Dustin Poirier down for boxing match, names dream opponent: "The whole training camp would be a lot less wearing"
Dustin Poirier last entered the octagon when he challenged Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title in the main event of UFC 302, suffering a fifth-round submission loss. While 'The Diamond' hinted at retirement leading up to the bout, he recently revealed that he is open to taking a boxing match.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, the No.4-ranked lightweight was asked about the possibility, responding:
"Yeah, no, of course... It's just a change of speed, different training camp, just something different, you know? I've been doing MMA a while and I still love the training camps and love fighting, but to go to purely boxing, the whole training camp would be a lot less wearing on my body. No wrestling, no jiu jitsu, it would be boxing, running, swimming, you know, that's fun. That's fun stuff."
When asked about his dream opponent for boxing, Poirier responded:
"I'd box Nate [Diaz]. I'd box Nate... Either [boxing or MMA]. I'd rather Nate in boxing, I think."
Check out Poirier's comments on taking a boxing match below:
Poirier had been set to face Nate Diaz at UFC 230 back in 2018, however, he was forced to withdraw from the bout with a hip injury and the pair were never rebooked against one another. While 'The Diamond' has long been considered one of the best boxers in the UFC, he has never had a professional boxing match.
Megan Olivi picks Dustin Poirier vs. Benoit Saint-Denis as best fight of 2024
Dustin Poirier defeated Benoit Saint-Denis via second-round knockout in the co-main event of UFC 299. Megan Olivi shared that she believes the bout has been the best fight in 2024, thus far. Speaking to Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie, the UFC reporter stated:
"Once again, I couldn't decide, but I'm going to say if I had to pick one - I hope I don't get a lot of backlash for this - but I love Dustin Poirier versus Benoit Saint-Denis. I thought that first round was so intriguing and we all knew that this was a huge test for Dustin Poirier. Benoit Saint-Denis, an incredibly talented, incredibly tough up-and-comer and he was putting it on Dustin, right? He had no fear in there, special forces."
She added:
"We heard about the staph infection, so no one was quite sure how healthy he was coming into that one. But Dustin Poirier was Dustin Poirier in there when push came to shove. He showed why he is your favorite fighter. He never doubted himself.
"He didn't give up. He continued to push forward. He was okay being the nail at sometimes and, okay, finally becoming the hammer in that fight, so that was my favorite."
Check out Megan Olivi's comments below:
Bohn chose a different Poirier bout for his best fight of 2024, opting to go with his title clash against Islam Makhachev at UFC 302. While the No.4-ranked lightweight lost the bout via fifth-round submission, the bout was much closer than many predicted.