- Kamaru Usman doesn’t think Dustin Poirier should retire
- “The Nigerian Nightmare” vouches for a fight between him and “The Diamond”
Kamaru Usman weighed in on what could be next for Dustin Poirier and suggested that he could be a formidable opponent should “The Diamond” decides to move up.
Usman likes the idea of facing Poirier
Speaking on his Pound 4 Pound podcast with Henry Cejudo, “The Nigerian Nightmare” said he believes Poirier should not retire yet. Instead, Usman acknowledged that a showdown with Alexander Volaknoski would be fun but personally, the former welterweight champ thinks it’s also a good idea to have him as Poirier’s opponent if he moves up to 170.
“I think he needs this… he’s got fights… The Volkanovski fight could, that’s a fun fight. I’m not in any way throwing my hat in, but he wants to go up [to welterweight], hey, that’s a fun fight. I’m not saying I’m welcoming the fight. Don’t do it. I’m not saying that, but I always put my mind there. If I was to ever compete against a guy like Dustin Poirier, that would be a fantastic one because it’s a guy that I could really respect though and through the process,” Usman teased.
“It’s like you and your main training partner and you’re just like, ‘Yeah, we’re going to beat each other up. We’re going to push each other to the brink.’ That would be a fun fight, but I’m not throwing my hat in,” he continued.
Dustin is still undecided
After losing to Islam Makhachev at UFC 302, Poirier got people yearning to know if it was indeed, his final fight. According to “The Diamond,” he still needs to know if what he’s fighting for is still worth it before making a decision.
The loss to Makhachev marked the third title fight defeat of Poirier’s UFC career. Nevertheless, “The Diamond” is still one of the top lightweight contenders and the UFC is happy to have Poirier in its roster as long as he wants to.
On the other hand, Usman is determined to end his three-fight losing streak. He is coming off a decision loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 and has been looking to land another big-name opponent next.
Watch Usman’s full podcast episode below:
