We might get to see Conor McGregor face off against Dustin Poirier in a non-UFC match for charity, but don’t get too excited just yet.
The lead-up to the verbal (or rather, tweeted) agreement stemmed from a disagreement between McGregor and UFC president Dana White about the fights McGregor was offered versus the fights he’d accepted. Basically, standard UFC drama.
Then, though, Poirier entered the discussion in a quote-tweet, responding to McGregor’s statement saying that he’d fight “anyone.” And what McGregor suggested has surprised many people.
Yep, McGregor has offered up a non-UFC exhibition fight that would support Poirier’s non-profit organization, The Good Fight. The organization has raised a lot of money for social projects and other good causes close to Poirier’s heart through gear auctions and other fundraising efforts. Other fighters have also pitched in to help the organization — Khabib Nurmagomedov donated a significant sum to TGF following his fight with Poirier last year.
McGregor laid out his terms for all to see, and Poirier readily agreed to it.
It will likely be a while before we hear any updates about the hypothetical event, as the fighters have understandably taken the conversation to a more private channel.
The big hurdle that stands in the way of this fight, of course, is the fighters’ contracts with the UFC. The promotion must give permission for fighters to compete outside of the organization, and though it’s done so before (which is why we get to see current UFC fighters competing in jiu-jitsu events, for example), but whether or not the UFC would allow two high-profile fighters to put on an event like this — even for charity — remains to be seen.
The Jiu-Jitsu Times will provide updates on this story as they become available.
