If Dustin Poirier had his way, he would continue fighting without fans in attendance.
Poirier competed for the first time during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic last weekend at UFC Vegas 4 where he battled Dan Hooker in a back-and-forth war for 25 minutes.
In the end, “The Diamond” did enough to come out on top and get the unanimous decision verdict.
Poirier Prefers Empty Arena Fights
The contest was hailed by many as a Fight of the Year candidate which was made all the more brutal given that there were no fans in attendance, allowing viewers to hear every shot.
And for Poirier, he would like to keep fighting that way so he can have no distractions whatsoever.
“If I could choose, I would fight like that for the rest of my career,” Poirier told ESPN (via BJ Penn). “It felt like it was just me and Dan (Hooker).
“I was just very focused and I like that feeling. I can perform in that, because it’s true. It’s just us, no outside (interference), no distraction. It’s just fighting and that’s what I do best.”
For now, it looks like Poirier will get his wish as it doesn’t look like fans will be in attendance any time soon.
As for who he could fight next, he certainly has options.
The ideal fight for now is Tony Ferguson with the winner potentially getting the next title shot. However, Poirier could also wait for the winner of the expected title unification fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje in September — if it still happens — and hope that the latter comes out on top.
There are also the more lucrative but less likely options of facing Conor McGregor or Nate Diaz. For now, we can only wait.
What do you think of Poirier’s preference of fighting with no fans? And who should he face next?