Heading into UFC 302, Dustin Poirier claimed that if he did not walk out of the Octagon as UFC lightweight champion, he could leave his gloves in the middle of the cage and walk away from the sport.
Poirier lost to Islam Makhachev in the card’s main event, and while he didn’t retire, “The Diamond” suggested that competing “just to fight” may not be enough to convince him to come back.
One man, however, seems to think a fight with him may hold the key to convince Poirier to not wrap up his career yet — Alexander Volkanovski.
In a new video on his YouTube channel, the former UFC featherweight champion suggested that a fight with him at lightweight may pose a new challenge for Poirier that could convince him to go at least another bout.
“He thinks he might be retiring, not sure — maybe, just maybe, depending on what I’m doing…obviously I want to fight later in the year…I don’t want to wait too long either…if the timing works, maybe me and Dustin can maybe have a good fight,” Volkanovski said.
Alexander Volkanovski Thinks Him vs. Dustin Poirier Will Be A ‘Massive’ Fight
Volkanovski has lost three of his last four fights. In 2023, with a title defense against Yair Rodriguez sandwiched between, Volkanovski attempted twice to challenge Islam Makhachev for the UFC lightweight championship.
The Australian fell short in a classic, close decision at UFC 284 in February 2023 and then, competing on about 10 days’ notice, was brutally knocked out by Makhachev at UFC 294 last October.
Volkanovski was again viciously slept at UFC 298 this past February, dropping the 145-pound title to Ilia Topuria. The second KO loss in a four-month span prompted plenty of concern around Volkanovski competing again without a long layoff.
“Alexander the Great” added in his video that this wouldn’t be a complete move up to 155 pounds, but rather something to challenge himself while waiting to get another crack at the featherweight championship.
“I know he sort of just wants good, fun fights. Obviously, we have a lot of respect for each other, and I think that would be a massive fight,” Volkanovski said. “That’s something I would be willing to do while I’m waiting for that featherweight title — maybe a lightweight fight against someone like Dustin Poirier would be great.”
