Morning Report: Dustin Poirier targeting summer return for trilogy bout with Conor McGregor

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images At UFC 257 in January, Dustin Poirier became the first man to knock out Conor McGregor in MMA, stopping “Notorious” in the second round and avenging his 2014 KO loss to the former champion. Immediately after the fight, both McGregor and Poirier showed an interest in a trilogy bout and it seems like things are in motion for the two to run it back later this year.
“Conor wants the trilogy and I do too,” Poirier told Joe Rogan recently. “We’re just trying to get the right deal structured. This is going to be a big fight. He knocked me out, I knocked him out. The trilogy. For sure one of the biggest fights this year, but maybe of all time... So I think the trilogy makes a lot of sense and a lot of money. So we’re just trying to get the right deal structured and see what the time frame is. Because for a guy like Conor, you want the fans in there, even if it’s limited.”
The win over McGregor put Poirier in an interesting position. The top-ranked lightweight contender, Poirier is seen by many as the uncrowned champion at 155 pounds since Khabib Nurmagomedov retired in November. However, the UFC has still yet to vacate Nurmagomedov’s title, and does not seem to be in a hurry to crown a new champion, which puts Poirier in the position of wanting to capitalize on the momentum of the McGregor fight instead of waiting around for a vacant title. Some have even suggested that the trilogy be for the lightweight title, given Poirier standing in the division, but “The Diamond” says he’s doesn’t think that makes sense.
“I think the further removed we get from this last fight with Conor, it just takes away the heat from it,” Poirier said. “... (But) no, I don’t think (Conor should fight for a title). Conor’s been away so long, his last two fights at 155, he’s lost, so you can’t put him in there for a title fight. How could you justify doing that when you have guys like (Charles) Oliveira?”
That being said, Poirier admitted that if the UFC decided to forego all sense of meritocracy, he wouldn’t refuse the opportunity to have his cake and eat it too. And he even admits that just because he recently knocked out McGregor, that doesn’t mean the same thing will happen in a trilogy fight.
“Of course! We’re fighting for the belt (laughs). . .” Poirier said.
“It’s fighting. I don’t think you ever really (have someone’s number). He’ll make adjustments. It will be a completely different fight. Like the first and the second were different, the third one’s gonna be different as well because I’m gonna make adjustments as well. I’ve got to switch it up and keep things fresh and keep him guessing.”
What the UFC will end up doing with the lightweight division is anybody’s guess at this point but for the uncrowned champion, he says he’s targeting a return in the summer, unless the UFC decides to pull the trigger earlier.
“June, July,” Poirier gave as his timeline for return. “I will, if I get the call and it’s time to go to work, I will lock myself in training camp, but I’m still not right now ready to go back to Florida a month removed from the last fight and then lock down for another 10 weeks or whatever it is. So we’ll see. If they call, I will do it but I’d rather it be a bit further. Let me enjoy my life back home in Louisiana before I go right back out to Florida.”

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[h=1]TOP STORIES[/h]Results. Ciryl Gane remains undefeated with dominant decision over Jairzinho Rozenstruik in UFC Vegas 20 main event.
Response. Ciryl Gane responds to criticism from Dana White over his decision win against Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
Disappointment. Jairzinho Rozenstruik calls UFC Vegas 20 loss ‘my worst performance ever’.
Claim. Jorge Masvidal claims he’s ‘fighting for the belt’ in September; Kamaru Usman’s manager responds.
Excuse. Paulo Costa says he drank ‘too much wine’ the night before fighting Israel Adesanya, had ‘hangover’.

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[h=1]VIDEO STEW[/h]UFC Vegas 20 Post Show.


UFC Vegas 20 Post-Fight Press Conference.


Countdown.


BT Sport makes better promos than the UFC.


Fighters predict Yan vs. Sterling.


Cooking with Volk.


Wonderboy sparring with Sock Em Boppers.

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[h=1]LISTEN UP[/h]On to the Next One. Matchmaking for the UFC following UFC Vegas 20.
Severe MMA. Analyzing UFC 259, Ciryl Gane, and Bellator’s fight announcements.

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[h=1]SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE[/h]Jon has entirely forgotten his last two years at light heavyweight it seems.
Francis responds.
Tanner Boser killing fools.
Acceptance.
Moving up in the world.
Beef.
Fight posters.

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[h=1]FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS[/h]Cortney Casey (9-8) vs. J.J. Aldrich (8-4); UFC Vegas 21, Mar. 13.
Neiman Gracie (10-1) vs. Jason Jackson (13-4); Bellator 255, Apr. 2.
Usman Nurmagomedov (11-0) vs. Mike Hamel (7-4); Bellator 255, Apr. 2.
Impa Kasanganay (8-1) vs. Sasha Palatnikov (6-2); UFC Fight Night, Apr. 10.
Zhang Weili (21-1) vs. Rose Namajunas (9-4); UFC 261, Apr. 24.
Patchy Mix (25-2) vs. James Gallagher (11-1); Bellator 258, May 7.
Andrea Lee (11-5) vs. Antonina Shevchenko (9-2); UFC 262, May 15.
Carla Esparza (17-6) vs. Yan Xioanan (13-1); UFC Fight Night, May 22.

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[h=1]FINAL THOUGHTS[/h]Another week, another PPV but this one is wild. Three title fights, four champions of five divisions. It’s gonna be a good week.
Thanks for reading and see y’all tomorrow.

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[h=1]EXIT POLL[/h]

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