Conor McGregor has made a $500,000 donation to a charity in Dustin Poirier’s Louisiana home town – but not to his rivals’ own foundation after the two UFC stars bitterly fell out.
Poirier revealed publicly on Sunday night that McGregor had not yet followed through on his pledge to donate half a million dollars to The Good Fight Foundation and said he had stopped replying to emails about the money.
The Notorious One unleashed an astonishing rant on Monday, calling Poirier an ‘inbred hillbilly’ while vowing to make him ‘pay with his brain’ after being angered by the American’s comments.
Conor McGregor says his trilogy with Dustin Poirier is off after row over charity donation
McGregor’s manager Audie Attar (R) blasted Poirier’s ‘low move’ in going public over the Irishman’s failure to donate $500,000 to his charity
McGregor’s manager hit out at Poirier after he claimed they ignored emails from his charity
McGregor was so incensed by the situation that he is now refusing to fight Poirier in their July 10 decider, and hit back by arguing that he never sends funds unless there was detailed evidence of where the money would go.
However, it seems that McGregor has now made the substantial donation – but not quite to where Poirier was expecting.
Instead, the Irishman has given the half a million dollars (about £360,000) to the Boys & Girls Club of Acadiana, based in Lafayette, Louisiana.
While Poirier’s Foundation has worked with this charity in the past a representative of the fighter confirmed to TMZ that they weren’t involved in McGregor’s donation.
A spokesperson for the Boys & Girls Club told TMZ: ‘This investment is a gamechanger! Thank you, Conor, for helping to ensure that our kids have what they need to grow and thrive this summer!’
The money will be put towards their 2021 summer camp.
McGregor called Poirier an ‘inbred hillbilly’ and vowed to make him ‘pay with his brains’ in a furious rant on Twitter
The former two-weight world champion’s manager Audie Attar had weighed-in by blasting Poirier and accusing him of trying to squeeze more money out of the UFC.
‘Dustin! Why you frontin?’ Attar tweeted. ‘Did you forget the face to face meeting we just had in Utah with our families? Where we stood by you as you tried to get more $ from the UFC?
‘Conor is as generous as it gets. Don’t dismiss his business savvy. He always gets it done. This is a low move man.’
The American, who defeated McGregor by second-round knockout at UFC 257 earlier this year, responded: ‘His team hasn’t responded to our emails about anything involving my foundation after they reached out to us originally.
Poirier swiftly replied to McGregor’s tirade with a clip of him knocking the Irishman out
‘All good, Dinner and talk was great but don’t get on Twitter and be a tough guy lol.’
The row escalated on Monday when a furious McGregor announced their trilogy fight was now off.
He wrote on social media: ‘You’re ripped you inbred hillbilly. Why do you wink with your ears? You f*****g brain dead hillbilly. 500k with no plan in place. Ye hang tight. Fool.
‘You must be new to money. The fight is off btw. I’m going to fight someone else on the 10th. Good luck on your old contract kid.’
McGregor then went on to add: ‘My team does their due diligence to make sure every donation meets the mark. My generosity is known.
‘You will pay with your brain for this attempt at smearing my name. Shooting ass shelling ass b****. Little b***** kicks from a shell. Good luck when you’re caught. You’re f*****.’
McGregor’s third fight with Poirier was eagerly anticipated but is no longer on, he claims
‘The Diamond’ said McGregor stopped responding to the foundation after the fight in January
Poirier then said the ‘Good Fight Foundation’ reached out three times with no reply back
Poirier was firm on his stance as he again claimed McGregor’s camp failed to respond
Earlier in the day, Poirier responded to the Irishman claiming he will win the trilogy fight with a ‘front kick to the nose’ at UFC 264, by tweeting: ‘That’s a fun prediction! 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!’
Poirier added: ‘We thanked him because his team reached out fight week to initiate the process but ghosted us the past 2 months after the fight.
‘My foundation has reached out 3 times since with no reply. We’ve moved past it! We will be announcing our next goal soon! It’s a big one.’
In response to his rival’s claims, McGregor said: ‘A donation, not a debt. We’ve been awaiting the plans for the money that never came. I do with all my donations. Know where it’s going dot for dot. Otherwise it goes walking.
‘As is the case with a lot of these foundations, sadly. You took the McG over the belt shows I was right.’
McGregor suffered a shock defeat by Poirier in January in the main event of UFC 257
Poirier responded: ‘100 per cent never a debt. You offered, we accepted, and like I said your Team never responded to our emails regarding the process of where funds would be put to work! July 10th you will taste defeat yet Again.’
McGregor’s offer to give $500,000 to the Good Fight Foundation, which has built water wells for a Ugandan orphanage and school, a playground for special needs children, and, most recently, provided transportation and tutoring for struggling youth through The Boys & Girls Club of Acadiana, was one of the key reasons why Poirier had agreed to a trilogy fight.
The UFC star’s donation was reportedly set to go towards Poirier’s plan to build a gym in his hometown of Lafayette, where he would offer free training to youth in the area.