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Former UFC interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier won’t step inside the Octagon on Saturday. Instead, he’ll make his broadcast debut as a post-fight analyst tasked to break down the happenings of UFC 287.
“The Diamond” heading to the desk was reported by MMA Junkie. According to the outlet, Poirier will work alongside former-fighter-turned-coach Din Thomas and longtime broadcaster Michael Eaves.
At the time of this writing, Poirier hasn’t said anything about the new role. However, he retweeted MMA Junkie’s article.
UFC 287 takes place at the Miami-Dade Arena in Miami, Florida. Like most US-based pay-per-view events, the three men calling the fight cageside are play-by-play mainstay Jon Anik, and color commentators Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier. “Shine on, DP,” Anik tweeted in response to the article.
The event is headlined by a middleweight title rematch featuring champion Alex Pereira and former longtime king Israel Adesanya. “Poatan” is charged with dethroning Adesanya in November via TKO, and he’ll look to earn his fourth overall combat sports victory over “The Last Stylebender” while notching his first title defense.
Gilbert Burns and Jorge Masvidal will duel in the co-main event and if either welterweight makes a major statement, they could find themselves knocking on the door of another 170-pound title shot.
Poirier Bounced Back From a Title Defeat to Score a ‘Fight of the Night’ Win Over Michael Chandler
Riding the momentum of a three-fight win streak that included two back-to-back victories over Conor McGregor, Poirier was granted his second attempt to earn undisputed UFC gold in 2021. He fight then-champ Charles Oliveira at UFC 269 and although he had a strong showing in the first round, he ultimately fell short and was tapped out by a third-round rear-naked choke.
After nearly one year away from the Octagon, Poirier made his return at UFC 281 in November opposite Michael Chandler. The pre-destined “Fight of the Night” delivered as most expected.
The wild back-and-forth clash lasted three rounds and The Diamond outlasted Chandler. He scored a rear-naked choke in the third frame — submitting “Iron.”
All in all, Poirier has a professional mixed martial arts record of 29-7 with one no contest. He came the interim lightweight champion in 2019 after besting Max Holloway via unanimous decision. The belt landed him a title tilt with Khabib Nurmagomedov; however, he was finished by a third-round rear-naked choke at UFC 239 in September of the same year.
Poirier Is Eyeing a Rematch With Justin Gaethje Next
What’s next for The Diamond? Well, it looks like he’s all in on a rematch with fellow former interim champion Justin Gaethje. Gaethje called him out after earning a decision win over Rafael Fiziev last month at UFC 286. And when speaking with FanSided MMA’s Amy Kaplan, Poirier shared his interest in earning a second victory over “The Highlight.”
“It’s a fight that makes me nervous,” Poirier said about fighting Gaethje. “When I hear a name and I get nervous, it’s motivation. You know, those are the kind of fights that [I want]. Same thing with [Michael] Chandler. When I heard Chandler’s name when they called me with Michael Chandler, I was nervous because I knew the dangers of those kind of fights. And that’s what motivates me.
“So, same thing with Justin. If they do call me and he’s the name they say, maybe it happens. We’ll see.”
Poirier and Gaethje fought in 2018 as the headlining act for UFC on FOX 29, and Poirier came out on top of the “Fight of the Night” recipient by earning a TKO in the fourth round.
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