Conor McGregor took to Twitter to accept a bout with Dustin Poirier at the UFC’s proposed date of January 23, 2021. But, he insists that the fight take place at the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.
I accept, Jan 23rd is on!
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. #McGregorSportsandEntertainment— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 14, 2020
The biggest star in mixed martial arts has verbally accepted the date given by the UFC for a rematch with top lightweight contender Dustin Poirier, but he has added a single caveat. Conor McGregor took to Twitter to state that he would accept the date given by the promotion, but insists that it take place at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas with fans in attendance.
Originally, the UFC offered McGregor a date in 2021 but the former two-division champion reportedly pushed for a date in 2020 on either November 21 or December 12. Notably, both of those cards were scheduled for multiple title fights already. UFC President Dana White spoke with several media members on Wednesday to state that the company had a previously set schedule that could not accommodate McGregor in 2020 and that it was on “The Notorious” to either accept the January 23 bout or not.
McGregor took to Twitter to say he would be open to the bout in January but put the caveat that it be held at the home stadium of the Dallas Cowboys. McGregor went on to say that he had a great relationship with Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones and added the note that the venue was perfect to accommodate the number of fans he would bring in. McGregor was notably in attendance at a Cowboy’s game following his record setting bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018.
.@TheNotoriousMMA mixing it up before today’s game. #JAXvsDAL pic.twitter.com/2otbkyY5Cq
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) October 14, 2018
Recently, the state of Texas began accepting applications for combat sports events to be held with new protocols in place to combat the spread of COVID-19. One of the rules stated was that venues can only fill to 50% capacity as of October. As of this writing, seats are being made available at AT&T Stadium for Cowboys games at a limited capacity and with social distancing measures in place. UFC President Dana White has said in the past that the UFC does not plan on holding events in front of a live audience until venues are allowed to be filled to capacity and that they would not be exploring options of half-capacity venues. Since May, the UFC has only held events at either the UFC Apex in Las Vegas or the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi without fans.
McGregor previously fought Poirier in 2014 where McGregor won the bout via first round knockout en route to becoming featherweight champion and pay-per-view megastar in 2017. Poirier would move up to the lightweight division and would claim interim championship gold in 2019. McGregor last fought in January where he defeated Donald Cerrone by first round knockout and Poirier last fought in June where he bested Dan Hooker in a Fight of the Year candidate.
