Dustin Poirier drops to No.8 on the UFC P4P list as Charles Oliveira takes his place at No.5
Dustin Poirier lost his title shot against Charles Oliveira in the main event at UFC 269. Poirier was submitted with a standing rear-naked choke in round three after getting brutalized by Oliveira on the ground in the second.
As a result, 'The Diamond' has dropped three places in the men's pound-for-pound rankings. Poirier now ranks No.8, a sizable drop from his previous placement at No.5.
Dustin Poirier also lost his No.1 lightweight contender spot to Justin Gaethje in the newly updated rankings.
Meanwhile Charles Oliveira has moved up three places to take Dustin Poirier's spot in the men's pound-for-pound rankings.
Dustin Poirier on his loss to Charles Oliveira
Dustin Poirier lost his second shot at the lightweight title against Charles Oliveira in the main event at UFC 269. Prior to that, Poirier lost his first title shot against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242 in 2019.
In striking similarity to his loss against Oliveira, Poirier was also submitted with a third-round rear-naked choke against 'The Eagle'.
Dustin Poirier was devastated after getting choked for the second time in a title fight. Poirier told reporters at the post-fight press conference:
"It sucks. I worked hard to get back here to fight for another world title. Got choked out again. I'm just heartbroken really. Obviously, I knew his jiu-jitsu was the best, some of the best, the most submissions in UFC history coming into this fight."
Dustin Poirier started off strong and managed to land significant damage on Charles Oliveira in the opening round.
However, Oliveira took Poirier to the ground early in round two and pounded him with elbows for the rest of the round.
Several fans and pundits were surprised as Poirier seemed content to take the beating and didn't scramble to get back on his feet. Explaining why, Poirier further told reporters:
"That's kind of the reason I didn't go crazy trying to sweep and get up that second round. 'Cos like I said leading this, I'd rather lose the round than give my back and lose the fight trying to scramble back up. But he ended up getting to my back regardless. The guy's good. He's the champ."
Watch Dustin Poirier's interview at the UFC 269 post-fight presser below: