Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier official for UFC 178

After Conor McGregor (15-2) dispatched Diego Brandao in the UFC Fight Night Dublin main event, the Irishman moved into the top 10 of the featherweight rankings -- well, technically 11th if you count the champion Jose Aldo -- and fans were left wondering what was next for the outspoken and highly entertaining prospect. It took only 3 days for us to find out the answer, as McGregor will face Dustin Poirier at UFC 178 in what has the potential to be a classic.

BREAKING NEWS!! @DustinPoirier vs. @TheNotoriousMMA official for #UFC178 - Wow! pic.twitter.com/MhHBtCKKIr

— UFC United Kingdom (@UFC_UK) July 22, 2014

Poirier (16-3) has won his last 3 fights, including overcoming a slow start against Akira Corassani to score a 2nd round TKO. The 25-year-old has been one of the most entertaining and successful fighters at 145 lbs, winning 8 of his 10 fights. Poirier's only defeats at 145 lbs came to Chan Sung Jung and Cub Swanson, with the latter coming on short notice. Prior to today's fight announcement, Poirier said he wanted to "whip McGregor's ass for talking so much". Now he gets the chance to do exactly that.

McGregor and Poirier share two common opponents - Diego Brandao and Max Holloway. Both men stopped Brandao in the 1st round while Poirier submitted Holloway (who was making his UFC debut) and McGregor won a decision.

UFC 178 is in Las Vegas on September 27th, with Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson squaring off once again for Jones' light heavyweight belt. Other fights on the card include Tim Kennedy/Yoel Romero, Cat Zingano/Amanda Nunes, and Dominick Cruz/Takeya Mizugaki.