Dustin Poirier: Conor McGregor rematch “isn’t about getting even”

Former UFC interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier claims his upcoming rematch with Conor McGregor is not about revenge.

After months of rumors and negotiations, Poirier is officially slated to take on McGregor in the main event of UFC 257 on January 23. The bout will mark the second time they’ve met, after McGregor knocked Poirier out in the featherweight division back in 2014.

Ahead of that first fight, McGregor hit Poirier with a ceaseless stream of trash talk, and Poirier later admitted that it had the desired effect and threw him off his game.

“He was obviously a great fighter in finishing a bunch of guys before me in his UFC career, but at this point we’re both so much more established and have so much more experience, just more mature fighters, and I think you get a completely different fight here,” Poirier told MMA Junkie recently. “I was emotional in the first one — I wanted to hurt the guy. This time I just want to outsmart him, just want to beat him. This is business. This isn’t any ill will towards the guy.”

Despite the way he felt about McGregor heading into their first fight, Poirier emphasized that their rematch is not an opportunity for revenge. Instead, he’s merely hoping to pick up a big win and improve his family’s situation.

“When I was younger, I used to fight with a lot of emotion,” he said. “This isn’t the same thing for me. This isn’t about getting even for me. This isn’t like a revenge type of thing for me. This is about moving my career forward, about putting my family in a better spot. It’s not trying to get back a guy who got me. This is just business.”

Dustin Poirier last fought in June, when he picked up an impressive decision victory over Dan Hooker in one of the year’s best fights. Do you think he can move to 1-1 against Conor McGregor this January?