The feelgood subplot of UFC 257, when Conor McGregor publicly pledged $500,000 to Dustin Poirier's charity, has backfired after the American accused his victim of "ghosting" him for months over the promised donation.
Poirier didn't rise to McGregor's bold statement at the weekend, when he predicted he would win their trilogy fight this summer in the fourth round via a front kick to the nose, adding that his rival's "nose needs straightening".
'The Diamond' didn't waste an opportunity to question his opponent's character, though.
"That's a fun prediction," retorted Poirier, who runs The Good Fight Group to support underserved communities and the needy.
"'The Notorious', you also predicted a donation to my foundation and you and your team stopped responding after the fight in January. See you soon. July 10th, paid in full."
When one punter accused him of merely trying to promote their main event at UFC 264 and pointed out that Poirier's team appeared to have previously thanked McGregor for his donation, the New Orleans native clarified his comments.
"We thanked him because his team reached out during fight week to initiate the process but ghosted us the past two months after the fight," Poirier wrote.
"My foundation has reached out three times since with no reply. We've moved past it. We will be announcing our next goal soon. It's a big one."
A few hours later, McGregor finally showed up to defend himself.
"A donation, not a debt," the 32-year-old began.
"We’ve been awaiting the plans for the money that never came. I do [that] with all my donations. [To] know where it’s going dot for dot. Otherwise it goes walking, as is the case with a lot of these foundations, sadly."
McGregor then confusingly linked the saga to Poirier's agreement over the rematch, saying: "You took the McG over the belt – shows I was right."
A former opponent of the pair, retired lightweight great Khabib Nurmagomedov, chipped in to take a potshot at McGregor amid the furore.
Alongside a laughing smiley and an open hand, the 29-0 legend posted a video of a group of men where one of them says: "Did I give you all a word? I'm taking it back".
"How badass would it be if Khabib just decided to send Dustin the money Conor promised?" pondered one journalist in reply.
A fan called McGregor "low as f**k" for not backing up his pledges, while another called the situation "hugely disappointing".
"Mate, you promised money to charity," they added. "They had plans with that money that had to be canceled once you didn't deliver.
"You said you'd give the money to a reputable source and didn't. This is terrible."
Nodding to the demolition job Poirier did on McGregor in January, another asked: "So you’re going back on your word since you got knocked the f*ck out?"
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