The expected trilogy fight between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor appears to be at least halfway home.
A person with knowledge of the booking Friday told MMA Junkie that Poirier (27-6 MMA, 19-5 UFC) has signed his share of the bout agreement for a third fight with McGregor (22-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC), expected to headline UFC 264 on July 10. That news first was reported in a tweet from Ariel Helwani with UFC broadcast partner ESPN. The person asked to remain anonymous since the UFC has not yet made a formal announcement.
The person said McGregor has not yet signed a contract, but has verbally agreed to the fight – which for several weeks now has seen its stars aligning for the trilogy fight to take place.
UFC president Dana White recently said the fight is targeted for UFC 264 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Poirier reportedly decided to go after a third fight with McGregor rather than fight for the vacant lightweight title after Khabib Nurmagomedov retired.
Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira will fight for that belt next month at UFC 262, and the Poirier-McGregor winner could be next in line for the winner and new champion.
After McGregor picked up a first-round knockout of Poirier in their first matchup at UFC 178 in September 2014, Poirier evened the score in the rematch with a second-round TKO at UFC 257 in January.
