Dustin Poirier Asked For Rule Change For Conor McGregor Trilogy Fight, UFC Swiftly Rejected Request

Dustin Poirier has revealed that UFC rejected his request to hold his hotly anticipated trilogy fight with Conor McGregor at 170lbs.

The 32-year-old American star suffered a first-round stoppage defeat to McGregor at UFC 178 in their 2014 featherweight clash.

However, Poirier avenged his defeat back in January with a stunning second-round stoppage victory over the 32-year-old Irishman in their lightweight fight at UFC 257.

The Diamond was open to the idea of climbing to welterweight for the trilogy fight to prove his performance in January "wasn't a fluke."

Poirier's hopes were dashed when the UFC rejected his idea, but the MMA star believes that there might have been an important reason behind it.

Speaking to ESPN, Poirier suggested that UFC's desire to hold the third McGregor fight at 155lbs would allow the winner to challenge for the lightweight title.

"I'm trying to show that January wasn't a fluke," he said.

"He's trying to show that he's still relevant and still wants to be the world champion at 155lbs.

"I was pushing to fight at a heavier weight, I wanted to fight at 170 [and] I didn't want to cut down to 155 again, but he wanted to do it at 155.

"The UFC wanted it at 155, so I know what that means: it means that the winner of this fight is going to fight for the belt."

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McGregor fought at welterweight in 2020 during his sensational 40-second stoppage win over Donald Cerrone at UFC 246.

Poirier offered to fight the Notorious at 170lbs in their trilogy fight, but McGregor turned down the proposal in April with a simple reply on Twitter: "No."

McGregor was keen on having a run at 170lbs as he ignited a heated rivalry with UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman.

Poirier praised McGregor over his desire to keep fighting in the octagon, despite being named the richest athlete in the world ahead of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Diamond continued: "The thing with Conor is that when I think about his approach to this fight or fighting in general is that the man doesn't have to fight, you know he's got money, he doesn't have to work a day in his life.

"He's doing this not because he has to but because he wants to, and that shows me that he's motivated and he's not going out there to collect a cheque or lose.

"He's not just showing up for work, he wants to show the world that he's the best and that motivates me to show up at my best because that's a dangerous man right there."

Poirier and McGregor will clash on 10th July at UFC 264 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Featured Image Credit: ESPN/Conor McGregor's Instagram/PA

Topics: Conor Mcgregor, Dustin Poirier, UFC, MMA

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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