With UFC 272 still in need of a main event, its savior may come in the form of a non-title fight.
Targeted
A potential fight between Nate Diaz vs. Dustin Poirier might end up saving the day. While it is all but confirmed for March 5th, the welterweight grudge match is now being targeted for March, according to BJ Penn’s Chris Taylor.
The UFC is trying to get Diaz a dance for this March. They’re also doing this hand-in-hand with a contract extension. The younger Diaz brother is on his last fight of his current contract, so the promotion is looking to make the most out of it.
Back-And-Forth
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Diaz. The Stockton-native last fought in June at UFC 263, where he nearly knocked out Leon Edwards. Ultimately, Diaz would go the distance and lose a decision to the top contender.
Since then, Diaz has been very vocal about fighting Dustin Poirier, especially after the former interim champion failed recently at UFC 269. He sent quite a few shots to Poirier over social media.
‘The Diamond’ would share the same sentiment towards Diaz. He’d also push to settle their unfinished business since their first scheduled booking back in 2018.
Booking The Fight
The UFC has shown interest in making the fight happen, but hasn’t finalized anything just yet. The promotion apparently gave both fighters a call earlier this month, but would decide to scrap the plans altogether for a short-notice matchup in January/February.
Instead, it looks like they are now interested in booking the two for some ‘March Madness’. Nothing is official just yet, but with UFC 272 is dire need of a new main event, perhaps the non-title option between Diaz vs. Poirier is the way to go.
While a belt may not be on the line, the matchup is being talked more about by fans than most other title fights.
Both Diaz and Poirier headlined against Conor McGregor, whose headliners grossed more than 1.5M pay-per-view buys. They might not be ‘The Notorious’, but a fight between the two would do massive numbers.
