Dustin Poirier recently shared why his plan to face Nate Diaz in a boxing match was shut down by the UFC, even after his retirement from mixed martial arts.
Poirier, known as “The Diamond,” has kept busy since leaving MMA, but he admitted that a fight with Diaz was something he wanted to explore. The two veterans have a long history in the sport, and Poirier saw a boxing match as a chance to settle unfinished business.
UFC Contract Limits Prevent Poirier from Fighting Diaz
Even though Poirier retired last year, he still has fights remaining on his UFC contract, which prevents him from competing elsewhere without approval. This is one of the main reasons his boxing proposal could not move forward.
Poirier explained on the JRE MMA Show:
“They don’t want any crossover,” Poirier said. “I think Zuffa wants to be taken as a serious… they must hate money, dude. They hate money.”
Poirier explained that opening the door to boxing for MMA fighters would create complications for the UFC roster.
“They want to be taken by the boxing world seriously and I think if you open that door of an MMA guy fighting under Zuffa Boxing, every guy on the roster, every girl on the roster is going to want to do the same. It just becomes a mess I think.”
Even if Poirier and Diaz had been interested in the boxing fight, the matchup was no longer feasible. Diaz has committed to facing Mike Perry at a Most Valuable Promotions event on Netflix. This contract prevents a UFC-sanctioned boxing match with Poirier from happening.
Despite this setback, Poirier said he would consider returning to MMA only for a trilogy fight with Justin Gaethje if the right opportunity presented itself. However, the Nate Diaz boxing match was a unique idea that the UFC ultimately rejected, leaving Poirier to question the reasoning behind the decision.
