Outside Source
Poirier knocked out McGregor in the second round at UFC 257. | Getty/UFC
Dustin Poirier feels like an uncrowned champion.
Poirier knocked out Conor McGregor in a rematch at UFC 257 in 2021. While they were two of the top lightweight contenders and there was no champion in place, it was not a title fight. That was because the UFC didn’t want to believe that Khabib Nurmagomedov had truly walked away from the sport. Nurmagomedov hung up his gloves as the undefeated UFC lightweight champ after a title defense against Justin Gaethje in 2020. Nurmagomedov revealed that he had promised his mother that he would retire after his father, Abdulmanap, passed away due to COVID-19. However, Dana White said it was an emotional decision and promised to lure Nurmagomedov back into action. But Nurmagomedov stayed firm on his decision and moved on to coaching duties.
Meanwhile, the lightweight division stood in limbo after Nurmagomedov’s immediate retirement. Poirier believes the confusing period cost him a UFC title. However, “The Diamond” never asked the UFC to make it a title fight.
Poirier: UFC Wanted to Lure Khabib Out of Retirement
“I think we were the two best at that time,” Poirier told Shakiel Mahjouri. “Khabib wasn’t coming back. UFC was still trying to lure him out of retirement. Maybe they were thinking Conor would win the fight and that could lure [Khabib] him back. I’m not sure exactly what, but I think that should have been for the belt. I’m an uncrowned champion, I feel.”
Charles Oliveira eventually won the vacant lightweight title against Michael Chandler shortly after Poirier’s victory over McGregor. Meanwhile, Poirier went on to defeat McGregor in a trilogy fight at UFC 264, and the Dublin native hasn’t fought again since breaking his leg in that bout. Poirier came up short in two title bids after that, against Oliveira and Islam Makhachev. The Louisiana native will have his last dance in a trilogy against Max Holloway at UFC 318 on Saturday in front of his home crowd at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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