Conor McGregor: Dustin Poirier Will 'Pay' for Trash Talk Before UFC Trilogy Fight

Conor McGregor isn't too thrilled about Dustin Poirier's comments ahead of their trilogy fight at UFC 264 next Saturday in Las Vegas. 

Following Poirier's technical knockout of McGregor (punches) in their first rematch last January, Poirier said the former two-division champion "reeks of insecurity" for telling the Louisiana native to try defeating him without aiming for takedowns. McGregor was having none of that, telling an Instagram Live Q&A those words will come back to haunt Poirier on July 10.

“He talks some amount lately,” McGregor said (h/t MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn). “He’s going to pay for that, that’s for sure. That’s not going to be nice.”

Poirier used numerous leg kicks last January to noticeably hobble the 32-year-old McGregor, setting up a knockout along the fencing in the second round. That preceded an interview with ESPN's Brett Okamoto in which Poirier made his thoughts on McGregor's tactics stunningly clear:

“Isn’t he the one whose always preaching about the flow, the full martial arts, no holds barred, no rules, the ultimate fighting, when he’s talking about boxing and stuff, right?” Poirier said. “How about the first one to get taken down is a dusty b---h? This is mixed martial arts. Put it all together. It reeks of insecurity to me.”

McGregor certainly needs a victory next week to get back on track. The one-time UFC showstopper is 3-3 in his last six fights, having lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Nate Diaz along with Poirier. The Irishman hasn't lost back-to-back bouts in his MMA career. 

He doesn't plan on starting now. 

“I’ve been busy putting in the work," McGregor said. "Full focus, fully immersed in mixed martial arts. It’s been nothing but mixed martial arts, so I’m ready to put on a show.”