Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier are amping up their 3-fight rivalry ahead of the final bout in their trilogy

• Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier are amping up their war of words.
• The MMA fighters headline UFC 264 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 10.
• McGregor said three fights against him for "any man is an early grave."

Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier have amped up their three-fight rivalry ahead of the final bout in their trilogy July 10 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The MMA fighters have exchanged stoppage wins in their two matches so far, with Poirier earning the most recent victory earlier this year on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.

The winner next Saturday will not only have bragging rights, but likely be thrust into a UFC lightweight title shot later in the year. As such, the stakes will be high when they're back in the Octagon together.

And little more than a week away from fight night, the former two-weight UFC champion McGregor and the American fighter Poirier are fanning the flames of their animosity toward one another.

It all started when McGregor appeared to want to instigate a striking fight, saying that whoever attempted a takedown first, would be "a dusty b----."

Replying to the ESPN reporter Brett Okomato this week, Poirier said: "How about the first one to get taken down is a dusty b----? This is mixed martial arts. Put it all together. It reeks of insecurity to me."

On Friday, McGregor said on Twitter: "Three fights against me for any man is an early grave," suggesting that he'll shorten Poirier's life when they fight mid-month.

McGregor and Poirier headline UFC 264. It is an event that will take place in front of a full capacity crowd - the first time the UFC will fill an arena since March 2020.

Other MMA matches on the 13-bout card include a welterweight bout between Gilbert Burns and Stephen Thompson, a heavyweight clash involving Tai Tuivasa and Greg Hardy, and a women's bantamweight bout between Irene Aldana and Yana Kunitskaya.