Former UFC interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier was recently warned by his coach about fighting No. 1-ranked welterweight Colby Covington.
And the warning has nothing to do with the actual fight. Instead, American Top Team’s Mike Brown is worried that “Chaos” will rope Poirier’s family into the pre-fight trash talking. Covington is known for his ruthless persona, and he has a history of taking stabs at Poirier’s wife and child.
On Monday’s episode of “The MMA Hour,” “The Diamond” told Ariel Helwani that he’s up for a scrap with Covington. Fighting Covington is low on Poirier’s to-do list, but he told the MMA journalist that Chaos is the name the UFC has offered, and he doesn’t want to sit on the shelf any longer.
Because of that, he’s prepared to take on his former teammate turned bitter rival on July 30 at UFC 277. And during the interview, Poirier revealed what his coach had to say.
“Mike Brown called me the other day and was like, ‘DP, if you take that fight, it’s gonna be two months of that, of them talking about your family and making this stuff up. I don’t know if you want to put your wife and daughter through that,’ but I’ve already hit pull on the tweet,” Poirier said via MMA News.
Poirier Doesn’t Want Covington to Make Money Off of Him, But Says He’s ‘Got to Do What I’ve Got to Do’
During the interview, The Diamond explained his thought process behind his willingness to accept a fight with Covington.
“I don’t hate anyone, but if there was a line right before hate, Colby’s standing right there,” Poirier said via MMA Fighting. “I really dislike the guy, and I’ve been saying I don’t want him to make a dollar off of fighting me, but they offered me him last week… It was either wait to the end of the year and fight for a No. 1 contender at lightweight, or fight in July, and that was the name that they gave me. So I was like, ‘F*** it.’
“So that’s not a call out of him. I’m not going out of my way. I don’t want to fight the guy. I don’t want him profiting anything off of me, but if they’re not giving me a fight until the end of the year and this is what they’re giving me, I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do. I fought in December. I don’t want to sit in a holding pattern for 10-11 months. I’m healthy and I want to fight.”
Poirier Is ‘Pissed’ at Himself for Entertaining the Covington Fight
Poirier expects that if he steps into the Octagon with Chaos, he won’t “take any damage.” Still, Poirier is “pissed” at himself for even considering the match considering his feelings toward the two-time UFC title challenger.
“I’m kind of pissed off at myself for saying I’d do it,” The Diamond continued. “Not that I’m worried about the guy or his skill set or anything like that, it’s that I don’t want the f****** guy to prosper because I said yes to a fight with him. I don’t want him to make a dollar off of anything that I’ve done or off of fighting me, period. But you get a glass of whiskey in you, they call you a couple days before, s*** happens and then you fight. So f*** it.
“At least, if it does happen, it’s not a fight where I’m going to take any damage. This f****** guy.”
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Dustin Poirier Warned By Coach About Fighting UFC Star