One well-known MMA coach and former WEC champion wants to see Dustin Poirier score a big payday.
Any time Poirier is down, you can never count him out. After losses to the likes of Conor McGregor and Michael Johnson, “The Diamond” hung in tough and persevered stronger than ever. His defeat at the hands of Khabib Nurmagomedov doesn’t appear to have been the beginning of Poirier’s downfall. In a “Fight of the Year” candidate, Poirier bounced back with a unanimous decision victory over Dan Hooker at UFC on ESPN 12.
Mike Brown Wants To See Dustin Poirier Cash In
American Top Team head coach Mike Brown appeared on SiriusXM’s The Luke Thomas Show to discuss Poirier’s win over Hooker. Brown said he feels his fighter deserves some serious green (h/t My MMA News).
“If it were me, it’s a title shot…in a perfect world if Gaethje wins [over Nurmagomedov], in a perfect world, that’s what would happen. That would be everything going best-case scenario, but whoever he fights he deserves a raise and deserves a lot of money for what he’s doing, every time it’s craziness, every fight is wild, there’s never a boring minute. I think he deserves a million-dollar payday.”
Poirier received the highest fight purse at UFC on ESPN 12 but some still weren’t impressed by the UFC’s payout. “The Diamond’s” base pay came out to $300,000 and that’s with a $150,000 win bonus included. The general consensus is that for someone on Poirier’s level going through wars such as his bout with Hooker, $150,000 to show and $150,000 to win just doesn’t cut it.
Poirier improved one spot on the official UFC lightweight rankings with his win over Hooker. “The Diamond” is now number two on the 155-pound rankings. Despite the win, Poirier told Jon Anik post-fight that he believes more work needs to be done. First and foremost, Poirier wants to spend time with his family and rest.
