Dustin Poirier Explains Why He Is a Better Opponent for Conor McGregor Than Tony Ferguson

Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor are very close to booking a fight against each other. Out of all the opponents that Conor can face right now, Poirier would certainly rank as one of the toughest. However, ‘The Diamond’ thinks there’s a definite upside for ‘Notorious’ if the two end up fighting inside the octagon.

McGregor announced his retirement earlier this year in June. This came as a big surprise for the fans, especially after his desire of turning 2020 into a season. Nonetheless, fans expected him to return. Just four months ahead of the retirement news and it seems McGregor has proven his fans and the experts true.

The UFC has offered Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor a fight. ‘The Diamond’ is of the opinion that a fight with him could be one of the shortest ways for McGregor to get back to the title shot.

Look at it from his side, for sure there’s some upside there,” Poirier said on the UFC Unfiltered podcast. “Khabib said if him or Tony beat me that he would give them a shot at the title, so if that holds any weight, he’s looking at that. I don’t know what his ambition is. I don’t know how hungry he is to be the UFC lightweight world champion. If it is, a fight with me makes a lot of sense to get the next title shot.”

Poirier accepts that a fight between Conor McGregor and Tony Ferguson would be fun to watch

Apart from him, the other viable option available for Conor is to fight yet another former interim champ – Tony Ferguson. The latter last stepped inside the octagon in May and suffered a TKO defeat at the hands of Justin Gaethje.

Poirier is coming off a unanimous decision against Dan Hooker. The five-round war in June was one of the best fights of the year. Hence, Poirier considers himself to be the one that brings in more rewards compared to Tony Ferguson.

“He could push for a fight with Tony. That would be an exciting fight. I’m a fan of the sport and I think that would be a good fight to watch, but Tony is coming off of a loss. I just had the interim title, I’m number two. I’m coming off of a win, a Fight of the Year contender. I think it makes more sense.”

“Every fight is a chance or a risk, no matter how prepared you are. If you’re gonna risk something, do it with the top guy and get a title shot,” Poirier said.

As of now, Poirier doesn’t need to count the benefits for McGregor, as the Irishman has already accepted the fight offer from the UFC. His only demand is that the fight takes place in 2020. If the UFC obliges, we may end up seeing McGregor fight without an audience for the first time in his UFC career.

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