
Former UFC Interim Lightweight Champion Dustin Poirier has immersed himself in his retirement, serving as an analyst for the promotion during some of the year's biggest fights.
Although retirement has been a challenge for Poirier, as he admitted late last year, he has found himself getting more comfortable opening up on camera and showcasing his raw, direct thoughts on the state of the sport, including his old rival, former two-division champion Conor McGregor.
Speaking on the Deep Waters podcast alongside Din Thomas, Chris Weidman, and Jorge Masvidal, Poirier poked fun at his nemesis when the group broke down who McGregor's return should be against.
"I'm gonna go 60 [percent] he does come back," Poirier said. "Forty [percent] he doesn't."
Poirier suggested the one thing that's keeping McGregor away from the Octagon, stripping away the discussion of contracts, opponents, and other fighting factors.
"I think, for sure, he's a fighter," Poirier said of McGregor. "He's a fighter. He's a real fighter. He loves fighting, but he's addicted to the limelight. I think that's what he wants. He wants his name on the top of a [UFC] card. He wants people talking about him. That's what I think."
Upon Weidman speaking about his leg injury, Poirier piped in and said he "hopes the worst" for McGregor, only to retract his statement in a joking manner.
But after the way McGregor spoke toward Poirier's family following their UFC 264 trilogy fight, there is still reason to arguably suggest the animosity is still there nearly five years later.
Masvidal was the only panelist who has doubts of a McGregor comeback fight, dubbing it a 50-50 percentage split.
The panel then argued whether McGregor deserves a title shot after a win in his potential return fight, and the decision was extremely mixed. All four agreed, though, that a fight against Michael Chandler is all but dead.
McGregor, 37, is still searching for his first win since a UFC 246 TKO against Donald Cerrone in Jan. 2020, as he would re-enter MMA off back-to-back Poirier losses. McGregor has not won a title fight since securing the lightweight strap in Nov. 2016 at UFC 205 against Eddie Alvarez. He would eventually return to the UFC in Oct. 2018, losing to then-UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in Las Vegas at UFC 229.
Should McGregor return, the question still remains: what version of him plans to show up? Either way, the MMA community will find out (or not) sooner than later.
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