Volkanovski Wants The Poirier Fight – ‘Would Be A Massive Fight’
Alexander Volkanovski is open to fighting Dustin Poirier if The Diamond continues his career.
Poirier suffered a fifth-round submission loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 302. The defeat meant he missed out on the UFC Lightweight Title for the third time. Losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira had previously made him miss out on that title. Poirier was also knocked out by Justin Gaethje at UFC 291 last year, missing out on the chance to become the BMF Champion. Before the fight began, Poirier teased that he could retire after the Islam fight. After his loss, Poirier refused to say what he would do next. But he did question whether it made sense to continue fighting without targeting a world title.
Poirier Reacts
“Yeah, man, he’s the champ. I thought I was chipping away. I stopped most of [his takedowns] in the open, but here he did a low single, an ankle pick and whipped my leg up. And that was that. If I do fight again, what am I fighting for? Just to compete? I think this could be it honestly, Joe. I’m not 100 per cent [sure], but if this is my last fight, I want to dedicate this to the people who made me the man I am today: That’s the women in my life. We’re alright, baby [his daughter]. Always chase your dreams, it’s a beautiful thing,” Poirier said
Dustin has also already dismissed a fourth fight with Conor McGregor. He leads their head-to-head 2-1. A fourth fight would generate a huge payday since McGregor is making his comeback. The Notorious will face Michael Chandler on June 29 at UFC 303. The live gate has already set a UFC record of over $20 million.
Volkanovski Responds
A McGregor-Poirier fight could do similar numbers. But since Dustin dismissed that, facing Volkanovski is unlikely. The Volk does not hold a title. He lost his UFC Featherweight Title after getting stopped by Ilia Topuria at UFC 298. While there were talks over a rematch, nothing has been announced. Unless Volkanovski has a title, a fight is unlikely. But that has not stopped him from targeting that fight.
“He thinks he might be retiring, not sure. Maybe, just maybe, depending on what I’m doing — obviously, I want to fight later in the year, I don’t know exactly what’s happening, I don’t want to wait too long either — so if the timing works out, maybe me and Dustin can have a good fight. I know he just wants good fights.
“Obviously, [we] have a lot of respect for each other, and I think that would be a massive fight. So that’s something I’d be willing to do while I’m waiting for that featherweight title, maybe a lightweight fight against someone like Dustin Poirier would be great. You heard it here first. Maybe we could make something happen,” Volkanovski stated
Volkanovski also faces questions over his career having lost his last three fights. If he cannot secure a world title shot, he may face similar questions over his future.
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