They call Dustin Poirier “The Diamond”, and he has shone brightly among the galaxy of stars in MMA. On the night of July 10, he steps inside the octagon for the third time against Conor McGregor with both men holding a previous victory over the other.

The concluding chapter to this trilogy as the headline act of UFC 264 is more than just a rubber match. Whether Poirier or McGregor prevails, the winner will be next in line for a shot at new Lightweight champ Charles Oliveira.

Both The Diamond and “The Notorious” congratulated the division’s new titleholder following a second-round stoppage of Michael Chandler in the main event of UFC 262 this past May. The Lightweight Championship had been vacant after previous belt holder Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from MMA.

Before Poirier, the current number one contender according to the UFC rankings, or McGregor can think about foiling Brazilian cage fighter Oliveira in his defense of the gold, they have their own business to conclude. This trilogy is almost seven years in the making.

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Poirier brought a pro-MMA record of 16-3 into his first encounter with McGregor on the undercard of UFC 178 back in the fall of 2014. That fight was at featherweight with the Irishman knocking him out in round one.

There have been other missteps in Poirier’s career too, perhaps showing he was still a diamond in the rough. A KO loss in the opener to Michael Johnson on a Fight Night in 2016, for example, while his first bout with Eddie Alvarez ended in controversy and a no contest at UFC 211 the next year.

Perhaps Poirier’s most impressive body of in-ring work came in the four fights that followed and it culminated in him becoming interim Lightweight champ. After submission success over Anthony Pettis, the Diamond stopped Justin Gaethje inside four rounds in what was for most MMA media outlets the combat sport’s Fight of the Year for 2018.

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Buoyed by critical acclaim, Poirier then settled old scores with Alvarez and Max Holloway. The former went down early in round two, while his long-time rival who the Diamond tapped out way back at UFC 143 saw their rematch go all the way to the judges’ scorecards. The decision went unanimously in favor of Poirier at UFC 236.

With one seven-year rivalry settled, thoughts turn to another. It is always heightened and wider public interest in fights that include Conor McGregor betting and Poirier is only just the underdog, according to the latest odds. Their previous meetings suggest it could go either way.

Both men have submitted to Khabib, but there’s no shame in being the best of the rest in this golden era of Lightweight fighters. Poirier got the TKO win over McGregor midway through round two in their long-awaited rematch at UFC 257 at the beginning of the year, so his victory may be more relevant than the Notorious winning their first encounter.

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