It’ll be nothing new to Dustin Poirier, but when he decides to stay round within the MMA sport slightly bit longer, he’ll don’t have any scarcity of potential opponents whereas he heads towards the sundown.
Add former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski to this record of fighters who would signal on the road for a struggle with Poirier after UFC 302 on Saturday.
In the primary occasion at Prudential Middle in Newark, N.J., Poirier (30-9 MMA, 22-8 UFC) was submitted within the fifth spherical by light-weight champion Islam Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC), who defended his title for the third time, which ties the UFC’s document. Poirier, a former interim light-weight champ, had his third shot at an undisputed belt.
After the loss, Poirier stated it could have been his remaining struggle. At 35, he’s been preventing greater than half his life, since he was 17. However Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) let it’s identified after UFC 302 he’d be involved in a struggle with Poirier.
In February at UFC 298, Volkanovski misplaced the featherweight title to Ilia Topuria by second-round knockout. Topuria has been angling for a struggle with Max Holloway with the “BMF” belt up for grabs, so Volkanovski could also be hedging his bets if a rematch for the title isn’t within the playing cards.
“Possibly, simply possibly, relying on what I’m doing and when – clearly I need to struggle later within the yr once I know precisely what’s occurring,” Volkanovski stated on his YouTube channel (h/t to Championship Rounds). “I don’t need to wait too lengthy, both. If the timing works, possibly me and Dustin might have a superb struggle. I do know he simply needs good, enjoyable fights. We’ve received plenty of respect for one another, and I believe that might be a large struggle.
“That’s one thing that I’d be keen to do whereas I’m ready for that featherweight title (shot). Possibly I might get a light-weight struggle towards somebody like a Dustin Poirier, it will be nice. You heard it right here first. Possibly we will make one thing occur. Dustin, you’re a legend. Maintain your head up. That was an amazing efficiency, nonetheless. Possibly we might have slightly enjoyable in there – have slightly dance. Let me know what you assume.”
Alexander Volkanovski calls out Dustin Poirier 👀
“Possibly relying on what I am doing, clearly I need to struggle later within the yr… if the timing works possibly me and Dustin can have a superb struggle.
I do know he simply needs good enjoyable fights… I believe that might be a large struggle so… pic.twitter.com/l7G5LzKga0
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 2, 2024
Volkanovski has been adamant that his subsequent struggle at featherweight will likely be a struggle for the title he as soon as held. Wanting that, he’ll struggle at light-weight – the place he misplaced two title photographs to Makhachev earlier than he misplaced his featherweight belt to Topuria.
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