Appearing to confirm earlier this month that he will delay an expected retirement from mixed martial arts, former interim lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier has been urged to welcome Nate Diaz back to the UFC for his final Octagon appearance – in a reworked grudge fight.
Poirier, who most recently headlined UFC 302 back in May, suffered defeat in his third attempt to land the undisputed lightweight crown, succumbing to a fifth round loss.
Matching with pound-for-pound kingpin, Islam Makhachev, Lafayette veteran, Poirier was stopped in the final round after the Russian latched into a D’Arce choke submission, forcing an eventual tap.
And weighing up a long-speculated retirement from combat sports in the aftermath of his loss, Louisiana striker, Poirier has since skirted acknowledgement of his retirement – instead favoring one final walk to the Octagon.
For Diaz, the promotional alum returned to winning ways over the course of the weekend in his sophomore professional boxing match, beating Poirier’s training partner, Jorge Masvidal in a majority decision rematch success in Anaheim.
Calling for a return to the UFC following his main event triumph, Stockton fan-favorite, Diaz welcomed the chance to rematch current welterweight champion, Leon Edwards for the title in a return to the Octagon.
Jon Anik makes case for Dustin Poirier – Nate Diaz grudge fight
However, if play-by-play lead, Jon Anik gets to play matchmaker for both Poirier and Diaz in their returns to action, he would pit the duo together in a drawn-out grudge match.
“Dustin Poirier and I were talking at UFC 303 as he was there doing the television work,” Jon Anik said on the Anik & Florian Podcast. “There just aren’t many fights right now for Dustin. It seems like he has the appetite to go out on a win. Right now, Dustin Poirier’s last fight was an undisputed championship loss to Islam Makhachev.”
“Dustin has intimated that he wants to fight one more time, and on the very short list of opponents that actually make some fiscal and competitive sense is Nate Diaz,” Anik continued. “So, we’ll see if that is something that actually materializes.”
Expected to fight at UFC 230 in Madison Square Garden six years ago, Poirier and Diaz saw their alleged agreed pairing fall to the wayside, with both parties blaming each other for the bout’s failure to come to fruition.
Would you like to see Dustin Poirier take on Nate Diaz in his UFC return?