Dustin Poirier on Tony Ferguson negotiations for UFC 254: “I’m a prizefighter and the prize needs to be right”

Dustin Poirier is open to making a fight with Tony Ferguson happen next month at UFC 254.

For weeks now, it has been rumored Poirier and Ferguson would meet at UFC 254 on October 24. It’s a phenomenal fight and one that makes a ton of sense for the lightweight division. Yet, the fight has yet to be official. For Poirier, he says he is open to making the fight happen.

“I’m in,” Poirier told ESPN on Wednesday. “… I just need to be compensated if they want this fight. Simple as that.”

ESPN reports that Tony Ferguson has verbally agreed to the fight but the hold up is on Poirier’s side. According to “The Diamond” he says he needs to be compensated accordingly for this fight, especially if it is happening in only a month’s time.

“I’m a prizefighter and the prize needs to be right,” Poirier said, who is in Florida at ATT, presumably for the training camp for Ferguson.

Dustin Poirier returned to the Octagon in June with a decision win over Dan Hooker. The fight is arguably the fight of the year. It was his first since he lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov for the belt last September.

Tony Ferguson, suffered his first loss in eight years when Justin Gaethje beat him by fifth-round TKO at UFC 249. “El Cucuy” was supposed to fight Nurmagomedov in April. The event, however, was canceled and he ended up taking on Gaethje in May for the interim title.

Although many fans wanted to see Dustin Poirier and Tony Ferguson fight for five rounds, it makes sense to have it on UFC 254. One of them can easily slide into the main event in case either Nurmagomedov or Gaethje can’t make it to fight night. The winner of Poirier-Ferguson would also likely be next in line for the belt. So their timeline would match the champions.

For now, we are in a wait-and-see mode on whether or not Dustin Poirier will fight Tony Ferguson at UFC 254.

Who would you pick to win, Dustin Poirier or Tony Ferguson?