Dustin Poirier makes bold promise for the year 2018
Last Saturday night, in the main event of the UFC’s action-packed stop in Glendale, Arizona, Dustin Poirier authored a jaw-dropping win over former World Series of Fighting champion Justin Gaethje, putting his foe down with a blistering fourth-round punch. In the wake of this win, Poirier made his hopes for his next fight very clear. He wants a crack at new UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
On Tuesday night, the surging lightweight contender took to Twitter to reiterate this plan, promising that he’ll be the lightweight champ before the curtains close on the year 2018.
I'm going to be the world champion this year.
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) April 18, 2018
“I’m going to be the world champion this year,” Poirier said in his short but sweet Tweet. Gotta love the confidence.
While nothing is official just yet, Poirier recently claimed that he’s already been contacted about Nurmagomedov’s team, who shared his interest in a lightweight title showdown. Apparently, the fight could even occur in Nurmagomedov’s native Russia later this year.
“I think it’s pretty good chances, Tony [Ferguson’s] timeline is nine months and we got to see if Conor [McGregor] comes back, maybe he doesn’t,” Poirier said on The MMA Hour this week. “Khabib’s manager reached out to me and told me I’m the next guy in line and they want to fight me.”
“Like I said in my post-fight [interview], I am not after rematches and I’m not trying to get one even with Eddie [Alvarez],” he continued. “I’m trying to be a world champion and grow my savings account for my family and secure my legacy as a UFC world champion, which is what I started fighting to be. I want to be a world champion and I want to be the best in the world.”
Remarkably, none of the 26 men Khabib Nurmagomedov has fought have beat him. Do you think Dustin Poirier could be the one to do it?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 4/18/2018.
Topics:
Dustin Poirier Khabib Nurmagomedov
