"Seems like being undisputed champ will never be something that he can lay claim to" - Michael Bisping believes that Dustin Poirier may have missed his final chance to become UFC champion
Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping believes lightweight contender Dustin Poirier may have missed his final chance to become an undisputed titleholder in the world's biggest MMA promotion.
Poirier lost in his second bid for the undisputed UFC lightweight championship at UFC 269 last weekend. He was submitted by Charles Oliveira via rear-naked choke, who retained his belt at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
'The Diamond' previously lost an undisputed championship bout, also by a rear-naked choke. When he was submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242 in September 2019.
Speaking about UFC 269 on BT Sport's Fight Week show, Bisping lauded Oliveira for notching up his tenth straight victory in impressive fashion. However, he added that it may be the end of the road for Poirier.
"Could not be happier for the man, congratulations to him [Charles Oliveira] and commiserations to Dustin Poirier. The poor guy, seems like being undisputed champ will never be something that he can lay claim too," said Bisping.
Watch Michael Bisping in conversation with Adam Catterall and Nick Peet below:
Meanwhile, 'The Count' is the only British UFC champion in history. He defeated Luke Rockhold in their rematch at UFC 199 in June 2016 to win the belt.
Dustin Poirier currently holds a 20-6-1 record in his UFC career
Dustin Poirier has fought a whopping 27 times inside the octagon and holds a 20-6-1 win-loss-no contest record in his career so far. He is 28-7-1 overall in professional mixed martial arts.
Poirier is a one-time former interim lightweight UFC titleholder. He defeated then featherweight champ Max Holloway via unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 236 to claim the interim title.
Not sure whats next..
Dustin Poirier has been awarded seven 'Fight of the Night' and four 'Performance of the Night' awards when fighting in the UFC's featherweight and lightweight divisions.
He has now been dropped down to be the No.2-ranked fighter in the UFC 155-pound contenders' rankings and was also dropped to No.8 in the men's pound-for-pound rankings.
Poirier's future at lightweight is currently in doubt after the loss to Oliveira. 'The Diamond' has previously spoken about potentially moving up to 170 pounds, likely to have a grudge match against fellow UFC star Colby Covington.