Conor McGregor will have his day with Manny Pacquiao but he will need a tune-up match first, and for that, the UFC superstar is meeting Dustin Poirier inside of the Octagon. In a Twitter post, The Notorious confirmed he is preparing for the prize-fight with Pacquiao and he intends to further shape up on his fighting skills.
McGregor's revelation was in response to the guesswork made by Poirier. The latter suggested that his rematch with the Irishman seemed to be pointing to a preparatory move, and that his opponent is already looking to bigger things even before the UFC duel gets underway.
Poirier posited that since he is a southpaw, McGregor chose to duke it out with him later this year to condition for the boxing match with Pacquiao, who is a southpaw too. McGregor confirmed Poirier's suspicion.
"Correct. Southpaw box style. Continue to sharpen my MMA skills with some tough competition, while leading into my Manny bout preparation," DAZN reported McGregor as saying.
The ploy, according to the UFC star, is his way of polishing both his MMA and boxing skills as he noted that shuttling between two different rings will not be easy. McGregor said it's only fair that he remains sharp before his momentous date with the Filipino boxing icon.
McGregor will be meeting with Poirier a second time and it is believed that the UFC bout happening in November or December is all planned out by the MMA superstar. That's because McGregor has set his sight on the mega-fight with Pacquiao, according to Yahoo Sports.
The Irishman already announced that the deal with the boxing hero is all but completed and the event is seen to be staged in the first months of 2021, which should give McGregor ample time to set up once his business with Poirier is done.
The Pacquiao vs. McGregor match will be a joint venture by the two fighters and it is expected that the place for hostility will be in the Middle East. Pacquiao revealed this week that he made a deal with Paradigm Sports, which is McGregor's promotional outfit, which should indicate that the fight is practically a go.
It remains to be seen, however, if McGregor's wish of fighting Poirier before the end of 2020 will be approved by UFC chief Dana White. But if White will be part of the Pacquiao vs. McGregor money-spinner then it's not remote for him to accommodate one his biggest moneymaker, notwithstanding the rumored rift between the two men.
It will be recalled that when the Mayweather vs. McGregor duel played out in 2017, White was one of the prime movers and it's not hard to see that he wants to get the same role for the Pacquiao vs. McGregor match. That means White should be willing to kiss and make up with the Irishman and work with him on the blockbuster deal.
