Dustin Poirier has opened up on his change of heart regarding a potential fight against ex-teammate Colby Covington.
Former UFC interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier has made it clear that he is ready to return to action. Following his loss to Charles Oliveira last year in his second pursuit of the undisputed lightweight title, Poirier was uncertain about his future in the sport. There was only one man he knew he wanted to fight: Nate Diaz.
Contrastingly, there was only one fighter on the UFC roster that he categorically did not want to do any business with whatsoever under any circumstances: former American Top Team (ATT) teammate Colby Covington.
The reason behind Poirier’s adamance not to fight Covington was because of what Poirier believes “Chaos” represents in the sport: click seeking, clout chasing, and outlandish trash-talking.
Perhaps no one knows the depths to which Covington is willing to go on the trash-taking front than Dustin Poirier. Although Jorge Masvidal has said Covington’s trash talk ahead of their UFC 272 bout went too far when Covington involved Masvidal’s family in his verbal attacks, some of what “Chaos” has said about Poirier’s family has arguably far exceeded what he said about Masvidal’s.
In Poirier’s case, Covington mentioned Poirier’s daughter by name, calling her a “prop” and alleging that Conor McGregor is her true father. He also threw insults at Poirier’s wife, all in an apparent attempt to persuade Poirier to agree to a fight.
This all no doubt contributed to Poirier’s hard stance that Covington would never make a penny off of his family name by the two fighting one another. But that all changed last week when Poirier sent out a tweet saying he accepted Covington’s challenge.
Dustin Poirier Explains Willingness To Fight Colby Covington
Appearing on Monday’s installment of The MMA Hour, Poirier opened up to host Ariel Helwani about the sudden reversal.
According to Poirier, it all comes down to not wanting to wait until December to fight again. Because it was either that or accept the fight that was offered to him against Covington.
“Look, I don’t hate anyone, Ariel. But if there was a line right before hate, Colby’s standing there,” Poirier said. “And I really dislike the guy and I’ve been saying I don’t want him to make a dollar from fighting me. It’s because they offered him last week. That’s why. Yeah, so I tweeted out on Friday, and they offered me him on Tuesday or Wednesday that week.
“It was either wait till the end of the year and fight for a #1 contender (spot) at lightweight or fight July against him, and that was the name that they gave me. So I’m like, ‘Fuck it.’”
Poirier went on to make clear that he is not going out of his way to call out Covington and he still strongly prefers for Covington to not profit off of him.
However, Poirier is chomping at the bit to return to action and with Diaz now reportedly off the table and no other names being offered to him, that made Covington the only viable option for his next opponent.
Colby Covington has recently claimed to have suffered brain damage after allegedly being attacked by Jorge Masvidal earlier this year outside a Miami restaurant. There is no word yet on if he is interested in fighting so soon after the alleged incident.
Masvidal is currently facing charges for felony aggravated battery and other charges. The trial start date is currently set for August 29.
MMA News will keep you abreast of any further updates on this developing story.
Continue Reading Poirier Reveals Why He Prefers Covington Over Other UFC Fight Offer at MMA News.