Dustin Poirier laments missing out on a mega-fight against Nate Diaz after his departure from the UFC
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Dustin Poirier (L), Nate Diaz (R)
Dustin Poirier is one of the most recognizable names in the world of MMA right now. Despite having a topsy-turvy couple of years, he looks back to do his business in the octagon come Saturday night.
Going into the title fight with Charles Oliveira in December last year, everyone expected Dustin Poirier to cruise to a win, and become the undisputed lightweight champion of the world – an accolade that had evaded him for a long time. However, it was not his night, as he got choked out by Oliveira in the third round.
After a few months of radio silence after his defeat, Poirier very publicly called for a long anticipated fight with cult icon Nate Diaz. However, that did not materialize – Diaz was scheduled to fight Khamzat Chimaev but ended up taking on Tony Ferguson at UFC 279. In what would have been a mega-fight, Poirier certainly missed out, as Nate Diaz has now left the promotion.
Speaking about the missed opportunity at his media-scrum yesterday, he said, “I’ve always wanted to fight Nate. You know, we tried to make it happen a few times, it always fell apart. It sucks that he’s gone – now, I won’t get that chance to fight him. It is what it is. The sport moves on.”
Despite missing out on one, could Dustin Poirier line up other potential mega-fights in the next couple of years?
Dustin Poirier will be 34 in January. Hence, the clock is ticking against his favour – he has arguably peaked, but when he falls out of his prime is yet to be seen.
Missing out on a fight against Nate Diaz in their prime is a big bummer for any fighter. Without having any serious title implications, the fight would most likely have been contested at welterweight – although Dustin Poirier fights at lightweight, his more natural weight is around 170 pounds. All of these factors would have made the fight a fun one for both athletes.
That being said, Poirier still has a couple of options when it comes to big fights. First off, Justin Gaethje expressed the desire to take on the winner of the Poirier-Chandler. If Poirier does win that fight, a rematch with another complete brawler in Gaethje would be an exciting match-up. Secondly, if Dustin Poirier does dispatch of Michael Chandler, and wins another fight – he could be given another title shot against Islam Makhachev (or whoever sits atop the lightweight throne then).
Conor McGregor is sitting on the sidelines, waiting for his injury to heal. With the way in which their last fight ended, McGregor has been on the lookout for a satisfactory end to their heated rivalry. The Irishman had sat with a broken leg on the canvas, and said to Poirier, “This is not over!”
Therefore, Dustin Poirier still has good options for potential fights in the future – however, the magnitude of the PPVs depends on the result of his fight against Michael Chandler, come Saturday night.
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Udayan Mukherjee
(382 Articles Published)