"The UFC does not want to allow him to fight a big name guy for his last fight on his contract" - Josh Thomson on why Nate Diaz vs. Dustin Poirier is not happening
Josh Thomson opened up on the possibility of Nate Diaz vs. Dustin Poirier taking place.
There was speculation about a Dustin Poirier vs. Nate Diaz fight in early 2022 after both men called for the bout on Twitter. However, reports suggest that negotiations for the match fell through and will not take place anytime soon.
Josh Thomson commented on the failed matchup in a recent episode of the Weighing In podcast. 'The Punk' put the blame on the UFC for not letting Diaz fight a popular fighter.
"The UFC does not want to allow him [Diaz] to fight a big name guy for his last fight on his contract. He wants to fight as soon as possible now... He wants to fight because he wants to get that last fight over so he can either re-negotiate or he can bounce out to boxing, to fight somebody else right? That's what he wants to do. As soon as he comes out publicly and even tells them privately... it's on them. Now, that reactivates his contract. So even if it's delayed for four months, it extends his contract for four months."
Watch the full podcast of Josh Thomson and John McCarthy below:
Josh Thomson on Dustin Poirier following his loss to Charles Oliveira
Josh Thomson feels Dustin Poirier should take some time off before planning his next move in the UFC. Thomson opined that the Louisianan's mind isn't in the right place following his disappointing loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC 269.
Poirier was visibly moved and questioned his desire to continue fighting at the post fight press conference. He was particularly irritated by the fact that he was caught in the same submission that forced him to tap against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242 in 2019.
In a recent episode of the Weighing In podcast, Josh Thomson said:
"I had all of these great ideas for what his [Poirier's] next move was going to be, then I heard his comments in the post-fight interview. I don't want to say he's done but I want to say that his mind is not in the right place. He's talking about retirement, he's talking about 'do I want to do this any more?' and that lets me know he's not back mentally in this game where he was. Give him some time off, readjust, make some adjustments, talk about what he wants to do with his corners, his coaches, his wife, his family."
Check out the full episode of the Weighing In podcast Josh Thomson and John McCarthy below:
Last month, Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier faced off, and the bout lived up to the hype. The fight was a back-and-forth contest, with both men having huge success at various points.
However, it was Oliveira who was left with his hand raised at the end of the fight. In the third round, he submitted 'The Diamond' with a rear-naked choke.