Days after insinuating he would be returning to boxing to take on Manny Pacquiao, former two-weight UFC champion Conor McGregor has now sounded out one-time Octagon opponent Dustin Poirier about a second fight at the end of this year.
McGregor defeated Poirier on Sept. 27, 2014 on the main card of UFC 178 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, with the stoppage after just 1:46 of the first round, earning him a performance of the night bonus from Dana White.
The Irishman is currently embroiled in a public falling out with White, during which McGregor has leaked private conversations with the UFC president about their disagreements over his next fight.
This led to McGregor first declaring he would fight Pacquiao, before then pitching the idea of a charity fight to Poirier, whose last fight was a unanimous decision victory over Dan Hooker at the UFC Apex facility on June 27, on Twitter.
“Hey bro! You want to do an MMA charity fight? Zero to do with the UFC,” McGregor posted.
“I will donate half a mill towards your charity for it. Sell it on PPV or work a TV deal and we work out other charities that are close to my heart also. I am engaged in many. Strictly a charity 'exhibition'.
“December 12th in the Point Depot, Ireland. No weigh ins. Open weight, unified rules. I will arrange all travel fare for you and family. McGregor Sports and Entertainment MMA, in association with The Good Fight Foundation. Charity Mixed Martial Arts!”
It remains to be seen how much of this is a serious idea from McGregor, and how much of both this and the Pacquiao claim is merely designed to get a rise out of White. However the man who has held both the featherweight and lightweight championships simultaneously has hoped to once again perform on home soil in what would be his first fight there since he exploded into superstardom.
McGregor's last outing in Ireland was in the main event of UFC Fight Night on July 19, 2014 with a TKO success over Diego Brandão. It was also his last fight before defeating Poirier two months later.
"The Diamond" soon responded positively to the idea, nonetheless.
Poirier and his wife, Jolie, have participated in charitable work over the past few years with The Good Fight Foundation. This has included helping to build water wells in Uganda, donating school supplies to local schools in Louisiana and buying car seats for a hospital to help newborns get home safely with their mothers.
This work seems to have been noticed by McGregor, who replied: “Excellent! We shall take it offline and progress the process from here. Good man Dustin! I respect your philanthropic efforts greatly, as well as how you conducted yourself post our first fight. You have my respect!”