Poirier Wants To Earn Title Shot, Not Slide Into It

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Dustin Poirier made a strong case for another shot at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight title last Sat. Night (June 27, 2020) by outclassing Dan Hooker in a “Fight of the Year” contender at UFC on ESPN 12.

Relive the instant classic here.

With Conor McGregor “retired” and Tony Ferguson coming off a loss to Justin Gaethje, there is a very big possibility that “The Diamond” could very well face the winner of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Justin Gaethje, which will go down later this year.

One thing Poirier doesn’t want is a short notice title fight, saying that when his number is called he wants to have earned the championship bout, and not just because UFC needed a backup. And if that means winning another fight against another dangerous foe, then so be it.

“I’m interested in all of those fights. I want to fight all those guys. It just has to be the right time and the right scenario, and we’ll make it happen,” said Poirier during a recent chat with MMA Junkie.

“But my goal before I’m done fighting is to be the undisputed world champion. So (I’ll do) whatever I need to do to make that happen. If that’s sit out and wait for this fight – nobody’s told me I’m next, so I’m not sure exactly what the UFC’s plan is. But if it’s not a title fight, it’s gotta be a big one.”

And while most would be glad to jump in for a short-notice title fight (just ask Michael Bisping), Poirier would prefer to have a full camp under his belt knowing he could could either face Nurmagomedov again, or a have to go toe-to-toe once more against Gaethje, who could come in hungry for revenge and even more dangerous with a title to defend.

“It’s a tough one. I don’t want to slide in. I want to be picked because of what I’ve done. I want to have a proper training camp. I don’t want to slide in when somebody stubs their toe. I want to earn it, so we’ll see what’s next. I don’t want to look too far. I’ll wait on the UFC to call me.”

Poirier knocked out Gaethje in 2018, but came up short to “The Eagle” in thier title unification fight nine months ago at UFC 242, so either if those rematches would be of interest for Poirier for different reasons.

Now, about that million-dollar payday…