Despite Drawing Praise from Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier Gives Bold Verdict on Decade-Old Rivalry

Dustin Poirier is back. The ‘Diamond’ who entered the UFC Octagon for the thirtieth time on Saturday, defeated dangerous up-and-coming prospect Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299 in the second round to retain his rightful place at the top of the UFC’s stacked 155-pound division.

A veteran who has been fighting top guys for the past decade, Poirier has yet again made the case for a title shot in the near future after his UFC 299 win. His unexpected victory led to an outpouring of praise and congratulations by many, including his rival Conor McGregor.

Dustin Poirier’s feisty response to Conor McGregor’s praise

Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor have fought each other three times. While ‘Notorious’ won their first UFC 178 encounter back in 2014, Poirier won the second (UFC 257) and third. In fact, it was during his UFC 264 trilogy against Poirier in July 2021 that the former two-division champion suffered a horrific leg injury, which has kept him out of the Octagon for the past three years.

In addition, this was the fight where McGregor made the infamous “your wife’s in me DM’s” comments to Poirier. Despite their history, however, the ‘Notorious’ took to X (formerly Twitter) to commend both Saint-Denis and Poirier for their UFC 299 fight, which saw ‘Diamond’ rally back after losing the first round to stop the hyped former Special Forces operative in the second round.

“Great fight out of them French boys tonight! Toutes nos félicitations @DustinPoirier @BenoitSt_Denis @EmmanuelMacron,” McGregor posted the Irishman on X.

And while the Irishman was all praises for him and Saint-Denis, Poirier did not seem to be in a forgiving mood. On being asked if his beef with Conor McGregor had been squashed, Poirier simply said, “That beef will never be squashed, no.”

This, of course, is a good business move since it helps set up a 4th possible fight between them when (or if) McGregor returns to the UFC. “We’ll see, yeah,” he said about a potential quadrilogy upon McGregor’s return. While that may be a remote possibility, Poirier has made a good case for a title shot next, which champion Islam Makhachev seems interested in.

Poirier calls for a title shot in June

After Poirier’s victory, lightweight champion Islam Makahchev‘s manager Ali Abdelaziz took to Twitter to commend the ‘Diamond’ and stated that the Dagestani would be willing to fight the New Orleans native in June.

“Dustin Poirier took a huge risk tonight and came out on top and looked amazing. Dustin vs Islam in June especially since everyone else has fights. If the UFC is good with this then Islam would be game,” Abdelaziz wrote. Following this tweet, Poirier issued a challenge to Makhachev and tweeted “Islam in June.” 

While June may seem like too quick a turnaround for Poirier as it would barely give him three months to heal up and prepare for his next fight, he told Ariel Helwani in an interview that he did not take any serious damage in UFC 299 and would be ready for a title shot in June. What are your thoughts on a Poirier-Makhachev clash in June?

Read More: UFC News: Islam Makhachev Goes Against Dana White to Give Dustin Poirier the Title Shot in June