UFC News: McGregor Admits Pacquiao Fight Altered Approach To Poirier

UFC star Conor McGregor knows that he needs to pick up the pieces in the mixed martial arts scene before venturing into new territory.

His fight with Dustin Poirier was supposed to be a primer for an even bigger fight, the one against Manny Pacquiao.

Unfortunately, the Irishman admits that he may have underestimated Poirier with the Pacquiao boxing match in his mind. He paid dearly for doing so with “The Diamond” dealing him a loss at UFC 257.

"It’s what I get for picking this bout and opponent as a precursor to a boxing match against [Manny Pacquiao]," McGregor said via TMZ.

It was a heavy price to pay with McGregor forced to swallow a bitter pill. He needs to get things in order first before jumping back to a sport where he competed only once.

This is regarding the 2017 bout he had with Floyd Mayweather Jr., an encounter that he lost but fared well.

A rubber match with Poirier is hardly feasible but the plausible way to go. McGregor admits that a trilogy was meant to be, and this is what he needs to do next.

"Not a trilogy I was expecting, nor the tactical affair I was anticipating, but I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t meant to be," he stated. "This is exactly how this was always meant to be."

Poirier is open to a third fight and ready to have that grudge match. Hence, other fighters who want a piece of either fighter will have to wait. That includes Nate Diaz who came out of nowhere to announce he wanted to face both men inside the Octagon.

According to ESPN’s Ariel Herwani, that third fight to break the 1-1 deadlock could happen in May.

Unless UFC president Dana White has a better fight to book, McGregor and Poirier are facing each other again in a couple of months.

From there, the path of both fighters will be in different directions. Diaz could get his shot, potentially even Khabib Nurmagomedov.

For now, it is all about figuring out who is at the top of the UFC lightweight division.