UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier seems to be at an impasse in his career.
The UFC lightweight division is in an interesting spot right now. There is a new champion in town, Islam Makhachev. He recently won the title after beating Charles Oliveira and, in turn, has proven himself to be a worthy champion. Now he is set to defend his title for the first time against featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. This champion-versus-champion bout will delay the progress of the rest of the 155-pound division. Now number two ranked Dustin Poirier is in limbo.
Poirier would be a great option for the next title contender following the bout between Makhachev and Volkanovski, but the nature of that fight could give a long waiting period. Depending on who wins and the severity of the damage they take in the fight, Poirier or any other title contender could be waiting a long time. In the meantime, Poirier does not seem interested in any other options.
Dustin Poirier does not see any interesting bout options in front of him at this point
Dustin Poirier secured his number two spot in the rankings with a win over Michael Chandler at UFC 281. The win was the first following his title shot loss to Oliveira the year before. Now it seems as if Poirier is willing to wait it out until he receives an offer that excites him.
“I’m not really interested that much in any of these guys anymore. We’ll see if the UFC calls me and they have a name that gets me excited then I’ll know it’s the right thing, but otherwise nothing’s really jumping out to me,” he said to BroBible.
Poirier is also recovering from a bad staph infection that landed him in the hospital for a few days last month. He says he is back to 90 percent and back to training. He is waiting for a good offer or a shot at Makhachev and the belt. He mentioned that he wants to test his hand against the current champion.
Whether Makhachev wins or loses there is a possibility that this bout could be right for Poirier. If Volkanovski wins, he will be obligated to return to the featherweight division to face the winner of the interim championship bout the UFC has set up. The future of the two divisions seems to be waiting in that UFC 284 main event in Perth, Australia in February.
