Although Dustin Poirier didn’t get his wish to rematch Eddie Alvarez, ‘The Diamond’ is excited to face another champion in Anthony Pettis.
Dustin Poirier is still frustrated with the way things turned out against Eddie Alvarez at UFC 211, after Alvarez landed a series of illegal knees in the second round and the bout was ruled a No Contest.
Poirier, who used to compete in the featherweight division before moving back up to lightweight in 2015, wanted a rematch with ‘The Underground King’ but will instead fight former 155-pound champ Anthony Pettis this Saturday at UFC Fight Night 120.
At first, Poirier was disappointed with the match-up, but the prospect of beating a former world champ and inching closer to title contention won him over.
“My first original thought was, ‘Where the (expletive) is Eddie Alvarez?’” Poirier told MMAjunkie Radio. “But then I said alright.”
Alvarez, 33, lost the lightweight title to Conor McGregor last year, and, after his controversial bout with Poirier will look to rebound against the undefeated Justin Gaethje at the upcoming UFC 218 PPV on Dec. 2.
Poirier, who is making final preparations for Pettis, won’t rule out the possibility of facing Alvarez in the future, depending on the outcome of his fight against Gaethje.
“This is a fun, exciting fight,” Poirier said of his match-up with Pettis. “This guy is another former world champion. What can I really be upset about? It’s a main event fight – we’re all eyes on us – against another world champion, and I’ll just show again what kind of caliber fighter I am.
“I’ve been training 12 weeks for Anthony Pettis, so that’s all I’m focused on right now. After Nov. 11, we’ll see what the future holds. But right now, it’s all about Pettis.”
UFC Fight Night 120, which features Poirier vs. Pettis in the main event, takes place Saturday, Nov. 11 at Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Virginia.