Dustin Poirier has claimed that his three fights with Conor McGregor earned him enough money for his family to have "financial freedom".
The former interim lightweight champion opted not to face Michael Chandler for the vacant world title after beating McGregor in a big money rematch in January last year. Instead, he chose to give McGregor a trilogy that summer in what proved to be one of the biggest pay-per-view events in the sport's history.
Poirier and McGregor had met once before, on the undercard of a Demetrious Johnson PPV event in 2014. On that day, McGregor was paid a base purse of $200,000 while Poirier made just $34,000.
Fast forward to their third meeting, both men were earning points on a show that reportedly sold to over 1.8million fans as well as a packed T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. And after being mocked by a fan on Twitter for "Living off beating McGregor even though you’ve won nothing", Poirier responded by saying "[I] won my family financial freedom".
Between their three fights, particularly the two in 2021, both McGregor and Poirier are believed to have taken home eight-figures. Nevada, where the trilogy took place, and Abu Dhabi where the rematch happened, don't release official purses, but McGregor generally makes tens of millions, and Poirier will have made millions on each.
Poirier knocked McGregor out cleanly in their rematch at UFC 257 after having been finished in their first bout. But there was controversy over their UFC 264 trilogy finish when the Irishman broke his leg while throwing a kick.
Ultimately, the Louisiana native moved on to fight for the belt against Charles Oliveira, who had stepped in to face Chandler instead. He was defeated by submission and has since been flirting with a move up to welterweight, where he could face any one of Colby Covington, Nate Diaz or McGregor again if he's willing to wait.
Poirier has fought some of the hardest hitters in the sport's history, but admitted that McGregor is the biggest puncher he has faced. Speaking last October after their trilogy, he told Patrick Bet-David and Valuetainment : " Conor McGregor [packs the heaviest punch], no doubt about it.
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"As the biggest puncher I've fought? Yeah, he's a special individual for sure. Fought him in 2014, lost, and that was on his, you know when his trajectory just sky was the limit. He was on his way up and he tore through everybody, became a two-weight champion."
McGregor and Poirier have had an up-and-down relationship, initially hating one another ahead of their first fight before eventually developing a respect. It was the Irishman who initiated talks of facing Poirier a second time, despite already holding a win over the American, who is one of the best fighters in the world.
But after a friendly meeting in Dubai, their friendship soured amid controversy over a massive promised charity donation from McGregor. By the time they met in July, they were more bitter towards one another than ever before during a heated build-up.
