Dustin Poirier would return for Conor McGregor fight 'if it was realistic'

Dustin Poirier isn't ruling out the idea of coming back to fight Conor McGregor.

Poirier (30-10 MMA, 22-9 UFC) retired after losing to Max Holloway in their BMF title fight at UFC 318 last July. Although he's happily retired, Poirier admits another bout with McGregor could lure him back.

McGregor hasn't competed since breaking his leg in a TKO loss to Poirier in July 2021 and will make his long-awaited return in a rematch against Holloway in the UFC 329 headliner on July 11 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Poirier is up 2-1 on McGregor, but would he fight him again for a fourth time?

"If it was realistic and they called me and said, 'Hey,' I would probably get back in the drug-testing protocol and get licensed again, yeah," Poirier said on the "Weighing In" podcast.

Poirier expects McGregor to perform better than Nate Diaz did when he was bloodied and stopped by Mike Perry at MVP MMA 1 less than two weeks ago.

"Yeah, I don't think Conor's going to look as bad as Nate. That was really bad," Poirier said. "I think the punching power is going to be there regardless. Conor's going to come back from the injury and still have that natural punching power. The question for me is the timing, the athleticism, the movement, all those questions need to be answered. I don't know. We haven't seen him, so I don't know.

"If his counter-punching and his timing is anywhere near what it was, he has a chance to beat Max. Look, I love Max, but the career he's had and the longevity he's had, he's touched the canvas in his last three fights. That's more than he's touched it in his entire career. I just think time's catching up with him. He's still a young man, but he's taken a lot of shots, and Conor can punch. No matter how long he's been out, he still has the great equalizer, and that's power. Some guys are born with it."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Dustin Poirier would return for Conor McGregor fight 'if it was realistic'

Reporting by Farah Hannoun, MMA Junkie / MMA Junkie

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This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 11:45 AM.