UFC lightweight Dustin Poirier is still hopeful that the UFC can book a fight with Tony Ferguson within this year.
The UFC was in talks with both the fighters to make the fight happen on October 24th at UFC 254, which is to be headlined by Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Justin Gaethje. With the two most exciting fights in the lightweight division set to happen on the same card, MMA fans were sent to a frenzy. No official announcement was made by the UFC, but both fighters had verbally agreed to fight. However, the promotion could not reach a negotiation with Dustin Poirier, and the fight was called off.
Dustin Poirier said that he was not being paid enough for the fight, and Dana White said that he just didn’t want to fight. After a lot of back and forth, the fight was officially canceled. The UFC then announced the signing of Michael Chandler, and immediately talks of Tony fighting Chandler abrupted. Apparently, Tony refused to fight any other opponent, as a sign of support to Dustin. Despite the fight happening at UFC 254 being very unlikely, there is still some hope that the fight can happen sometime later this year.
Dustin Poirier took to Twitter to say this:
“Hopefully me and Tony fight this year. 2021 I will be the undisputed lightweight champion of the world”
Hopefully me and Tony fight this year. 2021 I will be the undisputed lightweight champion of the world
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) September 20, 2020
MMA community rooting for Dustin
When the fight was officially announced canceled, the MMA community was left disappointed, as the fight was stylistically very exciting. With the fighter pay issue so prevalent right now, this added fuel to the fire. It can be widely agreed that Poirier is a spectacular fighter and has never failed to put on a show for the fans. Besides being potentially the best striker in the division, he also showed his will and heart in his fight against Dan Hooker, which is a definite contender for Fight of the Year.
Poirier is also the most charitable fighter in the UFC and has always done his bit for the community outside the octagon. It would be wrong to suggest that Poirier should be paid whatever he demands without knowing what his demands were, but one thing is for certain: He deserves to be paid much more than he used to be paid. What do you think about the whole fighter pay issue?
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