Dustin Poirier is back in the gym, raising speculation that he could be fighting for the 155 pound title at UFC 302 in June.
Dustin Poirier could be back in action sooner rather than later if a new social media post from the UFC lightweight is any indication.
You really have to be careful with everything you read on April 1st, but there was no hint of joke in “The Diamond’s” Instagram update hinting at another fight.
“Looks like it’s back to work,” Poirier wrote over a photo of himself in the gym.
Dustin Poirier just fought at UFC 299 on March 9th, where he beat a hungry prospect in Benoit Saint-Denis. Previous to that, we waited a long eight months for him to return from a disappointing headkick KO loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC 291. And then another eight months before that was a win against Michael Chandler at UFC 281.
The point is: “El Diamante” hasn’t been getting the fastest turnarounds over the past two years. For some reason, the UFC has struggled to figure out what to do with Dustin following his two star-making wins over Conor McGregor. Poirier admitted the Saint-Denis fight was accepted only because there weren’t any other options.
Now he apparently has options.
One of those is a potential lightweight title fight for an upcoming UFC 302 card on June 1st in New Jersey. 155 pound champion Islam Makhachev has been agitating for a title defense, and the Newark card needs a big main event. Other lightweight contenders won’t be ready after they compete at UFC 300 in mid-April.
So why not a ‘legend’ like Dustin Poirier?
It’s been a question fans have been repeating enough that perhaps UFC matchmakers have started considering it seriously. We’ll have to wait til the official announcement to find out, though.