Back in February at UFC on Fuel TV 7, Dustin Poirier and Cub Swanson put on an absolutely tantalizing battle of back-and-forth striking, grappling and Octagon persistence.
They fought to the bitter end as Swanson captured his fourth straight victory and left “The Diamond” wondering why he took such a high profile fight on 63 days notice.
Since then, Poirier has looked like a man on a path for revenge. He dismantled divisional youngster Erik Koch back in August and most recently destroyed a high-intensity Diego Brandao this past Saturday at UFC 168.
What this means for the 24-year-old is that he’s finally ready to fight another Top 10 featherweight. He’s ready to avenge that early 2013 loss to Swanson and get back on track for a 2014 title shot.
“I feel like I deserve to be 100 percent and fight him [Swanson],” said Poirier at the post-fight press conference this past weekend, originally reported by MMA Mania:
“With the Zombie [Chan-Sung Jung], I was 100 percent prepared for that fight,” added Poirier. “I showed up to fight that night and he actually beat me. But with Cub I beat myself. I took the fight on short notice. I cut 30 pounds in a week. I took the fight because I got the call and I’m a fighter, but Cub Swanson didn’t beat me that night, I beat myself.”
As of right now, with Swanson recovering from elbow surgery and key contenders like Ricardo Lamas and Frankie already tied up entering 2014, a rematch just one year later looks very promising for Poirier and Swanson.
Of course, that’s unless fellow UFC 168 standout Dennis Siver pries for a quick turnaround.
For more UFC 168/UFC news and coverage, Follow @DHiergesell
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com