Dustin Poirier nearly had his fourth fight with Conor McGregor.

Poirier and McGregor have a well-storied history, most recently fighting at UFC 264 where McGregor shattered his leg in their trilogy fight. After that bout, McGregor lobbed vicious insults and Poirier and his family, turning their rivalry into a more bitter type of feud. And recently that feud nearly spilled over into the public.

“No. Dude, that was crazy,” Poirier told Ariel Helwani about nearly running into McGregor at a convention in Las Vegas. “I had just finished my signing for Celsius and I’m partnered with a seltzer water… so I was walking over to their booth to meet some people and Conor was behind me apparently. And my agent was walking behind me and he grabs me — Conor might have saw the back of my head, I don’t know. I didn’t see him.

“[My agent] grabs my shoulders and says, ‘Go this way, to the right, to the right.’ So we start walking to the right, I’m like, ‘The booth is right there!’ We’re walking to the right and once we get clear of everybody he’s like, ‘Dude, we almost had a big problem.’ That’s what that was.”

McGregor did see Poirier as a video of their near run-in made the rounds on social media, but did not try to stir up anything with the former interim lightweight champion. But Poirier believes that if they’d seen each other, instead of just passed by, things might have gotten dramatic.

“I don’t know, bro. We have such a long history,” Poirier said. “He said some foul things. You ever watch Family Guy? You know when Peter and the Chicken run into each other? They freaking go on this crazy fight, they’re falling down hills, they’re fighting for an hour — that’s what would have happened.

“Yeah, for sure [we would have fought]. Just everything we have over the past however many years since our first fight. So sure we would have.”

“It’s not cordial anymore,” Poirier continued. “The both of us, I believe both of us. Once my guy walked us away and told me what happened and why we had to make that right, I was like, ‘If we’d have made eye contact, if our eyes would have met, it would have been bad, probably.”

Of course there is a way for the two men to settle their differences: a fought fight in the octagon. McGregor was supposed to face Michael Chandler at UFC 303 until an injury forced him off the card. Now the former champ-champ has his eyes set on a 2025 return, and recently suggested Poirier as a possible opponent. “The Diamond” also recently said he intends to fight at least one time next year before hanging up the gloves for good, but doesn’t seem sold on the idea that McGregor is actually coming back.

“I don’t know if he’s ever going to fight again,” Poirier said. “… We’ll see. I don’t know. I was kind of thinking for sure he was at the beginning of his return against Chandler, then it kept getting drug on, and I don’t know.”

TOP STORIES

DWCS. Four more contracts were awarded on the final episode of Contender Series.

MMA Retirement. Donald Cerrone plans to end his retirement, fight two more times.

Dislike. Dana White is not a fan of “Cowboy” coming back.

Purpose. Francis Ngannou reveals why he’s going forward with PFL fight despite tragic loss of his son this year.

Lawsuits. Jake Paul sued Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing right back.

DUI. Mike Perry was arrested for DUI in his home state of Florida.

Rankings. Dana White sounds off on the UFC rankings again following UFC 307.

VIDEO STEW

Dana White scrum.

Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferreira on PFL Fight Week.

Contender Series announcements.

Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kamaru Usman.

FLAVOR IN YOUR EAR

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Sounds like we might have a fight.

Classy guy.

I completely forgot Corey Anderson was champion.

Shade.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Contender Series is officially in the books for 2024. Over 40 new UFC signees have joined the promotion in the past couple of months and quite a few of them look to be very promising. Look for my prospect breakdown from this season later this week.

EXIT POLL

If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKlee or @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and like us on Facebook.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The dark side
| BJPenn.com

UFC

Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Earlier today, UFC Lightweight and Welterweight veteran Donald Cerrone stirred the pot by cancelling his retirement and announcing a UFC comeback. The former title challenger’s announcement was partially expected, because MMA retirements generally don’t last (ask this former “Cowboy” foe). However, given that the retired Hall of Famer was openly taking steroids and enjoying the benefits, it seemed like there were obstacles between the striker and a return to the Octagon.

Well, there’s at least one more. UFC CEO Dana White has always been a fan of Cerrone’s anyone, anywhere attitude and exciting fighting style, but White was less than enthused about the idea of Cerrone back in the Octagon. In fact, he pretty much shut down the whole idea outright when asked about it after Tuesday’s episode of Contenders Series.

“I hate it,” White responded when asked for his feelings about Cerrone’s potential return. “Love him, hate that. He retired, it’s just for what, what’s left to prove? If you want to make money, let’s figure something else out. When guys retire, they retire for a reason. They retire because they know it’s over. You know it is. So, I think that — not just this sport but any professional sport — it’s hard to walk away from. Not just the money, obviously that’s a very hard part of it but the feeling of walking out of that tunnel, the feeling of getting in the cage, and the place is packed.

“Every time we’re at a show, when you show ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone on the screen, the place goes nuts. He’s beloved. He’s beloved because the guy goes to war, and he’s been in wars for years. It’s time to not go to war anymore man, there’s nothing left to prove for him.”

When asked to fully confirm that Cerrone won’t return to the Octagon, White reiterated again, “I’d rather work something else out.”

As White explained, it’s probably for the best that Cerrone doesn’t return to face some UFC young gun to be put out to pasture. If he’s really that motivated to compete again, he could always seek release from his UFC contract and head over to the UFC retirement home that is Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.

Insomnia

I don’t think there’s any need for Alex Pereira to go back down to Middleweight.

Not a high-level Welterweight affair, but somebody is probably going to sleep.

One of those quotes you can hear perfectly in your mind.

This interview clip confirms something to me that I already assumed: all the trash talk from Shavkat Rakhmonov’s social media is definitely coming from his management.

One Championship lives on. Maybe they’ll start booking their MMA fighters again?

Ben Whittaker ALLEGEDLY forgot about his ankle injury during a fan interaction …

Hasbulla should transcend simple politics.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

The sound of the left hand was like a watermelon popping.

A knockout that brought 59,000 fans to their feet!

It’s good to have Mark Hunt back in action.

Random Land

What UFC fighter is this?

Midnight Music: RIP to the great underground NYC rapper Ka. One of those guys with an underappreciated catalogue and consistently excellent lyricism that never tried to follow trends or worry too much about popularity.

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Donald Cerrone says he’s returning to the octagon to get to 50 fights under the UFC promotional umbrella.

“Cowboy” said in an Instagram post that he wants two more UFC fights to hit that nice round number after retiring following his sixth straight loss at UFC 276. In the bout, Cerrone was submitted by Jim Miller on the July 2022 International Fight Week card.

Cerrone is winless in the octagon since a May 2019 win over Al Iaquinta in the main event of UFC on ESPN+ 9, which at the time, extended a winning streak to three fights. Since then, he was stopped by the likes of Tony Ferguson, Justin Gaethje, Conor McGregor, Alex Morono, and dropped a decision to Anthony Pettis.

The 41-year-old fought for the UFC lightweight title in December 2015 where he was stopped in 66 seconds by Rafael dos Anjos.

Here’s how pro fighters reacted to the Cerrone news.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Mike Perry got himself into trouble when he was arrested in Clermont, Florida, on October 12 for multiple offenses.

According to a recent report by MMA Fighting, information from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that “Platinum” was apprehended and processed by Clermont Police officers early Saturday morning at 1:04 AM EST. He is currently facing charges of driving under the influence (DUI) and refusing to sign a citation that mandates a court appearance, both classified as second-degree misdemeanors in the county. 

As per the report, Perry declined to undergo a roadside sobriety test after being stopped for exceeding the speed limit by about 20 miles per hour. The officer reportedly detected a strong odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle, but the BKFC star repeatedly denied any consumption.

The 33-year-old Michigan native stood firm in his decision despite being warned multiple times that his refusal to comply would result in his arrest, which eventually led to him being handcuffed and taken to the Clermont Police Department for a breath test.

However, “Platinum” was subsequently released on a $ 1,500 bond later that day and was assigned to appear before the Florida court on October 30. If proven guilty, Perry could potentially face a maximum of two months in jail and fines reaching up to $ 500.

The former UFC welterweight fighter is rebounding from a sixth-round knockout defeat to Jake Paul this past July. Aside from that setback, Perry is thriving in his bare-knuckle fighting career under the BKFC banner. He is currently riding a five-fight unbeaten streak and boasts victories over notable former UFC champions Eddie Alvarez and Luke Rockhold.

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• Read More: Jake Paul Reveals Verbal Agreement With Mike Perry To Rematch In PFL, Dirty Boxing Down The Line

Continue Reading Mike Perry Arrested For DUI and Citation Refusal in Florida at MMA News.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts