Covington: The Poirier Fight Needs To Happen Next

Colby Covington and his old friend turned mortal enemy, Jorge Masvidal, are finally set to lock horns this Sat. night (March 5) at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 272. With a win, Covington remains firmly at the top of the division as one of the very best at 170-pounds. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the No. 1-ranked Welterweight contender is itching to get back to a shot at the title.

“Chaos’” lone losses since 2015 came in two of his last three outings with the belt on the line against current Welterweight king Kamaru Usman. For the champ, it looks like Leon Edwards will get his turn at attempting to avenge his past loss. But Covington isn’t all too concerned with the outcome as another former teammate is on his mind.

“I could care less who wins [between Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards],” Covington said during UFC 272 media day (h/t MMA Fighting). “I’m just worried about my business on Sat. night and handling another personal beef with Dustin Poirier next. That fight needs to happen. He’s talked too reckless in the media.”

Former UFC interim Lightweight titleholder Dustin Poirier and Covington used to train together at American Top Team (ATT) in Florida before Covington parted ways with the gym. Never shy to speak his mind, Covington has made several comments about Poirier since with some rebuttals from “The Diamond” being fired back.

“Now he said, ‘It’s on sight,’” Covington said. “The last time he was talking to you clickbait merchants, he was saying, ‘Oh, I’m not going to fight Colby in the Octagon, where there’s finances on the line. I’m going to fight him in the streets and we’re both going to go to jail.’ It’s funny. It’s very ironic because he talks about being a family guy, a good guy, but he wants to fight me in the streets and potentially go away from his family.

“Dustin Poirier has all these stipulations to fight me. I just have one stipulation. My one stipulation is he lets the world watch and enjoy themselves.”

Poirier last fought in Dec. 2021 when challenging for Charles Oliveira’s Lightweight crown. He would suffer a third-round rear-naked choke submission defeat (watch highlights) and now ponders his next move. The Louisiana native has expressed interest in rebooking a clash with Nathan Diaz in Covington’s division of Welterweight, but no serious traction has been made.