Poirier Rules Out Fighting Covington – ‘He’s Not Making Money Off My Career’
Dustin Poirier has ruled out ever fighting Colby Covington.
Poirier’s future is uncertain following his loss at UFC 302 against UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev. A fifth-round submission defeat meant Dustin failed to win the lightweight belt for the third time following prior losses against Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira. In his post-fight comments, Dustin hinted he could retire if he could not fight for titles. However, he did backtrack on those comments as fans wait to see if he will have one more fight before retiring.
Covington’s name has been mentioned as a possible fight. Colby has repeatedly called out Poirier, but talks have not started. Covington’s last UFC fight was against former UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards. The build-up was dominated by bad blood, as Covington referenced Edwards’ father, who had been murdered.
Poirier Vs. Covington
His comments about Edwards’ father being in hell riled up Leon, who responded by throwing a water bottle at him during their presser. However, when it came to the fight, Covington’s stock dropped dramatically. He lost a one-sided unanimous decision, only to then state that he broke his foot. Despite the links, Poirier has dismissed the fight.
“I’ll never fight Colby in an Octagon where there’s finances on the line. If I fight Colby, we’re both going to jail. He’s not making money off my career and what I’ve done. You will never see me fight Colby Covington in the UFC,” Poirier said
The pair do have some bad blood. Covington recalled an alleged verbal altercation he had with Poirier at a restaurant. He referenced how he confronted Dustin to his face, but The Diamond reportedly did not stand on business. Poirier responded by denying the incident took place in that manner, leaving fans none the wiser.
Their Feud
“I crossed paths with him about three months ago at NYY Steakhouse in Coconut Creek casino. I looked at him eye-to-eye and I said, ‘What’s up…It’s on-site? Say something. Do something,’ and he just walked out of the restaurant because he knows (what would happen),” Covington
“The dude is such a liar. I’m not even gonna give him the air time. It’s a lie. We ran into each other, yeah, that’s true. The way he said it went down, is completely not true. He wants you to talk about him,” Poirier stated
Dustin could target fights with Conor McGregor and Alexander Volkanovski. Poirier mentioned a possible fourth fight with McGregor. He has a 2-1 record against the Irishman, having won their last fight at UFC 264, where McGregor broke his leg. Meanwhile, a Volkanovski fight is big. The former UFC Featherweight Champion may have been stopped in his last two fights.
A fight with Poirier pits two legends of the sport against each other as they enter the latter parts of their career. Covington has been called out by Ian Garry, who suggested that the fight could have happened at UFC 303. Since then, Covington has mentioned Charles Oliveira, the former UFC Lightweight Champion, as an opponent. Regardless, fans cannot expect a Poirier-Covington fight anytime soon.
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