For Dustin Poirier, the fact that Conor McGregor has decided to donate to a Louisiana charity – even if it’s not directly to his own – is more than enough.
In what was an amicable lead-up to their UFC 257 rematch in January, McGregor promised to donate $500,000 to Poirier’s Good Fight Foundation. But three months after Poirier (27-6 MMA, 19-5 UFC) scored a second-round knockout of McGregor, his foundation had yet to receive any payment, and Poirier made sure to call him out on it.
The public callout resulted in a Twitter spat between the two, in which McGregor said he grew suspicious because he never received “plans for the money.” McGregor even threatened to cancel their UFC 264 trilogy bout on July 10 because of how Poirier called his character into question.
Poirier ended up regretting his decision, apologizing for taking personal matters public and attaching his foundation to his feud with McGregor (22-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC).
“My apology was more for me because I felt like I attached my foundation, something that me and wife worked so hard to get where it’s at, to something negative,” Poirier told ESPN. “I don’t want that cloud hanging above it, and I attached it to negativity because of a personal thing going on, and when I’m the president and the voice of the foundation, I can’t do those type of things. Hindsight is 20/20, so looking back on it, I’m like, damn.
“But that’s one of the things in my career and my life: When I make mistakes, I can own up to them and learn and try to be more mature and grow. That’s what life is about, and that’s what fighting is about, but looking back on it, I felt bad for attaching my charity to a negative energy like that, and I shouldn’t have done that. But I didn’t say anything untrue. I still stand by everything that happened.”
The plot twist in the drama is that McGregor has decided to still make a donation – just not to Poirier’s foundation. Instead, McGregor offered to donate directly to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Acadiana in Poirier’s hometown of Lafayette, an organization that Poirier’s Good Fight Foundation has worked with in the past.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Acadiana announced on Instagram that it received an “unexpected call last week” and was informed that McGregor “is donating $500,000” to the organization. It’s unclear if payment has been received.
“Boys & Girls Clubs of Acadiana received an unexpected call last week and are humbled to share that @thenotoriousmma is donating $500,000 to impact youth in South Louisiana by supporting our upcoming 2021 Summer Camp and ongoing health and recreation activities in our 6 Club sites. This investment is a gamechanger! Thank you, Conor, for helping to ensure that our kids have what they need to grow and thrive this summer!”
While some viewed McGregor’s decision to forgo a direct donation to Poirier’s foundation as a power move, Poirier said he’s just happy to see local kids benefit, which was his ultimate goal from the start.
“That’s so incredible, man, because at the end of the day, helping the community, helping people in need, was the mission and goal from the jump,” Poirier said. “From when I used to auction eBay stuff before I had the foundation, whenever we used to do small things in the community. It’s always been the goal, so at the end of the day, charity wins. It’s mission accomplished.
“I see a lot of people that want to attach negativity and say that that was a slap in the face, this and that stuff. When it comes to donation, Conor didn’t donate it to my charity, but it’s not my money. It’s the people’s money. I don’t know why people would think that or where they would get that from, but the charity wins at the end of the day, so it’s great. It wasn’t a slap in the face. It was a high five because the people in the community are gonna win.”
Dustin Poirier doesn’t view Conor McGregor choosing another charity as ‘a slap in the face’
