Nate Diaz calls out Dustin Poirier for middleweight fight, 'The Diamond' responds
MMA legend Nate Diaz has seemingly called out Dustin Poirier for a middleweight (185 pounds) fight. In response to the call-out, Poirier asserted that he’d defeat Diaz at any weight.
Nate Diaz took to his official Twitter account to tweet a photograph of himself and Dustin Poirier facing off in the buildup to their UFC 230 (November 2018) fight. Diaz and Poirier were set to clash in a lightweight bout at UFC 230. However, Poirier was coerced to withdraw from the fight due to injury issues.
The fight was subsequently canceled, and both fighters moved on in their respective careers, competing against different opponents in separate weight classes.
Over the past few years, Poirier has primarily competed in the lightweight division, while Diaz has mainly fought in the welterweight division.
On that note, the tweet sent out by Nate Diaz, which featured the UFC 230 photo of himself and ‘The Diamond’, was accompanied by a rather intriguing statement. Diaz’s statement reads:
“185lbs Pull-up”
Dustin Poirier responded to Nate Diaz’s tweet by sending a warning to the Stockton icon. Poirier’s tweet reads:
“I'd touch you up at any weight”
One should note that neither Nate Diaz nor Dustin Poirier has ever competed in a middleweight MMA bout thus far in their respective careers.
Over the course of his long and storied MMA career, Diaz has competed at lightweight (155 pounds) and welterweight (170 pounds).
Poirier, on the other hand, has competed at featherweight (145 pounds) and lightweight (155 pounds) in his MMA career.
Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier have a considerable amount of momentum on their side in 2021
Nate Diaz is coming off a unanimous decision loss against one of the top-ranking UFC welterweights in the world, Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards.
Diaz fought Edwards at UFC 263 (June 2021) and despite losing on the judges’ scorecards, he emerged as a winner in the eyes of many. This was largely because he was the one who came closest to stopping his opponent in the fight.
Towards the end of the fifth and final round of the fight, Nate Diaz badly rocked Leon Edwards and seemed to have him out on his feet. Edwards, to his credit, survived until the end of the round.
Meanwhile, Dustin Poirier has competed twice in 2021 thus far, securing a pair of wins over combat sports megastar Conor McGregor and winning their trilogy 2-1.
Poirier’s most recent fight was a first-round TKO (doctor’s stoppage) win over McGregor at UFC 264 on July 10th, 2021. He is expected to fight UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira for the title later this year.