Dustin Poirier reveals the UFC called him to step in against Nate Diaz and he accepted

With the main event of UFC 279 uncertain, Dustin Poirier is willing to step in.

This Saturday night, fans were supposed to see Khamzat Chimaev vs. Nate Diaz at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The bout was supposed to be a rare non-title pay-per-view headliner. However, that will no longer be happening.

Earlier this morning, the Stockton native made 171-pounds for his final UFC contest. However, ‘Borz’ missed weight, and he missed badly, as he weighed in at 178.5-pounds. Due to the wide discrepancy in weight, fans wondered if the main event was off.

Not much later, BJPenn’s Cole Shelton reported that the main event was off. Diaz’s team viewed Chimaev’s weight miss as egregious and insulting. With that, the UFC began to scramble for a new headliner on 24-hours-notice.

As of now, it appears that the main event will still involve Nate Diaz. However, his opponent isn’t clear. Some reports have tabbed Tony Ferguson, as the man most likely to face the fan favorite. It’s worth noting that ‘El Cucuy’ and Diaz stated that they wanted to fight in the past.

In the event that welterweight collision doesn’t occur, there’s another man who’s willing to step up. Ariel Helwani reported earlier today that Dustin Poirier is willing to step in on one day’s notice to face Diaz.

Dustin Poirier tells me he was called to step in and accepted. Weighs around 176. Had a pilot and jet on standby. Nothing moved though. Seems like, at least for now, they want Diaz x Ferguson.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) September 9, 2022

According to the famed MMA journalist, ‘The Diamond’ is hovering around 176-pounds at the moment. The UFC first agreed for Poirier to step in and fight Diaz. However, they’ve since held off, and are trying to schedule Ferguson for the main event.

In the event that Dustin Poirier and Nate Diaz do end up fighting, it’ll settle a nearly four-year-long beef. The two were first set to face off at UFC 230 in 2018, however, the fight was canceled.

What do you think about Dustin Poirier vs. Nate Diaz? Sound off in the comment section below!