Dustin Poirier Makes Case For Conor McGregor Fight To Be For The Title
Dustin Poirier wants his main event with Conor McGregor at UFC 257 to be for the lightweight championship.
Poirier and McGregor have fought before at UFC 178, with the latter winning via first round TKO. The January rematch between the two is already a highly anticipated one, but the stakes could be raised further if there is a belt on the line.
The reigning UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov bowed out of MMA in October at UFC 254, after beating Justin Gaethje with a second round submission. Despite the fact that UFC president Dana White has said he’s confident that he will return for one more fight, ‘The Eagle’ has remained firm on his decision ever since.
UFC 257 Fight For The Title
Speaking to BT Sport (as transcribed by BJPenn.com), Poirier said that he believes his UFC 242 opponent is a man of his word, and if he is well and truly done with the sport, there is no reason why his fight with McGregor shouldn’t be for the lightweight title.
“I feel like Khabib’s a guy of his word,” Poirier said. “If he says he’s retired, he’s most likely retired. I feel like me and Conor could potentially be for the belt, you know? He’s a former champion.
“I’m a former interim champ looking to get some gold back around my waist. Conor’s a former undisputed world champion in the lightweight division. Both of our last defeats were to the current, retired champion. So I don’t know, but there’s a storyline you can draw with a lot of these fights. But I try not to pay too much attention to it because on January 23rd I’m fighting one of the best guys in the world.”
As of now, Khabib is still officially the UFC lightweight champion. But things might take a different turn after Dana meets the Russian next month in Abu Dhabi.
Charles Oliveira And Michael Chandler
Charles Oliveira recently moved into the top five in the lightweight rankings with a dominant win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 256. While promotional newcomer Michael Chandler is expected to make his debut against Dan Hooker at UFC 257. With the influx of new faces to the lightweight top tier, Poirier believes that the division is getting even more interesting now.
“Lightweight is getting more interesting now with Charles Oliviera looking incredible,” Poirier said. “He’s a long-time vet, he’s got a lot to prove. He’s paid his dues and it’s paying off.
“I became happy for Michael Chandler. Good for him to finally get an opportunity to maybe make the money he’s looking to make and fight what everyone thinks are the best guys in the world, cause he was doing great before. He was beating tough guys. He’s a good fighter. But here’s an opportunity to finish his career in the biggest organisation in the world and prove his worth to the people who say Bellator is the B-leagues or whatever they say. I was just happy for him. Good for him, because it seems like he’s doing it right.”
Do you agree with Dustin Poirier that his fight against Conor McGregor should be for the UFC lightweight title?
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