UFC superstar Dustin Poirier revealed his future in the lightweight division after wanting a move up to welterweight.
The former lightweight champion is set to face Michael Chandler at UFC 281 on Nov. 12 in the promotion’s long-awaited return to Madison Square Garden in New York. Having been on the sidelines for about a year, he will look to get back to winning ways after a loss to uncrowned champion Charles Oliveira in his last outing at UFC 269 in Dec. 2021.
Poirier weighed his options after the contest and expressed interest in moving up a weight class to 170 pounds. Ultimately, he decided to continue at lightweight and will be looking to make a statement opposite Chandler to stay in the mix of title contention.
In an interview with Heavy ahead of his fight with Chandler, CELSIUS-sponsored athlete Poirier shared his thoughts on potentially leaving the 155-pound division and detailed his reasons behind wanting to make the move earlier.
“Everybody, if I decided to make the move up everybody could be a potential opponent so the door is wide open for that,” Poirier said. “I’m actually not walking around heavy at all. I’m the lightest I’ve ever been coming to a training camp eight weeks out so we’ll see. I’ve been fighting for a while, so has Michael.
“The older you get, the more dense your body gets, the denser your bones get, muscles change and you just get heavier over time. You’ll see a boxer fight a long career and fight four or five different weight classes. I’ve been at 155 pounds since I was 25 or 26 now, my body has continued to grow over those years. I can still make the weight but I want to enjoy the process. I don’t want to hate my training camp counting calories and doing all this and that. But I can still make the weight, no problem.”
Poirier Says He Has No Issues Making Weight
Poirier made it clear making weight was not the issue. For him, it was not a necessity but a choice he may decide on later.
“It depends on the quality of life that I want to live, in and outside of the training camp. That’s really what it comes down to,” Poirier said. “But if I ever did move up, the decision to not fight at 155 would be solely on my opinion of how I want to enjoy training camp and not suck my body down. It’s not because I can’t make the weight. I can make the weight.”
Poirier Has Found the Right Partnership With CELSIUS
As a longtime user of CELSIUS, a partnership with the company was a natural fit for ‘Diamond.’ He talked about the collaboration and how the firm’s values align with his own.
“It’s been great so far, everyone from the company has been great,” he continued. “Every time I go to the office we have a good time. I usually stay longer than I’m supposed to because we end up going sitting in the office, just talking about my training and the flavors they are thinking about coming out with.
“It’s a good synergy we have. It was an organic thing because I was drinking it before so when I go there and speak to them about flavors and the uncarbonated drinks me and my wife used to buy with the green tea they had, it’s just fun.”
Comments
Dustin Poirier Sounds Off on Making Big UFC Move