UFC lightweight Al Iaquinta accused Dustin Poirier of quitting against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242 in a heated social media exchange.
Iaquinta and Poirier are both currently without opponents and considering both men are ranked in the top-10 at 155lbs, it’s quite possible they will fight each other next.
On Monday, Iaquinta was on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show and called Poirier out. After the show was over, the two battled it out on social media in a heated exchange.
Check out what Poirier and Iaquinta wrote to each other on Twitter below.
https://twitter.com/ALIAQUINTA/status/1229519514381029378
https://twitter.com/ALIAQUINTA/status/1229519891960561664
https://twitter.com/ALIAQUINTA/status/1229520283314348037
Hey @ALIAQUINTA if they pay me right and you down to do it at 170lbs I'll fight you.
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) February 17, 2020
Poirier: Bro you won 2 fights in the last 5 years…. pipe down
Iaquinta: Do something about it
Iaquinta: How many did i give up in dustin?
Poirier: I promise you i didn’t give up in that fight
Iaquinta: You tap you give up. You gave up
Poirier: Hey @ALIAQUINTA if they pay me right and you down to do it at 170lbs I’ll fight you.
If this fight happens it would be a matchup pitting two of the best lightweights in the UFC against one another. With both men coming off of a loss in their last respective fights, both Poirier and Iaquinta need to get a big win to bounce back and jump into title contention.
Poirier has not fought since last September at UFC 242 when he was tapped out by Nurmagomedov in a failed bid to become the UFC lightweight champion. Prior to that, Poirier was riding a six-fight unbeaten streak with quality wins over Max Holloway, Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez and Anthony Pettis.
As for Iaquinta, he’s lost three of his last four fights to Nurmagomedov, Donald Cerrone and Dan Hooker with a win over Kevin Lee during that time. Despite his current two-fight losing skid, he remains one of the best lightweights in the sport and if he gets this Poirier fight, a win there would help him re-emerge as a top contender at 155lbs.
Do you agree with Al Iaquinta that Dustin Poirier quit against Khabib Nurmagomedov?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 2/18/2020.