The UFC’s featherweight division lost a top-10 fighter Thursday, as No. 6-ranked Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier announced he will move up to lightweight in an attempt to fight closer to his natural weight.
Poirier made the announcement on Twitter, where he responded to a fan asking if he was planning to move to the 155-pound division with a simple “Yes.”
Then, MMAFighting.com reached out to Poirier via text message, and he revealed more about the situation.
“I’m big,” Poirier said. “The cut made me hate the process of getting ready for a fight. I was focused on how to make weight instead of how to beat my opponent. It sucks to drop out of the rankings, but it has to be done. I’m 180 right now and in great shape.”
Backing up that statement on Instagram, Poirier posted a video in which he showed off his current physique and weight.
After a quick mirror shot, which showed a seemingly in-shape and ripped Poirier, the former featherweight stepped on the scale, weighing in at 180.1 pounds.
It’s incredible that Poirier—and many fighters like him—can cut such an extreme amount of weight and still compete at an elite level on the sport’s biggest stage.
While the science behind weight-cutting and the effects a hard cut can have on a fighter’s health are still being discussed and determined, Poirier‘s next fight should provide a decent example of what a fighter can look like when he fights closer to his natural weight.
In fact, if we look to the past, Poirier‘s first nine fights came at lightweight, where he rattled off an 8-1 record, finishing all eight of his victories and losing once via decision to current UFC lightweight Danny Castillo.
It wasn’t until his UFC 125 bout against Josh Grispi in January 2011 that Poirier decided to test the waters at featherweight, and he has gone 8-3 since then, most recently losing via TKO to Conor McGregor at UFC 178.
Time will tell how this move will impact Poirier‘s career—the opposition at lightweight is arguably tougher, and the talent pool is arguably deeper—but for now, it seems he’s making the logical, reasonable decision for his health and his future.
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