Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor confirm $500k donation to The Good Fight Foundation for UFC 257

ABU DHABI – Conor McGregor is following through on his word to donate half a million dollars to Dustin Poirier’s charity.

When the matchup between McGregor (22-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) and Poirier (26-6 MMA, 18-5 UFC) started to materialize in late 2020, “The Notorious” said he would put forth a hefty sum to The Good Fight Foundation, a charity run by Poirier and his wife, Jolie.

In November, Poirier told MMA Junkie he expected McGregor, who he rematches in Saturday’s UFC 257 headliner, to follow through on his word and help him move toward his goal of building a gym to help underprivileged youth train combat sports.

As fight night draws near, Poirier revealed at the UFC 257 pre-fight news conference on Thursday that McGregor’s side had contacted his team to move forward.

“I don’t want to make it seem like we’re up here giving each other back massages but Conor, I just want to clear the air: Conor’s team, McGregor Sport & Entertainment, did reach out to my foundation and they are starting the process toward that donation,” Poirier said. “So Conor, man-to-man, you’re going to help a lot of people with that.”

McGregor Sports & Entertainment CEO Alan Geraghty subsequently confirmed Poirier’s comments to MMA Junkie, and said he’d reached out to Poirier’s wife to start the process of transferring the funds, which will total $500,000 U.S. dollars.

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The donation will prove to be a significant benchmark for The Good Fight Foundation. In addition, Poirier has set another charity goal around UFC 257, which takes place at Etihad Arena on Yas Island and streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

The Good Fight Foundation is teaming up with The Boys & Girls Club of Acadiana to “help bridge the gap in academic success by providing transportation and tutoring” in what is called “Project Learn.”

In the past, charity goals around Poirier’s fights have included building water wells to repair a ruined water supply at an orphanage and school in Uganda, building a playground for special needs children, supplying backpacks for more than 500 schoolchildren, and more.

Poirier typically auctions off his fight-worn gear to raise money for his charity, as well.

In addition, Poirier’s upcoming opponent McGregor has publicly pledged to contribute $500,000 to his charity. Poirier told MMA Junkie in November that he intends on using that money to help build an MMA gym for struggling youth with membership fees covered in exchange for good conduct and dedication to school work.

Poirier’s efforts have not gone unnoticed in the MMA community. Prior to his most recent win over Dan Hooker at UFC on ESPN 12 in June, Poirier was honored with the inaugural “Forrest Griffin Community Award” to acknowledge his work.

Poirier explained prior to UFC 257 why being charitable is so meaningful to him.

“I believe it’s important for a man as he matures to recognize the situation and position he’s in that he put himself in,” Poirier said. “To each his own. I’m not saying everybody should do it, but if you have it in your heart that you can be in a position to be a voice for people who’s voice isn’t heard and be a representative of something better, it transcends fighting. We’re all fighting something. It means something to me personally. I’m not sure about anybody else.”

More information on Poirier’s charity, as well as a donation link, can be found at TheGoodFightGroup.com.