"I'll probably go to 170" - Dustin Poirier reveals that he intends to compete at welterweight if he wins the lightweight title
Dustin Poirier has suggested that he could compete in the welterweight division. ‘The Diamond’ indicated that once he's successfully captured the undisputed UFC lightweight title, he could move up and fight at 170 pounds.
Poirier has fought at featherweight (145 pounds) in the past and has been competing at lightweight (155 pounds) since 2015. MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura notably asked Dustin Poirier whether he aims to have a lengthy reign after winning the UFC lightweight title at UFC 269.
Alternatively, Segura noted that since Dustin Poirier has been competing in the sport for a long time, perhaps he’d like to have a short reign as the lightweight kingpin and then retire. Upon being asked about his plans for the future, Poirier stated:
“No, I’m not retiring. I’m 32, man. I feel good. You see the way I’m moving out here today. I feel good. I’m having fun. If anything, I’ll go up. I’ll probably go to 170; if anything. But no, honestly, my goal isn’t to try to have the most successful title defenses. I don’t know. We’ll see. One day at a time. I can’t look; none of that is even a reality until December 11th happens, and I get my hand raised. I have to do that first before we can even go into these conversations because I don’t know what’s next. I live my life one day at a time, man; a quarter-mile at a time.”
Watch Dustin Poirier’s conversation with Danny Segura in the video below:
Dustin Poirier could face teammate-turned-foe Colby Covington in a grudge match at welterweight
Former interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier has long been a part of the world-renowned ATT (American Top Team) fight camp in Florida. Fighters such as Jorge 'Gamebred' Masvidal, former interim UFC welterweight champion Colby Covington, and many others trained at ATT alongside Poirier.
Colby Covington parted ways with ATT in 2020, owing to disputes he had with some of his teammates. ‘Chaos’ has been training at MMA Masters ever since and has taken multiple shots at his former ATT teammates.
Covington has consistently claimed that he and ‘The Diamond’ weren’t on the best of terms when they trained together. The welterweight mainstay has time and again dared Dustin Poirier to move up to his division and fight him.
Ahead of Covington’s UFC welterweight title fight at UFC 268 that took place earlier this month, he indicated that he’d like to fight Poirier next.
In fact, Colby Covington went as far as taking personal jibes at Dustin Poirier’s wife and daughter. Considering the aforementioned variables at play, the consensus is that a welterweight grudge match between them could materialize down the line.
Regardless, Dustin Poirier is currently scheduled to face UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira for the title at UFC 269 on December 11th. Meanwhile, Colby Covington has been lobbying for a fight against Jorge Masvidal.
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