Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor may meet for a second time later this year and Poirier has a theory as to why the rematch may go down.
The reason that Poirier believes that McGregor wants the rematch is so he can prepare for a potential boxing match against Manny Pacquiao, who is a southpaw fighter just like Poirier.
“Going back to why I think he wants this fight, it’s because he’s angling to fight Pacquiao. That was in the news,” Poirier said on “THE FIGHT” with Teddy Atlas (via Danny Segura of MMA Junkie). “So I don’t know if the UFC wants him to fight one more time before they allow him to fight Pacquiao or if he just wants to get one more this year before starting next year with the Pacquiao fight, but what better way to do it against another southpaw? I think that might be his mind set. He wants to fight another southpaw before he fights another southpaw. I don’t know what’s going on, but I think that’s what the alignment is.”
McGregor would confirm exactly why he wants the rematch with Poirier, whom he defeated by first round TKO in their first meeting at UFC 178, on Twitter:
Correct. Southpaw box style. Continue to sharpen my MMA skills with some tough competition, while leading into my Manny bout preparation.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 13, 2020
It’s not easy going between both sports and then coming back to the one sport again.
Just want to keep sharp guys, that’s all. It’s only fair. https://t.co/PnjHb4VP9j
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