UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov believes Dustin Poirier has shown his weakness by considering a 170-pound fight with Conor McGregor.
Poirier and McGregor seem to be on the verge of agreeing to a January 23 showdown, more than six years on from their featherweight encounter at UFC 178. Alas, while both men are aiming to get another shot at the UFC Lightweight Championship owned by Nurmagomedov, McGregor continues to flirt with the idea of another bout at welterweight.
With “The Diamond” seemingly entertaining the idea too, Nurmagomedov has been left feeling pretty confused about the whole situation – as he noted during an interview with TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter.
“I don’t understand why Dustin show his weakness,” Nurmagomedov said (via MMA Mania). “This is just my opinion. You have to say something, and this is my opinion. He have to do something, too. They ask him to fight and Conor said I am going to donate you money and he say ‘yes, yes, yes.’
“But Dustin is a Lightweight fighter, he’s not a Welterweight fighter. Why are you going to fight at 170? If you want to fight for the title then you have to make 155,” continued Nurmagomedov.
“So we will see. This Saturday the two best Lightweights in the world are going to compete, and they are not Dustin and Conor.”
While Nurmagomedov may be questioning the logic of both Poirier and McGregor, his opponent this Saturday wants the world to know that he plans on upsetting the status quo in a big way.
“I’m here to ruin Ali’s day, I’m here to ruin Dana White’s day, I’m here to ruin Daniel Cormier’s day, I’m here to ruin Javier Mendez’s day, I’m here to ruin Khabib Nurmagomedov’s day. F**k all those guys,” Justin Gaethje said on Morning Kombat. “They already got, I don’t know what their plan is but they said they have a plan ahead. I’m going to f**k it up. They’re going to change my nickname from The Highlight to 2020.”
Many fans are looking upon the Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje and Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier match-ups as semi-finals of a makeshift 155-pound tournament.
For now, though, all eyes are on the division’s highly anticipated title fight in Abu Dhabi.