Dustin Poirier Welcomes Challenges At Welterweight: “I Definitely Think I Can Fight At 170”
Former interim UFC lightweight champion and current number one lightweight contender Dustin Poirier would welcome a title shot opportunity at 170 pounds with open arms.
Poirier spoke with Laura Sanko during an ESPN+ Q&A session and was asked about his feelings on a potential fight with current UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, something he seemed very open to.
“Of course I would,” Poirier said (h/t MMA Fighting). “Those are some big guys, man. We’ll see. I definitely can fight at 170. Honestly, now at 155, my metabolism has caught up. When I was cutting to 145, between fights I would get a lot heavier than I do now. I think my body was getting messed up and holding on to a lot of weight. I would shoot up to 190 when I was fighting 145. Now I don’t get past 182. That’s really the max I walk around at. But I think I could fight at 170, too. There are some fun fights there.”
The Diamond would welcome a welterweight challenge —
Stream the full Q&A on @ESPNPlus https://t.co/tZiYJ4aOHx pic.twitter.com/QrvuBLNmRs
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 25, 2021
This isn’t the first time Poirier has teased that he’d be willing to move up in weight for the right opportunity. When Nate Diaz seemingly called him out for a bout at 185 pounds via a tweet after the Lafayette, Louisiana native’s victory over Conor McGregor in their trilogy matchup at UFC 264, Poirier was quick to respond that he’d like to fulfill that request at any weight. For the time being though, it does appear Poirier will attend to his business at 155 pounds and face current UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira at some point in the near future.
I’d touch you up at any weight
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) July 16, 2021
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