Conor McGregor Claims Dustin Poirier Is 'Gonna Pay' For Being Vocal Recently

Mandatory Credit: @thenotoriousmma on Instagram

Back in January approaching their UFC 257 rematch, Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor, once featherweight rivals -- appeared incredibly cordial both in the run-up to and eventual fight week formalities. however, just five days out from their UFC 264 rubber match -- tension between the two is noticeably higher this time around. 

On Saturday, Poirier and McGregor meet for the third time in their career in the form of a lightweight rubber match trilogy bout to cap off UFC 264 -- and according to the latter, Poirier is "gonna pay" for being vocal within the media recently. 

Headlining UFC 257 in January on 'Fight Island' -- Poirier drew the score between the two at one win apiece since September 2014 -- via a massive second round knockout over the Dubliner. Implementing a smart counter striking approach as well as volleying a slew of calf kicks, Poirier finished McGregor at the fence with a barrage of strikes -- becoming the first in the process to finish McGregor with strikes in professional mixed martial arts.

In the time since, Poirier has claimed that McGregor could have all the money in the world but can't buy heart like he has, as well as claiming that a high-kick finish over the Crumlin native or submitting him would be a much more impressive method of scoring a finish this weekend.

"Kick him (Conor McGregor) in the head instead of the calf," Poirier replied when asked by Okamoto how he could lodge an even more impressive finish over McGregor. "Submit him, I mean, there's lot of ways to get him out of there -- drag him into deep waters and show him that I'm willing to bleed more than he is. That hurts. 

"Anybody can get caught," Poirier explained. "We both have been on the wrong side of that -- me and him, against each other. That's what makes this third fight everything it is. We both knocked each other out. Mine (knockout loss) was a long time ago, his was -- the karate stance or whatever he says, or he was boxing more, or his calf was kicked. Who gives a sh*t? We have a great story. And somebody's most likely getting finished again, let's see who it's gonna be."

During an Instagram live session over the weekend, McGregor replied to a user who suggested he should stop Poirier with a "Proper high kick" -- expressing how vocal the Lafayette native has been since his rematch success, and how he'll be made to eat his words; "He's (Dustin Poirier) talked some amount lately," McGregor said. "He's gonna pay for that, that's for sure."

Prior to UFC 257 at the beginning of the year, McGregor claimed that the first one to shoot for a takedown in their rematch would be branded a "Dusty bitch" -- to which Poirier claimed, "reeked of insecurity".

"He (Conor McGregor) just said something on 'the first one to shoot is a dusty bitch', that's what he said," Poirier explained. "Isn't he the one who's always preaching about the flow, the full martial arts, no holds barred, no rules, the ultimate fighting like when he's talking about boxing and stuff. How about the first one to get taken down is a dusty bitch. It reeks of insecurity to me."