Dustin Poirier recalls wanting "to kill" Conor McGregor, opens up about UFC megastar's psychological warfare
Dustin Poirier has shed light on the extent to which Conor McGregor's mental warfare affected him, acknowledging his longtime UFC rival's psychological prowess.
Dustin Poirier has shed light on how UFC megastar Conor McGregor's fearsome psychological warfare adversely affected him going into their first fight in 2014. McGregor won that featherweight bout via first-round TKO, which was after a lengthy buildup of verbal back-and-forth in the days leading up to the fight.
In their rematch, Poirier vowed to be unfazed by "The Notorious" one's mind games. He ended up beating McGregor via second-round TKO in the lightweight bout in January 2021. He then beat the Irishman via first-round TKO in their third encounter, again at lightweight, in July 2021.
Dustin Poirier recalls how Conor McGregor's mind games worked against him
The official "@UFConParamount" handle on X has put forth a video of former UFC fighters Dustin Poirier and Din Thomas discussing the former's legendary feud against Conor McGregor.
In response to Thomas asking whether McGregor was "the worst guy" he had to deal with, Poirier stated, "Hundred percent. In front of the cameras, at press conferences, that's one thing. But behind the cameras, Conor was good too because, like, we would pass each other in the hall. And he would say something, like, 'Why'd you leave your coach from Louisiana? Why'd you go to Florida?'"
Poirier continued, "'You gave up on your people?' Like, stuff like that." He recounted that after such interactions with the Irishman, he'd genuinely end up questioning his decisions, including his decision to leave Louisiana. The American fighter suggested that he left Louisiana and moved to Florida to become a better MMA fighter, reiterating how McGregor instilled self-doubt in him ahead of their first clash in the UFC.
"The Diamond" noted that he started questioning himself and that McGregor's mind games were working. The Louisianian explained that "Mystic Mac" was making him think about what he said even well after their interaction was done, and as such, the trash talk enabled him to get under his skin.
Dustin Poirier wanted to "kill" Conor McGregor heading into their first UFC encounter
Furthermore, Dustin Poirier underlined that there's an art to the mental warfare and the trash talk, adding that Conor McGregor is good at the same. Din Thomas weighed in, asking whether Poirier was thinking about any of the aforementioned things on fight night and if there was any pressure going into his first encounter against McGregor.
Well, the ex-interim UFC lightweight champion replied by acknowledging that he was under pressure and wanted to hurt McGregor heading into their 2014 fight. He said, "It messed with me. Yeah. I wanted to kill the guy."
Check out Poirier's comments below:
Dustin Poirier explains how good Conor McGregor's trash talk was before their first fight š
ā UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) May 21, 2026
"It messed with me. I wanted to kill the guy." pic.twitter.com/1asadjvMDu
Poirier retired from the sport of MMA after his loss in a trilogy fight against Max Holloway in their BMF title fight at lightweight, which transpired in July 2025. He'd previously bested Holloway twice -- first via submission at featherweight in 2012, and later via unanimous decision at lightweight to win the interim UFC lightweight title in 2019.
Incidentally, McGregor's most recent MMA bout was a first-round TKO loss against Poirier in their trilogy fight in July 2021. Also, McGregor previously defeated Holloway via unanimous decision at featherweight back in 2013, and he's currently booked to make his long-awaited return against the Hawaiian star. The McGregor-Holloway rematch is scheduled to transpire at welterweight and will headline UFC 329 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A., on July 11, 2026.
