Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Dustin Poirier has been campaigning to fight fellow lightweight contender, Nate Diaz, ever since their UFC 230 showdown was canceled due to this “small setback.” Unfortunately for “The Diamond,” the already “hard-to-deal-with” slugger seemed content to play keep away.
Probably because of this.
So after more than a year of chasing Diaz — while taking flak from his brother in the process — Poirier has abandoned his quest to make it happen. Not because he lost motivation, but rather because UFC matchmakers told him to jump ship.
“Obviously I was trying to get the Nate fight for a while, but we’ve recently decided to leave that alone. He’s not fighting,” Poirier told Ariel Helwani (transcribed by Adam Martin). “I spoke with Mick (Maynard) and Sean (Shelby) when I was in Houston for (UFC 247). They told me they offered him a fight and I recently spoke again to Sean and he told me it’s time to move on. They said the Diaz camp isn’t responding. I don’t want to keep chasing that guy. If he’s not taking fights then I have to move on.”
The always-malleable Poirier has previously offered to fight Diaz at 165 pounds. When that didn’t work, “The Diamond” attempted to wrangle a boxing match opposite the Stockton striker once ZUFFA had its “sweet science” division up and running.
I guess he “wasn’t about that life.”
In the wake of their fizzled bout at UFC 230, Poirier (25-6, 1 NC) has competed twice, splitting a pair of fights against Max Holloway (W) and Khabib Nurmagomedov (L). As for Diaz (20-12), he also went 1-1, topping Anthony Pettis before falling to Jorge Masvidal.