Conor McGregor Will Fight For UFC Title If He Beats Dustin Poirier

Conor McGregor will fight for the UFC lightweight title again, if he can defeat Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July, according to Ariel Helwani.

McGregor became the lightweight champion at UFC 205 when he defeated Eddie Alvarez in 2016, making him the company's first ever dual weight champ.

The Irishman also fought Khabib Nurmagomedov for the title at UFC 229, having been forced to vacate the belt due to inactivity after beating Alvarez.

He may now get the chance to reclaim the title later this year, with ESPN journalist Helwani claiming a win against Poirier will put him in line for a title shot against Charles Oliveira.

Speaking on the Helwani and DC show, with Daniel Cormier, Helwani said, "If Dustin wins that fight [against McGregor], it's Dustin versus Charles no questions asked.

"And quite honestly, if Conor wins that fight, it's Conor vs Charles for the belt.

"That has to be the number one contenders fight."

Oliveira was crowned as lightweight champion on Saturday night. Image: PA Images

McGregor and Poirier met for the second time earlier this year at UFC 257, with the Diamond avenging his loss to the Notorious in 2014.

The American could have been fighting for the vacant lightweight title, vacated by Khabib, last weekend but instead chose to chase more money in a rubber fight with his rival.

With Poirier getting ready for his main event at UFC 264, Oliveira faced Michael Chandler for the title at UFC 262 on Saturday night.

After an excellent opening round from the former Bellator champion, that seemed to have Oliveira in trouble, the Brazilian scored a brilliant knockout in the second round to win the title.

In typical fashion, it didn't take long for McGregor to remind the new champion of his existence, with the Notorious instantly taking to social media following Oliveira's win.

"Congrats to Olivera on becoming the 11th UFC lightweight champion. Wonder who Twelve is..." the former champ tweeted, partially referencing the Proper Twelve whiskey company he recently sold.

However in his post match press conference the new champ, who took a record 28 UFC fights to hold a title, hit back saying, "Conor, worry about Dustin. Conor, since you're so tough: First of all, you beat Dustin, and then you come over to Brazil, and I'm going to put you on your ass.

"First, he's got to get past Dustin. He's one of these guys that just talks a lot. He's got to beat Dustin first."

Oliveira is going to have a holiday first though, "I battled hard to get here. Everyone's talking about who it's going to be next - Poirier or Conor. I'll leave that my manager, and I'm going to go home and rest."

Topics: Conor Mcgregor, Dustin Poirier, Charles Oliveira, Michael Chandler, UFC, Lightweight division, MMA

Ryan Sidle

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