https://youtu.be/vbQKnPJnHHA
Former UFC featherweight Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier has found his new home in the UFC lightweight division.
After being defeated by current UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor back in 2014 in a non-title featherweight bout, Poirier moved up to 155 and hasn’t skipped a beat.
On a four-fight winning streak since losing to McGregor, Poirier has finished three of his four opponents at lightweight. Since fighting at 155, “The Diamond” has only gone the distance in a unanimous decision win over Joseph Duffy, who coincidentally was the man to give McGregor his last loss in CWFC, before his rise to stardom in the UFC.
Talking with Matt Serra, Jim Norton and Ray Longo in the recent UFC Unfiltered podcast, Poirier says he learned a lot from the fight with “The Notorious” and has grown as a competitor since then.
“In that Conor fight, I learned a lot,” Poirier said. “I learned a lot about myself and about the fight game through that experience. I can’t blame it on the weight or the talk, he just hit me with a good shot and I tried to circle and I planted my feet and he hit me with another good shot and I went down.”
Poirier was then asked by Longo if he considers McGregor a heavy hitter.
“For sure man,” Poirier said. “I have 33 fights, and I gotta say, unless it was just the spot but, the track record speaks for itself, he’s the champ right now. He’s the hardest hands I’ve ever felt.”
In regards to what’s next for Poirier, “The Diamond” is set to face Michael Johnson at UFC Fight Night 94 this weekend in Hidalgo, Texas.
Poirier will be looking to make a statement and get his chance at winning a UFC belt.
“This is gonna be my 18th fight, well two in the WEC and 15 in the UFC. I said I’ll fight whoever they put in front of me for long enough man. It’s time to start making some demands and get a gold belt wrapped around my waist.”
Will Dustin Poirier come out victorious over Michael Johnson this weekend? Give us your prediction in the comment section on how and when the fight ends between the two exciting UFC lightweights.