UFC lightweight Dustin Poirier has not completely ruled out the possibility of fighting Tony Ferguson for the next heavyweight title shot.
The two fighters were rumored to fight in the co-main event of UFC 254 on October 24, which was to be headlined by Justin Gaethje and Khabib Nurmagomedov. The fight made sense for both Dustin and Tony, along with the entire Lightweight division. Tony verbally agreed to the fight, but Poirier already mentioned that he would not settle for a smaller purse. “I’m a prized fighter and I will fight only if the prize is right”, he said. He had been in negotiations with the promotions for quite a while now, but Ariel Helwani confirmed yesterday that the attempted negotiations have been futile, and the fight was off the card.
“UFC and I didn’t come to terms,” Poirier told ESPN this week. “I will not be fighting on Oct. 24.”
This caused quite an uproar by MMA fans on twitter, who were divided between Dustin Poirier and the promotion. Many people were of the opinion that Poirier is underpaid for the performance that he has lately been putting up. However, we don’t know how the negotiations went, and how close the fight was to being confirmed. Although not in the upcoming card, Poirier has kept the door open for a fight against Ferguson in the future.
There's always a chance just not looking like it's going to happen next month https://t.co/y0TervpS2j
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) September 11, 2020
Has Dustin Poirier earned himself a million-dollar pay-day?
After his fight with Dan Hooker, which was a definite contender for a Fight of the Year, his coach Mike Brown said that Poirier has earned himself a million-dollar payday after the fight. “If it were me, it’s a title shot [next for Poirier],” Brown said on The Luke Thomas Show after Poirier defeated Hooker in a 2020 Fight of the Year contender. “In a perfect world if Gaethje wins [against Khabib Nurmagomedov], in a perfect world, that’s what would happen. That would be everything going best-case scenario, but whoever he fights, he deserves a raise and deserves a lot of money for what he’s doing. Every time it’s craziness. Every fight is wild. There’s never a boring minute. I think he deserves a million-dollar payday.”
That being said, it is hard to argue against it, after looking at Poirier’s resume. He has outboxed Justin Gaethje, Dan Hooker, and Max Holloway, and never fails to put on a show for the fans.
Do you think we can see a fight against Tony Ferguson in the future?
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