No. 1-ranked UFC lightweight Dustin Poirier has a chance to make a dream come true next month, and if he does, he may elect to move up in weight.
“The Diamond” is scheduled to fight 155-pound champion Charles Oliveira in the main event of UFC 269 on December 11, 2021. Poirier is riding the momentum of two big TKO wins over Conor McGregor in which he earned earlier this year.
He has held interim gold before, but never a UFC undisputed title.
And if Poirier gets his hand raised over the Brazilian, he could potentially move to 170 pounds. That’s what he told MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura recently.
Poirier has been on record several times stating that he typically walks around between 180 to 190 pounds, far above the 156-pound lightweight limit. And since it’s a title fight, Poirier will have to weigh in at the championship weight of 155 pounds.
At 32 years old, the only place Poirier is going is possibly up a division.
“I’m not retiring,” Poirier said via Sportskeeda.com. “I’m 32, man. I feel good. You see the way I’m moving out here today. I feel good. I’m having fun. If anything, I’ll go up. I’ll probably go to 170; if anything. But no, honestly, my goal isn’t to try to have the most successful title defenses. I don’t know. We’ll see. One day at a time. I can’t look; none of that is even a reality until December 11th happens, and I get my hand raised. I have to do that first before we can even go into these conversations because I don’t know what’s next. I live my life one day at a time, man; a quarter-mile at a time.”
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Poirier Has Been at Lightweight Since 2015
The Diamond started his UFC career as a featherweight, fighting at 145 pounds from 2011 until he moved up to lightweight in 2015. The move has undoubtedly worked out for Poirier, who boasts an 11-2 record with one no contest.
Eight of the victories have come via stoppage, and he’s picked up victories over several former UFC champions, including former lightweight champions Eddie Alvarez, Anthony Pettis and Conor McGregor, as well as then-featherweight champion Max Holloway.
Poirier won the interim lightweight belt when he beat Holloway in April 2019, however he was unable to successfully unify it, losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov in his next bout.
The Diamond has a professional MMA record of 28-6 with one no contest, which includes 14 wins by KO/TKO and seven by submission.
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Poirier Is Known for His Well-Rounded MMA Game, Stands as a Southpaw
Poirier is a southpaw striker who can do it all inside the Octagon. He’s regarded as a very well-rounded mixed martial artist and is currently ranked No. 5 on the UFC’s pound-for-pound list. Interestingly, The Diamond is ranked higher than Oliveira, who sits at No. 8.
He has a positive strike differential, landing 5.62 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 4.19 significant strikes per minute, according to UFC Stats.
His significant striking accuracy sits at 50% and his significant striking defense is at 54%.
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Dustin Poirier Might Change Weight Classes After UFC 269