"He is not on a mission to be champion" - Chael Sonnen on Dustin Poirier's current goal in the UFC
Chael Sonnen recently claimed that Dustin Poirier's primary goal right now is not to become the champion. But Sonnen also believes that championship aspirations are very realistic for 'The Diamond'.
According to 'The American Gangster', Poirier is aiming to reach a pedestal that is even higher than championship status; a place that only an elite few have reached. Sonnen claimed that 'The Diamond' wants to reach a level of stardom like Conor McGregor or the Diaz brothers, where he gets to headline cards irrespective of the outcome of his last fight.
"Dustin Poirier right now is not on a mission to be champion," the 45-year-old said on his YouTube channel. "And to become champion is very realistic [for Poirier]... Dustin Poirier's number one goal right now is not to reclaim his championship. He wants to go into a category, it's the elite of the elite, it's a category so high that when you start training, you don't even set a goal to do [it]... There's one more category above champion, one category. And that is when the outcome of your fight doesn't matter... Even if you're coming off of a loss, your next fight will be the main event. I'm talking about a Conor McGregor status."
Watch Sonnen's comments on Dustin Poirier below (8:25):
Chael Sonnen believes Dustin Poirier should "maneuver around" Beneil Dariush if he can
Dustin Poirier scored an impressive third-round submission win over Michael Chandler in an instant classic at UFC 281. A perennial top contender, Poirier has plenty of options to pick from when it comes to his next opponent.
Khabib Nurmagomedov and Daniel Cormier have suggested that 'The Diamond' should fight Beneil Dariush next. 'Benny' is coming off an emphatic decision win over a surging Mateusz Gamrot, topping off a magnificent eight-fight winning streak.
However, Chael Sonnen believes Poirier is at a point in his career where he should avoid fighting Dariush if he can. Sonnen said in a recent YouTube video:
"This is a situation where, 'Sure, I'll fight Benny [Dariush]. Let him go have the world title fight. If he wins, I'll come fight Benny. If he doesn't win, he goes under me. I don't have to deal with him. He's gonna try and find me on his way back up? There is no way back up at that age, I never have to deal with him.' When you have those real hard fights, if there's a way to maneuver around it, maneuver around it."
Watch the full video below: