"I don't think Dustin's best days are behind him"- Chael Sonnen makes a case why Dustin Poirier is still a title threat in the UFC's lightweight division
Dustin Poirier is coming off a massive 2021 that saw him beat Conor McGregor twice and fight for the title. And while he didn't win that championship bout against Charles Oliveira at UFC 269, he still ended the year as one of the UFC's top fighters.
But since then Poirier has seemed unsure of what he wants next. Will he stay at 155 or move to 170? In an interview last week at UFC Vegas 50, he still had no answers.
Chael Sonnen believes that's because Dustin Poirier has prematurely placed himself outside of the lightweight title picture. And while a recent loss to the current champ often does lead to a fighter being stuck in limbo, Sonnen points out that Oliveira may not still be the champ in several months.
"I also don't think Dustin's best days are behind him. I think he's a little bit clouded right now. It's very tough to have a crystal ball and see the future. So if you're Dustin Poirier and you wake up and you wanna be a world chamion and you're willing to put in the hard work, do the discipline and climb that mountain one more time, but you can't get back to Oliveira? Time out. That's the landscape of today."
Sonnen makes it clear that this is no specific disrespect to Oliveira. It's just the statistical reality of the 155 pound division.
"Outside of Nurmagomedov, they play musical chairs with that championship from the beginning of that championship. All the way back to BJ Penn time, it was pretty quick turnover. 155 is just so hard and competitive. Poirier is judging his career by today's landscape, and it changes so quickly. It could change on May 7th when Justin Gaethje - who Poirier beat - fights Oliveira, might grab the strap. I'm just saying there's a lot of moving parts."
Watch Chael Sonnen discuss Dustin Poirier's future below:
Dustin Poirier is targeting a summer return against Nate Diaz
While Dustin Poirier is uncertain about what weight class he wants to compete in, he is still chasing a fight against Nate Diaz. Nate Diaz has also called for the fight several times via social media. Unfortunately, the bout remains unsigned by the UFC due to Diaz's contractual status.
Ready to fight @ufc is slow rolling me wtf https://t.co/8cjm0udGJ5
Nate Diaz has just one fight left on his current UFC contract, and the promotion is reportedly requesting he sign a one fight extension before they agree to any other match up.
With Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor's first two fights being some of the biggest pay-per-views in UFC history, it's unsurprising the promotion would want to increase the chances of staging a trilogy fight.