‘I’m Welcoming the Fight’: Kamaru Usman Expresses Desire to Face Dustin Poirier if He Moves Up to 170 Pounds

Former UFC welterweight champion Nigerian Nightmare Kamaru Usman expresses his wish to square off against Dustin Poirier if he moves up to 170 pounds.

By Nayan Kumawat

Published on Jun 04, 2024 | 12:57 AM IST | 59.4K

Image Courtesy : Getty Images

At UFC 302 pay-per-view, former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier fought for the undisputed lightweight championship for the third and potentially the last time in his career. Unfortunately, even after pushing so hard, Diamond lost the match in the fifth round with a d'arce choke.

Diamond even announced that this might be his last UFC fight. He doesn’t want to climb the ranking again, as he is now growing old, and wants to spend more time with his family and dedicate his career to his wife and daughter.

UFC CEO Dana White expressed he wants Dustin Poirier to stay as long as he wants, and the door here is always open for him. Even Dustin Poirier himself revealed he can’t leave long with training and getting inside the Octagon. Fans and experts believe Dustin Poirier will return after taking a break.

Former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman recently talked about potentially facing Diamond if he moves up to the welterweight division. However, Dustin Poirier has yet to express willingness to move up to welterweight and said he has no problem making weight in the lightweight division.

Recently, Kamaru Usman expressed that if Dustin moves up and wants to fight him, “I’m not in any way throwing my hat in, but if he wants to go up, hey, that’s a fun fight. I’m not saying I’m welcoming the fight, but I always put my mind there. If I was to ever compete a guy like Dustin Poirier, that would be a fantastic one.”

Another UFC Champion wants to fight Dustin Poirier

Not only was former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman impressed with Dustin Poirier, but former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski was impressed by Diamond’s performance and wants to fight him in the future.

Alexander Volkanvski and Dustin Poirier are the only UFC fighters who gave Islam Makhachev a hard time inside the Octagon and made him look human by hurting him.

Just after UFC 302, Alexander Volkanovski uploaded a video where he talked about potentially fighting Dustin Poirier before going for a championship rematch against Ilia Topuria.

Alexander Volkanovski said, “Maybe depending on what I'm doing. Obviously, I want to fight later in the year. If the timing works maybe me and Dustin can have a good fight. I know he just wants good, fun fights. I think that would be a massive fight, so that's something that I'd be willing to do."

Alexander Volkanovski and Dustin Poirier are two of the best strikers in the UFC, and a fight between these two fan favorites could be an absolute war, a fight fans will not forget for ages. If Dustin Poirier decides to jump back on the ship and fight, he definitely has some big names to fight with.

Fans are also suggesting Dustin Poirier should fight the UFC BMF champion Max Holloway for a third time. Max Holloway recently captured the UFC BMF championship after he knocked out former BMF champion Justin Geathje at UFC 300. Even the fight between Dustin and Max Holloway for the third could be fantastic for Diamond. Only time will unveil what's next for Dustin Poirier.

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