Conor McGregor was desperate for a trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier after his loss at UFC 257, with new footage showing his efforts to make the bout within days.
The Irishman was knocked out in the second round of his Abu Dhabi rematch with Poirier in January 2021, and wanted to be back in the octagon with his rival as soon as the May. He initially demanded the trilogy be made with the lightweight title on the line after Khabib Nurmagomedov had vacated the belt, but didn't get his wish - instead getting a July non-title bout.
And in his new documentary McGregor Forever on Netflix, McGregor can be seen pushing for the trilogy, along with then-agent Tim Simpson and his long-time manager Audie Attar. Simpson, who has since started his own agency and is no longer working with McGregor, had demanded a May or June trilogy, while the Irishman simply sent four words to promoter Dana White.
"Dustin, rematch for the belt, May or June?" Simpson asked White, which he insisted to McGregor was a sentiment echoed privately by Attar who isn't visible during the scene. The Irishman then insisted that he get a "rematch for the strap," although it remains to be seen how White replied.
The belt was instead put on the line between Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler, the latter of whom lost that title fight but has since earned a big-money bout with McGregor that is scheduled for later this year. And while the Irishman got his rematch, the bout was not for a title and simply headlined UFC 264 that July.
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"Conor is someone that takes his losses on the chin but comes right back with a vengeance," Attar explained in the documentary. "He shows that he's grown from that experience. When he's faced with adversity he goes back into that experience instead of away from it, so he told me 'I don't want anything else but that rematch'."
Unfortunately, the trilogy ended in disaster for the legendary fighter at the T-Mobile Arena. He initially put in a strong first-round showing, but broke his leg with just seconds of the session remanining, and has yet to return from the injury.
McGregor will make his comeback at the end of this year against Chandler, whose last loss was also against Poirier, after competing against each other as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter. It is expected that after the Irishman makes his return to the USADA drug testing pool in the coming days, he will officially announce a December date in Las Vegas for the bout during an episode of the show.
