Dana White Will Not Confirm Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier
Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier II not assured just yet.
McGregor and Poirier have agreed on terms to a main event fight at UFC 257 on January 23, multiple sources reportedly confirmed with MMA Fighting. The blockbuster event is expected to take place on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.
ESPN’s Ariel Helwani subsequently reported that Poirier had signed a bout agreement. McGregor reportedly has not signed a bout agreement; however, he verbally agreed last month and is not expected to be a roadblock.
Brett Okamoto, also of ESPN, subsequently spoke with UFC President Dana White who refused to confirm the booking.
“Nothing is done yet. Jan. 23 on Fight Island if everything goes according to plans,” White told Okamoto. “There are a ton of if’s right now. I have to see where the world is in the next couple of months.”
Dana White provided an update on the Poirier-McGregor rematch, which would currently take place on Fight Island.
(via @bokamotoESPN) pic.twitter.com/4iN6LsSOUU
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) November 10, 2020
“The Notorious One” is reportedly pushing to have the fight moved to UFC 256 on December 12. The card’s original lineup boasted Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns for the UFC welterweight title, and Amanda Nunes vs. Megan Anderson for the UFC women’s featherweight title. Both those fights have been scrapped and Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling remains as the only title fight on deck.
McGregor and Poirier previously competed at UFC 178 on September 27, 2014. McGregor scored an emphatic victory in their original affair, beating Poirier via TKO at 1:46 of round one.
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