"He was bugging me” - UFC Vice President reveals Dustin Poirier constantly messaged him about facing Islam Makhachev on short notice at UFC 294
Dustin Poirier is yet to give up on his desire to be an undisputed UFC champion.
'The Diamond' reportedly accepted a short-notice clash with Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 this weekend, following Charles Oliveira's withdrawal due to injury.
'Do Bronx' suffered a cut above his eye, ruling him out of the contest, and the UFC contacted several fighters, including Poirier and Alexander Volkanovski.
The promotion chose to schedule the much anticipated rematch between 'The Great' and Islam Makhachev, set to headline UFC 294 this weekend.
But according to combat sports journalist Marc Raimondi, Dustin Poirier was constantly messaging UFC Vice President Hunter Campbell for any updates about a potential clash with Makhachev.
Raimondi took to Instagram to share a quote from Campbell, who said this:
"Not just said he would do it. But [Poirier was] bugging me - 'What's up, man? C'mon, brother. Tell me.'"
See the post below:
Dustin Poirier has previously been crowned the interim-lightweight champion, after defeating Max Holloway in a Fight of the Night affair at UFC 236.
But 'The Diamond' suffered a defeat of his own when attempting to become an undisputed champion, as he was submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242.
Poirier fought for the lightweight title again, against Charles Oliveira at UFC 269. But the perennial contender once again found himself on the wrong side of the result, as he was submitted in eerily similar fashion by 'Do Bronx'.
Dan Hooker points to war with Dustin Poirier as part of the reason he's on a two-fight win streak
Dan Hooker and Dustin Poirier went to war in the main event of UFC Vegas 4 in July, 2020.
The fight has been labeled as the greatest lightweight fight of all time by former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen.
Both men landed countless powerful strikes, with the fight looking close to being stopped on several occasions.
Poirier was awarded a unanimous decision win, and Hooker's three-fight win streak was snapped. 'The Hangman' lost three of his next four fights, before bouncing back with consecutive wins over touted prospects Claudio Puelles and Jalin Turner.
During a recent interview with Combat TV, Hooker attributed lessons learnt from his clash with Dustin Poirier as the reason he won his last two fights, saying this:
"I hit [Poirier] with the kitchen sink, and he just cruises through... The things I learned in that fight have helped me win my last two fights... when I'm fighting Turner. He's teeing off on me... rocking me and kicking me in the head, and I was staying cool. And I looked at him and I was like, he's panicking!"
Watch the video below (14:05):