Dustin Poirier apologizes for ‘misunderstanding,’ declares fight with Benoit Saint Denis back on for UFC 299

Dustin Poirier will fight Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 299 after all.

Just hours after announcing the matchup in March was no longer happening, the former interim lightweight champion suddenly corrected course. Poirier initially explained “we couldn’t come to terms” with the UFC on a contract, but he later dropped another message confirming the fight with Saint Denis is now official — and the whole ordeal was nothing more than a misunderstanding.

“Sorry folks, I jumped the gun,” Poirier wrote. “I couldn’t get a hold of my manager for a few days. I just spoke with him and Hunter [Campbell]. Misunderstanding on my part. Fight is on! See you March 9th Miami!”

Additional people with knowledge of the situation confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Thursday, and Poirier is now expected to meet Saint Denis in the co-main event of UFC 299.

It was a wild ride in a very short amount of time after Poirier initially said his fight was off. The UFC often makes fight announcements without bout agreements being issued or signed, but this was one instance where an apparent disconnect came back to bite them. The same situation unfolded on Wednesday when UFC Atlantic City lost its main event after Sean Brady revealed he never officially signed to fight Vicente Luque due to a lingering injury that will prevent him from fighting in March.

Poirier’s initial statement that he didn’t come to terms with the promotion for the fight indicates he never signed a contract to clash with Saint Denis at UFC 299. Whether it was a misunderstanding or a quick fix on the terms that he was seeking, the deal got done in record time.

Now, Poirier will face Saint Denis in the co-main event at UFC 299, which goes down on March 9 in Miami. The event is headlined by a bantamweight title rematch between Sean O’Malley and Chito Vera.