It's time Dustin Poirier moved up to 170 pounds.
Poirier revealed he was heartbroken following his UFC 291 defeat to Justin Gaethje this past weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah. The pair of exciting lightweights brawlers collided for the second time in five years in a rematch for the BMF title. The winner of the fight would not only win the BMF crown, but also guarantee themselves of the next lightweight title shot.
“The Diamond” looked very good in the first round as he connected on Gaethje a number of times and even seemed to have hurt him bad. But, rather than go for the kill, he decided to bide his time given that there were still four rounds remaining. That turned out to be his downfall.
In the second round, Gaethje caught him with a head kick that turned the lights off reminiscent to how Leon Edwards knocked out Kamaru Usman a year ago. Poirier had suffered his second defeat in his last three outings. He had been finished by strikes for the first time since 2016. But more than anything, his chances of becoming a lightweight champion in a potential third attempt took an even bigger backseat. It's easy to see why he stated he was heartbroken and while Poirier revealed he still had plenty left in the tank, he also acknowledged he needed the right motivation to continue fighting. That is why Dustin Poirier should consider moving up to welterweight.
Poirier, who turns 35 next January, said it himself — he's not looking to fight lightweight contenders at this point in his career. “Before this one [Gaethje] when they offered me Beneil [Dariush], I was like nah, I’m not that excited about it.”
The reality is, given the state of the lightweight division, Poirier will have to fight someone like Dariush or another up and coming contender next if he wants to achieve his ultimate goal of becoming a UFC champion. And that will only take time. Even if he has a quick turnaround and beats Dariush, he'll have to wait for Gaethje to fight the winner of the UFC 294 headliner between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira on Oct. 21 with notable downtime for the winner after that too. That's without mentioning the possibility of featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski potentially getting a second shot at the lightweight title as well — there'd certainly be more interest in him getting another title shot over Poirier at this stage.
Instead, why not move up to 170 pounds? Poirier is now an established star and while he won't get an immediate title shot, he is more than big enough to get one with a win over a high-ranking contender. It's another contender, but in this scenario, a win could get him an instant title shot. Potential opponents could include Belal Muhammad or Gilbert Burns, both of whom are unbooked as things stand. Current welterweight champion Leon Edwards is slated to fight Colby Covington at UFC 295 which takes place Nov. 11 in Madison Square Garden, New York. Even if Poirier were to have his welterweight debut in January or February at the latest, the timeline would still work to allow him to face the winner of that matchup.
Like Poirier, Edwards is a high-level striker and will have a considerable height and size advantage — but it's not an impossible task for the Louisiana native either. Nate Diaz was able to rock Edwards bad, and it's more than fair to say Poirier is not only a better boxer than him, but has considerably more power as well.
However, should Covington win, a potential title fight would double as a chance for Poirier to settle his beef with his former teammate. There's certainly no love lost between the pair and their beef was among the major reasons why Covington was kicked out of American Top Team. Covington called for the fight last year but Poirier didn't seem interested in letting “Chaos” make money off his name — perhaps it could finally take place in 2024 with a welterweight title on the line?
Title aside, Poirier has been complaining off his struggles of making the lightweight limit for a while now. It's not been any easier as he gets older and just last year, he said he wasn't sure if he'd be hungry enough to push himself while on lower calories. Not having to cut those extra 14 pounds may give Poirier the extra motivation he needs to continue fighting and pushing on for a UFC title in a new division. Not to mention, he definitely could bulk up and reach a point where he could seriously trouble the top welterweights like an Edwards.
The lightweight division remains the best weight class in the UFC — but it's because of how much of a shark tank it is that Poirier has failed to wear undisputed gold. A change of scenery at welterweight, added motivation and less weight to cut may be exactly what the doctor ordered for Poirier.
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