Former UFC two-division titleholder, Georges St-Pierre, wants to add a third championship belt to his Hall of Fame career, and since moving up to light heavyweight might damn near kill him (like this nearly did), the next available weight class is 155 pounds.
“Not happening.”
That’s according to top division contender Dustin Poirier, who refuses to believe the promotion would allow “Rush” — who has a history of vacating titles — to jump the line and face the winner of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor.
Maybe he missed this circus.
“Look, after I beat Nate Diaz, I’m fighting for the belt. Or I’m fighting GSP, but he’s not going to get [a title shot] before I do,” Poirier told The MMA Hour. “When I beat Nate Diaz and it’s my turn to fight for that belt, when I win that belt, when history looks back at all of this, nobody can ever say I didn’t earn anything.”
Poirier is expected to fight the returning Nate Diaz at the upcoming UFC 230 pay-per-view (PPV) event, set for Sat., Nov. 3, 2018 inside Madison Square Garden in New York City, assuming this recent wrinkle doesn’t fold the entire deal.
It’s actually a fight that came as a surprise considering how adamant “The Diamond” was about getting the next crack at the lightweight crown, thanks to an emphatic win over Eddie Alvarez at UFC on FOX 30 just last month.
“I never took the easy route. I’ve always fought the best guys,” Poirier said. “I’ve never pulled out of a fight. I’ve never missed weight. I’ve put it all on the line every time, win, lose, or draw, and that’s what I want to be left behind in my legacy. A guy who just pushed through it all and kept at it and stayed true to the path, and this is all part of my legacy.”
A legacy that for now, does not include a championship title, but does have some of the most exciting fights in the history of the division win lose or draw no contest. Don’t expect that to change anytime soon.
With or without the strap.