Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier III Now Being Targeted for July 10

ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported this weekend that the prospective rubber match and third fight between Dustin Poirier and former lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor is currently being targeted for a July 10 fight card. Previously, the UFC was hoping for a May 15 event, but sources indicate that signing the rematch has taken longer than initially expected.

The tweet indicates that June 12 for UFC 26 might’ve also been looked at. Currently, that fight card is slated to have a flyweight title fight with champion Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno.

Additionally, UFC recently announced that UFC 261 in April is slated to feature live, ticketed fans in attendance at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. The UFC has recently had to have most of its events closed to the general public due to the pandemic. UFC 257, featuring McGregor vs. Poirier II, was one of the exceptions. The event was held at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, and a limited amount of approximately 2,000 spectators were allowed to watch the fight card. So, it’s possible the UFC might be looking into holding this event at an arena or venue that will allow live, ticketed fans in attendance.

Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier are currently 1-1 in their two fights against each other. McGregor won their first fight via first-round knockout at UFC 178 in September 2014. Poirier won their second fight by knockout in the second round at UFC 257 last January. Both men expressed interest in a rubber fight afterwards, hence UFC trying to put a trilogy fight together.

There was once a hope McGregor-Poirier 3 fight would get done for May 15 but it’s taken longer than hoped/expected so they moved on from that a while ago, sources say. Won’t happen on June 12 (Figueiredo-Moreno on that card), so latest hope is the July 10 card. We’ll see.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) March 19, 2021