Conor McGregor has confirmed that rematching Dustin Poirier is to help him prepare for a boxing match with Manny Pacquiao.

McGregor has hinted at a fight with Pacquiao for quite some time, yet recently he has agreed to rematch Poirier. “The Diamond” claimed the Irishman only wanted the fight to help him prepare for his return to boxing against a southpaw in Pacquiao.

“Going back to why I think he wants this fight, it’s because he’s angling to fight Pacquiao. That was in the news. So I don’t know if the UFC wants him to fight one more time before they allow him to fight Pacquiao or if he just wants to get one more this year before starting next year with the Pacquiao fight, but what better way to do it against another southpaw? I think that might be his mindset,” Poirier said Teddy Atlas’ podcast. “He wants to fight another southpaw before he fights another southpaw. I don’t know what’s going on, but I think that’s what the alignment is.”

Now, Conor McGregor took to social media to confirm that is indeed the case.

“Correct. Southpaw box style. Continue to sharpen my MMA skills with some tough competition, while leading into my Manny bout preparation. It’s not easy going between both sports and then coming back to the one sport again. Just want to keep sharp guys, that’s all. It’s only fair,” McGregor wrote.

Conor McGregor has not fought since he defeated Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 in just 40 seconds. Since then, he made it clear he wanted to remain active but that has not been the case and even retired once again. However, it appears he is ready to return as long as the rematch with Poirier can happen in 2020 so he can box Pacquiao in 2021.

What do you make of Conor McGregor saying the Dustin Poirier rematch is to help prepare for Manny Pacquiao?