Dana White confirmed that the UFC is looking for a backup fighter for the Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier trilogy fight.
McGregor and Poirier headline UFC 264, which takes place on July 10 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The two rivals have previously met twice, first in 2014 with McGregor knocking Poirier out at UFC 178, and then meeting again at UFC 257 earlier this year when Poirier returned the favor to McGregor with a knockout win of his own. This summer, the two rivals meet for the third and presumably the final time with everything on the line.
Speaking to Tom Taylor of Bleacher Report ahead of UFC 264, Dana White admitted that he is hoping to find a backup fighter just in case anything happens to McGregor or Poirier. The UFC has been doing this for some of the promotion’s biggest fights over the past few years, so it makes sense to have a contingency plan just in case something happens to the fighters. However, White says he hasn’t found anyone willing to step up just quite yet.
“I’m actually looking for someone right now to be the backup on that card. Nobody’s jumping out. Nobody’s kicking down my door,” Dana White said.
When asked if the winner of McGregor vs. Poirier 3 will be next in line to challenge new UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira, White admitted that he’s not sure what will happen.
“I don’t know. I gotta watch this fight and see how it plays out,” Dana White said.
It will be interesting to see how the fight plays out and who the UFC will get as the backup fighter. Some of the options include Beneil Dariush, who has won seven straight fights, and Justin Gaethje, the former interim champion who is looking to get back in the cage.