Report: UFC willing to replace Dustin Poirier and make Gaethje vs McGregor on January 23

Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor may not be happening on January 23 after all.

After Poirier and McGregor agreed to a charity sparring match, the UFC came in and offered them to fight on January 23 which the Irishman accepted. Poirier, meanwhile, told the UFC to stop playing games and send him the contract.

Now, as the fight is still not official, the UFC is reportedly willing to replace Poirier with Justin Gaethje.

“He’s the reason the Tony Ferguson-Poirier fight didn’t happen on Oct. 24, and he might be the reason the McGregor-Poirier fight doesn’t happen on Jan. 23,” Ariel Helwani of ESPN reports. “That’s not to say he’s doing anything wrong, per se, rather, he’s just trying to get a deal that he’s comfortable with and the two sides are still apart. That’s the fight biz.

“The UFC has said it would be willing to replace Poirier with Gaethje (or even another fighter), sources say. Of course, for this to happen, McGregor would have to be on board, and I’m not sure if he is, to be honest. That’s because Gaethje is coming off a loss and because of things Gaethje has said about McGregor (specifically about McGregor as a father) in the past.”

No matter who Conor McGregor fights, whether it is the rematch against Poirier or taking on Gaethje it will be a massive fight. So, it could all come down to money and what Poirier and Gaethje would accept to take the fight.

Regardless, it appears McGregor is fully ready to fight on January 23 whether it is Poirier or Gaethje standing across from him. The Irishman has not fought since UFC 246 when he TKO’d Donald Cerrone. Poirier, meanwhile, beat Dan Hooker in June while Gaethje is coming off a submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Would you rather see Dustin Poirier or Justin Gaethje fight Conor McGregor?