Time has done little to heal the wounds for Dustin Poirier. Even as talk of Conor McGregor‘s UFC return gains momentum, ‘The Diamond’ is ensuring their bitter rivalry remains firmly in the present. The rumors about the Irishman’s return gained traction after Dana White recently shared that the UFC is very close to finalizing a deal with Conor McGregor and that he will make an announcement once everything is done.

Following the update, Dustin Poirier was joined by Chris Weidman and Jorge Masvidal on the Paramount+ UFC show, where they discussed the prospect of McGregor’s return in July. In that regard, Weidman gave McGregor an 80% chance of coming back, while Poirier leaned 60/40. Though the Louisiana native believes his bitter rival will return, he has no well-wishes to share for the fighter with whom he shared the ring thrice.

“I’m a go 60 (percent),” Poirier said. “60 he does [return]. 40 he doesn’t.”

“Alright, I’m gonna go 80%,” Chris Weidman replied. “He’s in the drug testing pool. For you to come off the stuff, get back in the drug testing pool, you better fight. Otherwise, you’re just gonna feel worse than you used to feel for no reason. So, I think he fights for sure. But I say 80% only because, you know, injury or something like that happens, only then I think he won’t fight.

“I know, but that was in 2021. He had enough time to recover, but I will say that’s your first time coming back. I went through a similar injury. It’s hard to be the person you were before for sure. I hope the best for him.”

“Not me,” Poirier responded. “I hope the worst for him.”

When it comes to Dustin Poirier’s rivalry with Conor McGregor, this is not the first time the retired former interim lightweight champ has made it clear he doesn’t want to be friends with the Irishman. A few months ago, ‘The Notorious’ congratulated the Louisiana native on the birth of his son, writing, “Congrats bro.” Poirier appeared indifferent to McGregor’s kind gesture and even told Ariel Helwani that he has zero interest in making amends with McGregor.

With that in mind, we can expect that Dustin Poirier won’t have many positive things to say about Conor McGregor unless something changes his mind completely. At this moment, their rivalry has started to feel like a Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier-type situation, where the beef remains eternal, even though Jones has tried to ease tensions between them.

For now, Poirier and McGregor are likely to remain fierce competitors, but it’s unlikely they will clash in the UFC again, especially after ‘The Diamond’ retired last year. However, another of ‘The Notorious’s rivals is gearing up for a showdown during International Fight Week, when the promotion’s biggest star is expected to return.

Max Holloway is already in training to face Conor McGregor at International Fight Week

After Conor McGregor’s UFC White House return talks fizzled out, prominent journalist Ariel Helwani revealed that the Irishman could come back during International Fight Week. Moreover, Helwani also mentioned that Max Holloway remains the frontrunner for the bout after their 2013 encounter went in the Dublin native’s favor.

Though the UFC is yet to make anything official regarding McGregor’s return or his opponent, ‘Blessed’ seems very confident it could be him. Daniel Cormier, who is close to Holloway, revealed that the former featherweight champion has already started training to face the Irishman next, even after losing the BMF belt to Charles Oliveira at UFC 326.

“I posed this question to him, just as a friend,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “‘Could you ever have imagined that losing the BMF title would put you closer to the Conor McGregor fight? Do you wanna do this? Are you ready to go?’

“Max said to me, ‘I am training right now because it is all I want. It is all I want. It is all I want in my career, if I get the opportunity to face McGregor in his return fight. Not only because I know it will bring eyes to me, but because I know I’ve gotta get that back.’”

That’s definitely a strong pitch from Holloway to land what could be the biggest payday of his career against McGregor. And by the looks of it, the UFC might just match ‘The Notorious’ with a striker for his return fight.

While Holloway trains for a potential payday, the unresolved animosity with Poirier lingers, ensuring that no matter who McGregor fights next, his most bitter rival will be watching with ill will.