Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier negotiate charity MMA match in Ireland, ‘zero to do with the UFC’

If the UFC can’t find him a fight, Conor McGregor will play matchmaker himself.

The former two-division champion has been involved in a public spat with UFC President Dana White about fights offered and fights accepted over the past few days. But now the Irish superstar is taking it upon himself to land suitable opposition.

It all started with McGregor sending a message to former opponent and fellow top ranked lightweight Dustin Poirier.

“Hey bro! You want to do an MMA charity fight? Zero to do with the UFC,” McGregor wrote. “I will donate half a mill towards your charity for it. Sell it on PPV or work a TV deal and we work out other charities that are close to my heart also. I am engaged in many. Strictly a charity “exhibition”

“December 12th in the Point Depot, Ireland. No weigh ins. Open weight, unified rules. I will arrange all travel fare for you and family. McGregor Sports and Entertainment MMA, in association with The Good Fight Foundation. Charity Mixed Martial Arts!”

For his part, Poirier has offered to fight McGregor numerous times in the past as he sought to stake his claim as the best lightweight in the sport. The fighters previously met at featherweight with McGregor winning the fight by first-round TKO.

After seeing his message on social media, Poirier wasted no time, signaling he’s absolutely willing to make the trip into McGregor’s backyard while also doing some good in the world.

“I’m in! Lets do it!” Poirier wrote. “A lot of people will benefit from this.”

Over the past few years, Poirier and his wife Jolie have made it a mission to do charity work through The Good Fight Foundation. They’ve helped build water wells in Uganda, donated school supplies to local schools in Louisiana and purchased car seats for a hospital to help newborns get home safely with their mothers, among other things.

McGregor has obviously been paying attention to Poirier’s efforts, and it appears he’s ready to book a rematch with the former interim champion for charity.

“Excellent! We shall take it offline and progress the process from here. Good man Dustin!” McGregor wrote. “I respect your philanthropic efforts greatly, as well as how you conducted yourself post our first fight. You have my respect!”

Obviously, McGregor and Poirier both seem interested in the potential fight, but the biggest hurdle that exists preventing this clash for charity would be the UFC.

Both fighters are under contract to the promotion, which prevents them from competing outside the UFC without explicit permission given by the organization. The UFC has signed off with fighters competing in grappling tournaments or even wrestling matches in the past, but it’s tough to know if the promotion would be as willing to allow McGregor and Poirier to face off in an MMA bout – even if it was an exhibition for charity.

Earlier this month, McGregor leaked a series of DMs with White to show his willingness to fight The Ultimate Fighter 1 winner Diego Sanchez, who before a loss to Jake Matthews at UFC 253 said he wanted to fight the ex-champ before retirement. White was none too happy about having his business aired publicly, complaining the ex-champ broke “man code” and did “one of the dirtiest things you can do” in taking his case public.