ten times the amount of money to fight Conor again.
Like I said, I’m a father, a husband, and I have priorities. I wouldn’t have gotten pay-per-view points for the title fight. The Conor fight, I have pay-per-view points built-in. There’s no question.”
Poirier is happy to feather his nest with money fights against McGregor, who despite years of inactivity and unimpressive showings in the Octagon over the past three years, remains the promotion’s biggest star.
The fact that consecutive bouts against a fellow challenger earn more for Poirier than a title fight is concerning, but issues surrounding fighter pay are nothing new for the UFC. Whichever way this fight goes, Poirier will enjoy a massive bump to his finances. But if McGregor does what he does best and surprises the world, Poirier might regret his choice not to challenge for the title again.
Do you think Dustin “The Diamond” made the right choice? Should be have gone straight for the title? Let us know in the comments.
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