UFC Rumors: Dustin Poirier's targeted opponent for May 16th revealed
Dustin Poirier last fought in September in the main event of UFC 242, where he lost a title unification bout against the King of the Lightweight division Khabib Nurmagomedov. He took his time to make his return as he had dealt with some issues to the wrist.
While he was targeting an April return to possibly be on the UFC 249 card (headlined by Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson), things may work out differently for him.
After beating Al Iaquinta at UFC 243 in Australia, Dan "The Hangman" Hooker called out The Diamond for a fight, but Poirier rejected his call-out, hoping to get the Conor McGregor return fight.
Hooker faced Paul Felder instead and narrowly beat The Irish Dragon by a somewhat controversial split decision. After that, Hooker said that only Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier made sense as opponents (especially since his win over Felder broke him into the Top 5 rankings at Lightweight).
According to MMA Junkie, Poirier and Hooker are set for a collision course on May 16th at San Diego.
Poirier seemed to accept the possibility of facing Hooker as well, tweeting him and saying:
This fight makes the most sense for Poirier to return. While Justin Gaethje is rumored to be in talks for the next Conor McGregor fight in 2020, it's a high-incentive match-up for The Diamond. In the eyes of many, Poirier is a big stylistic mismatch for the Kiwi rising star, who could just be a win or two away from a title shot.
Either way, it'll be an exciting headliner to watch and it may not even need to go the full five rounds. There's no doubt that Poirier will be the overwhelming favorite to win. Do you think Dan Hooker is a good opponent for Dustin Poirier? Voice your thoughts in the comments below!