Dustin Poirier says the UFC ghosted him after offering to fight Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 on 10-11 days' notice
Dustin Poirier was among the fighters who received the call to face Islam Makhachev on short notice for the lightweight title at UFC 294 following Charles Oliveira's withdrawal from the bout. While he accepted the bout, the UFC ultimately decided to go with a rematch against Alexander Volkanovski.
'The Diamond' recently revealed that he did not hear back from the promotion after accepting the offer. Speaking to Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour, the No.3-ranked lightweight stated:
"They offered me the fight on ten, eleven days notice... I accepted it. I mean, my weight's been crazy low these last few months. I've stayed on a diet - I wouldn't say a diet, but I've been eating really healthy these last few months so making the weight wasn't the problem... When they called me, they told me to give them 24 hours. They asked me what's my weight, would I accept the fight, kind of wouldn't give me a whole lot of info."
Poirier continued:
"I accepted, waited 24 hours then I started hitting up Hunter [Campbell], hitting up my management like, 'hey, I haven't heard anything dude, it's been 24 hours, what's going on?' So, I guess they told me they would have an answer for me in 24 hours because I guess they offered it to Volkanovski and they were waiting on his confirmation. That's what I'm guessing but I don't know."
Check out Dustin Poirier's comments on UFC 294 below:
Poirier added that he never received a callback, chalking it up to business. He noted that he found out he wasn't receiving the title opportunity upon the public announcement that Volkanovski would be taking the fight.
Dustin Poirier reveals his preference for his next fight
Dustin Poirier has been with the UFC since the promotion merged with World Extreme Cagefighting in October 2010. While he has had a storied career within the promotion, the one thing he has not been able to do is capture an undisputed title. Speaking to Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour, he was asked his dream scenario for his next bout. He said:
"A fight that guarantees me a title fight or a really big fight. Something that I'm super excited about doing. That's all I want."
Check out Dustin Poirier's comments on his next fight below:
Poirier suffered a loss to Justin Gaethje in his most recent bout at UFC 291. It marked his first loss in a non-title fight since 2016. He has shared that he is interested in returning at UFC 300.