“I think you have to keep the ball rolling with the trilogy. I think you have to do Dustin and Conor”.
Streaking UFC welterweight Michael Chiesa is over the moon for Dustin Poirier following the latter’s upset KO win over Conor McGregor at UFC 257 and thinks the top-ranked lightweight will make a great ambassador for the sport,
“Dustin Poirier is such a good guy, such a good ambassador for the sport,” Chiesa told MMA Fighting on a recent episode of What the Heck. “It’s easy to get sold and caught up into the hype. I mean, this is Conor McGregor we’re talking about. This guy has done some phenomenal things in the octagon. He’s had some stellar performances and his career has basically just been one big highlight reel.”
“I’m very, very happy for Dustin Poirier. He deserves it.”
In an ideal world Chiesa would like to see Poirier take on Nate Diaz next but thinks the UFC should ‘keep the ball rolling’ with the McGregor trilogy bout.
“I would like to see Nate vs. Dustin, but that doesn’t make any sense at all,” he said. “That would be a slap in the face to some of the guys coming off of wins. When it comes to the title picture, that can get overlooked. We’ve seen Yoel Romero get title shots off of losses and things of that sort, but I think you have to keep the ball rolling with the trilogy. I think you have to do Dustin and Conor.
“If it was up to me, I would get Nate Diaz vs. Poirier, and then I’d go Gaethje vs. Conor. You’re always going to have the Nate Diaz trilogy with Conor. That’s gonna be there for life. Those fights were in a totally separate weight class so no matter how their careers go, you can make that happen at any point. But you can’t guarantee that Conor beats another contender. He has great skills but this is a very tough division. Don’t risk losing the option for this Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor trilogy. I think you make that one next”.
‘Maverick’ is also open to McGregor vs. Felder given their recent spat in the media over ‘The Irish Dragon’s’ questionable Irish heritage.
“You can go Conor McGregor vs. Paul Felder,” Chiesa said. “There’s something there. There’s been some jabs, could be some good pre-fight buildup and it would be funny to hear Bruce Buffer say Paul ‘The German Dragon’ Felder if he actually said it.”
Check out the full interview below.