Conor McGregor Says He'll Fight Dustin Poirier in UFC Bout on Jan. 23

Conor McGregor is returning to UFC. After announcing his retirement this past summer, the former UFC champion said he is set to return to the octagon and will face Dustin Poirier on Jan. 23. The location of the fight has not been determined, but McGregor wants the bout to happen at the home of the Dallas Cowboys.

"I accept, Jan 23rd is on!" McGregor wrote on Twitter. "My goal is to see this fight take place in Cowboy stadium. Proper Style! Jerry Jones is a friend and the stadium can hold our crowd. I will be ready for Texas and Texas will be ready for my fans! Then Manny [Pacquiao]." Poirier is known for being one of the better boxers in MMA. McGregor has a 0-1 professional boxing record, and the loss came against Floyd Mayweather in 2017. When Poirier, who won the interim UFC Lightweight Championship in April 2019, saw the tweet from McGregor. He just had one question.

"Close to home for me on my birthday weekend! What weight?" Poirier asked. Currently, McGregor has only verbally agreed to the fight and no bout agreement has been made, according to ESPN. If the fight does happen, it would be the first time McGregor has been in action since defeating Donald Cerrone this past January. In June, the 32-year old MMA star announced his retirement for the third time.

"Hey guys I've decided to retire from fighting. Thank you all for the amazing memories! What a ride it's been!" McGregor wrote on Twitter at the time. Before the bout against Cerrone, McGregor was looking to fight three times in 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic as well as failed negotiations have prevented that happening.

Poirier, 31, is coming off a win over Dan Hooker back in June. Before that, Poirier lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov last September for the UFC Lightweight title. His last loss before Nurmagomedov was in 2016 when he fell to Michael Johnson via knockout. In his MMA career, Poirier has won 26 fights with six losses.

McGregor is a future UFC Hall of Famer, becoming the first fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two different weight divisions. McGregor won the Featherweight Championship in 2015 and the Lightweight Championship in 2016. Back in 2014, McGregor took on Poirier and won via TKO.