- Dustin Poirier still got his eyes set on the UFC title
- “The Diamond” explained why he agreed to fight Benoit St. Denis
- Dana White and Conor McGregor reacted to Poirier’s UFC 299 win
Dustin Poirier lifted the lid on why he opted to fight an up-and-coming fighter in Benoit St. Denis and admitted that he still yearns to be a champion.
There was nobody else
Speaking to the media in his UFC 299 post-fight presser, “The Diamond” came clean and said he was itching to get back to the win column but the UFC didn’t have any big-name fighter left for him. Hence, they all agreed to book St. Denis, who was on a five-fight winning streak prior to UFC 299.
“It was kind of a timing thing in the situation of the lightweight division,” Poirier said. “There wasn’t any big names to fight. I wanted to fight especially coming off with a loss and nothing was big that they could put together but this guy’s on a streak and has a lot of momentum and when they offered it to me, that’s why we did it. There was nothing else at the time.”
Dustin still wants the gold
Poirier’s KO win over St. Denis is the 23rd finish of his stellar MMA career. While he knows he has been around for a long time, “The Diamond” admitted that he still aims to become a world champion.
“That’s the only reason I’m fighting… to be the world champion, to be the best in the world, undisputed. But we got to see I got to get home and see what make sense with my coaches and my wife and my management and just see what’s next,” Poirier pointed out.
“I’ve done a lot in the sport, I’m not trying to brag or be boastful but I’ve done a lot in the sport and I’ve been fighting for a long time… and I’ve checked a lot of boxes but there’s one that’s still unchecked and that’s being a world champion,” he added.
Dana salutes Dustin
Prior to UFC 299, many criticized the promotion’s brass for booking Poirier against St. Denis as they believed they aren’t on the same level. However, UFC president Dana White raved about the fight and insisted that it’s the type of matchups that make a fighter like “The Diamond” a true legend in the sport.
“The fight that he took tonight with Benoit, when the talk first started, everybody was like, ‘Oh, this is a bad fight for Poirier, blah, blah, blah,’” White commented. “Then Poirier came out and said ‘you know what, I didn’t sign’ and all of a sudden… This is the sh*t that makes you a f**king legend. These are legendary fights.”
“When you go in, and you face a guy who is a savage and looks like you can’t win this fight, or people think you can’t win this fight, and then you go in and do it in spectacular fashion, the way that he did tonight… You’ve heard it many times in the past: ‘They want me to lose,’ or ‘They’re trying to make me lose.’ I heard some nutty sh*t the other day from somebody that I won’t even mention, but we don’t determine whether you lose or whether you win, you do. What we try to do is put on the best matchmade fight that we can possibly do, and that’s why big stars are built in the UFC and legendary fights happen every weekend,” he continued.
Dana White on Dustin Poirier: This is the shit that makes you a fucking legend.#UFC #UFC299 pic.twitter.com/RwsLG8viA9
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) March 10, 2024
Conor with a wholesome reaction
Surprisingly, Conor McGregor tweeted an unexpected reaction to Poirier’s UFC 299 win. McGregor and Poirier have been bitter rivals for years but “Notorious” congratulated “The Diamond” without any backhanded compliment.
“Great fight out of them French boys tonight! Toutes nos félicitations,” McGregor wrote.
The KO win over St. Denis may not move Poirier up in the official lightweight rankings but it is a great way to bounce back from a knockout loss. White’s comments prove that “The Diamond” impressed everybody with his performance at UFC 299 but it still doesn’t guarantee that he would be back in the title mix.
Watch Poirier’s full presser below:
