Dustin Poirier is excited to finish his trilogy with Conor McGregor at UFC 264 in July, but first things first, he had to address the very public spat over a donation that was supposed to be made to his charity.
Ahead of their rematch at UFC 257 back in January, McGregor had promised to donate $500,000 to Poirier’s Good Fight Foundation where the Louisiana native has taken on several initiatives over the past few years including digging water wells in Uganda to buying school supplies for children in his home state. A few days ago, Poirier then took to Twitter to call out McGregor for not following through on his donation after the fight.
McGregor and his manager Audie Attar then fired back while refuting claims that he wasn’t going to make the donation but rather asking for details about where the money was going to be spent. The situation got so ugly that McGregor began teasing that he was no longer going to face Poirier in the trilogy at UFC 264.
Cooler heads eventually prevailed with McGregor vs. Poirier 3 now officially signed for July 10 but the former interim lightweight champion was compelled to address his public accusations about the donation to his charity.
“I am very passionate about my charity as you all know,” Poirier wrote on Twitter. “I jumped the gun and took my private matters between Conor and my foundation public. My mistake, we live, we learn. Spreading positivity and doing good is my goal.
“I feel like I have brought a negative energy and personal opinions into something I am working so hard on that gives people a reason to cheer and smile. I will take this in stride and continue to fight the good fight! New goal coming soon and it is a big one. Thank you to all who is involved and all the supporters who believe in our vision.”
Poirier has made his charity a priority surrounding his fights for the past few years after he started by auctioning off fight worn gear to raise money, which then led to launching the Good Fight Foundation alongside his wife.
Past opponents such as Khabib Nurmagomedov and Max Holloway have also gone as far as donating their own fight worn apparel from fights with Poirier with the proceeds going to his foundation.
Judging by the comments Poirier made on Wednesday, he’s going to settle the charity situation with McGregor behind closed doors while both begin preparing for the trilogy fight in July.