By: Pankti Parmar Image credit: Twitter
Dustin Poirier is gearing up for his mega title shot at the UFC against his rival Justin Gaethje taking place on 29th July. Amidst his preps, Poirier has a warning for another rival.
Poirier was asked about his former rival Nate Diaz during a promotional event of his upcoming fight at UFC 291. He responded as fighters generally respond (or call out) their rivals.
“Like I always say, I don’t look too far ahead and book myself in fights that aren’t even realistic or a possibility, until other things happen. If he (Nate Diaz) comes back, I’ll beat him up.”
Nate Diaz, on the other hand, is getting ready for his upcoming fight against Jake Paul on August 5, which will also be his first fight after he left the promotion in September 2022.
Diaz last faced off against Tony Ferguson at UFC 279, in which Tony lost via guillotine choke to him in the fourth round. Nate still remains a crowd favorite even after retiring from MMA.
If Diaz is to accept Poirier's call, then the two would be seated up for second time as Diaz and Poirier were scheduled to fight at UFC 230 in Madison Garden in 2018, but terms were not concluded.
Poirier expressed his views about Nate Diaz entering the boxing realm, “Nate does have good boxing, but it’s unorthodox and it works well for MMA – small gloves, pitty-pat punches in that range."
He added, “But with boxing gloves, things are different. Timing’s different. Range is a little bit different. Jake is a big, athletic young kid. If I had to put money on it, I would put it on Jake.”
“It’s Not an Undisputed Title” – Dustin Poirier Does Not Hold Back His True Feelings on Fighting for Jorge Masvidal’s BMF Belt at UFC 291.