Dustin Poirier recently weighed in on the ongoing discussion surrounding Conor McGregor’s potential return to the UFC and issued a stern warning about the need for fair competition.
In an interview on The MMA Hour, Poirier addressed the idea of McGregor challenging Justin Gaethje for the ‘BMF’ title after UFC 291. The former two-division UFC champion, according to Poirier, should pass a negative drug test before even considering a comeback.
Poirier stressed the importance of treating McGregor the same as other guys to uphold the integrity of the sport. Granting special treatment to the Irish star for the sake of pay-per-view sales would undermine the efforts made to establish fair rules and regulations in the UFC.
“If we change the rules for him to compete to sell some pay-per-views, I mean, we make a mockery of all this we put in place. But they’re the judge and the jury, so they do what they wanna do, so we’ll see, man,” Poirier added cautiously, acknowledging the UFC’s authority in making such decisions.
As the discussion continues, it remains to be seen whether the UFC will grant Conor McGregor a USADA exemption that allows him to compete this year. Dustin Poirier’s stance on the matter raises important questions about fairness and consistency within the promotion.
In the same interview, Poirier also reflected on his recent knockout loss to Justin Gaethje in their ‘BMF’ title. Despite the defeat, Poirier remains steadfast in his belief that he is a better competitor than Gaethje.
“Khabib [Nurmagomedov] was better than me. I lost Saturday to somebody who I think I’m better than… I was away from home for 9 weeks in training camp, you know? I dieted 11 weeks, sacrificed so much, was really focused, man… And felt great, the best I’ve ever felt,” Poirier expressed about his mindset heading into UFC 291.