UFC: Dustin Poirier Would Choose Khabib Rematch Over Conor McGregor
As one of the A-listers of MMA, Dustin Poirier means business. His career has seen him earn several accolades, not to mention he currently ranks number two in the official UFC lightweight rankings.
Poirier recently looked back on his loss to Conor McGregor at UFC 178 in 2014. The match concluded with ‘The Diamond’ losing via a TKO in the first round. Since then, the 31 year old has only lost twice more. To Michael Johnson and more recently, to the lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, at UFC 242.
Speaking to MMA Junkie, Poirier revealed that he would rather face off Khabib in a rematch as opposed to McGregor.
“If the belts weren’t on the line, just for my legacy, I would love to beat Khabib. Nobody’s ever beat him. Nobody’s ever climbed that mountain. I would love to be the first one. That’s historic. That’s legendary. That’s the stuff I’m out to do. I’m not out for rematches and grudge matches and revenge. I’m a grown man, I don’t hold that stuff in my heart. I have a family and this is a business to me.
“When I was younger, I might have wanted to fight Conor or fight anybody who beat me. But I’m just comfortable with everything. I’m comfortable with my record, with the stuff that I’ve done, the fights I’ve done. The fights that I’ve lost, I learned my lessons and tried to keep moving forward. So I’d really like to be the first one to beat Khabib.”
Poirier bounced back from his loss to Khabib, and the surgery on his hip that followed, with an impressive performance against Dan Hooker at UFC Vegas 4. ‘The Diamond’ won the main event via unanimous decision, in what many fans are already calling the ‘fight of the year’.
On hearing Poirier’s comments, McGregor tweeted the following response, before deleting the tweet.
“Ministry of the bleedin obvious. Getting concussed, slept, and fed to the canvas is infinite times worse than being held and caught in a submission hold.”
Conor McGregor has recently announced his retirement from the sport (again). While Khabib was expected to face Justin Gaethje at UFC 253 in September. But with the sad passing of his father Abdulmanap last week, the UFC lightweight unification bout is likely to be put back.
Would you like to see Dustin Poirier run it back with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor?
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