Home/UFC

via Imago

via Imago

Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor do not like each other and for good reasons. McGregor, of course, hit ‘Diamond’ with the infamous “your wife’s in me DM’s” barb at the end of their UFC 264 clash three years ago, where the Irishman broke his leg. The former interim champion has still not forgiven McGregor for insulting his wife.

But, it turns out that Poirier’s wife, Jolie, was indeed in the Irishman’s DM’s, but for good reason, which had to do with Poirier’s charity foundation. ‘Diamond’, along with being one of the best fighters in the Octagon, is also a philanthropist. The Louisiana native runs a charity called ‘The Good Fight Foundation’, an international non-profit, which works towards uplifting underprivileged communities. As he gears up to face champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 on June 1 for the lightweight title, we take a look at the whole charity fiasco between McGregor and Poirier.

Conor McGregor agrees to donate to Dustin Poirier’s ‘The Good Fight Foundation’

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Conor McGregor, at the height of his popularity and abilities as a fighter, had defeated ‘Diamond’ with a spectacular first-round knockout back in 2014. The Irishman, coming off of a spectacular first-round head kick win over Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone in 2020, reminded the fans that he was still the old lethal McGregor after his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov two years ago.

In addition, the ease with which ‘Notorious’ had defeated Poirier, without breaking a sweat, ‘Mac’ was rightfully expected to do the same. So much so that McGregor was the two-to-one betting favorite going into their January 2021 rematch.

Ahead of the fight, the bombastic Irishman, who had earned praise for his charitable donations during the Coronavirus pandemic, promised to donate $500k to the Louisiana native’s ‘Good Fight Foundation’. The money was supposed to go towards building a gym for underprivileged kids in ‘Diamond’s hometown of Lafayette.

via Imago

However, things unexpectedly took a turn for the worse after the clash. ‘Diamond’, apparently responded to one of McGregor’s characteristic acerbic tweets, revealed that the wealthiest MMA fighter in history had not met the $500k pledge to his charity.

Things turn bitter between ‘The Notorious’ and ‘The Diamond’

At UFC 257, Dustin Poirier stunned everyone and avenged his previous loss in style, knocking McGregor out in the second round. ‘Mac’ fell to his knees while trying to get away after being rocked by one of Poirier’s thunderous left hooks. With the scores level at 1-1 after their January 2021 rematch, the UFC announced that the duo would face each other for the third time in July 2021.

In the run-up to their trilogy clash, Conor McGregor talked trash. He predicted, as usual, that he would knock out ‘Diamond’ at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas bout. This rubbed Poirier the wrong way, and he came back with an equally sassy rejoinder, pointing out that the Irishman had not come through on his promise to donate $500k to his ‘The Good Fight Foundation.’

“That’s a fun prediction! @TheNotoriousMMA you also predicted a donation to my foundation and you and your team stopped responding after the fight in January. See you soon. July 10th Paid In Full!” he wrote.

This accusation really ticked the Irishman off and he replied to ‘Diamond’s charge, claiming that he hadn’t gone through the promised donation because he wasn’t sent the necessary details by Poirier’s team.

“A donation, not a debt. We’ve been awaiting the plans for the money that never came. I do with all my donations. Know where it’s going dot for dot. Otherwise it goes walking. As is the case with a lot of these foundations, sadly. You took the McG over the belt shows I was right.”

A few days later, McGregor would make a $500k donation to another Lafayette-based charity— ‘Boys & Girls Club of Acadiana’, ultimately coming through on the promise of building a gym for underprivileged kids in Lafayette, albeit with a different charity.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Dustin Poirier backtracks on his comments

After the announcement of their much-awaited trilogy, ‘Diamond’ would express regrets at the way he handled the whole donation affair with McGregor. The Louisiana native felt that he had made a mistake, and had “jumped the gun” by taking the issue public.

“I’m very passionate about my charity, as you all know. I jumped the gun, and took private matters between Conor and my foundation public. My mistake, we live, we learn. Spreading positivity and doing good is my goal! I feel like I have brought a negative energy and personal opinions into something I am working so hard on, that gives people a reason to cheer and smile,” Poirier wrote.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

This marked the end of that chapter of Poirier and McGregor’s feud. However, there is still unfinished business between the two as Conor McGregor feels that the result of their UFC 264 trilogy bout, although a win for Poirier, came about as a result of him breaking his leg and not the Lafayette native having defeated him fair and square.

In addition, Poirier has vowed that he will never let go of the insult McGregor hurled at his wife. While a fight between the two doesn’t seem to be on the horizon just yet, there is so much history and build-up there that the two would more likely than not see each other in the Octagon for a fourth time before everything is said and done.