Dustin Poirier looks across the octagon after knocking out Conor McGregor at UFC 257.
Dustin Poirier going after “superfights,” not UFC gold, says Chael Sonnen
UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier is going after “superfights,” not UFC gold, says former fighter Chael Sonnen.
Poirier defeated Michael Chandler via third-round submission at UFC 281 this past weekend. For Poirier, it was a huge win for him and it allowed him to bounce back in an impressive fashion after he lost to Charles Oliveira last year in a failed bid to become the UFC lightweight champion. Overall, Poirier has won four of his last five fights, with two wins over Conor McGregor in there.
While Poirier is one of the best lightweights in the world, he’s at the point in his career where he may not be chasing his dream of being the UFC champion, and instead is just trying to fight in the biggest fights possible — regardless of whether or not a belt is on the line. As far as Sonnen goes, when speaking on his latest YouTube video, he believes this is exactly the case for Poirier.
According to Sonnen, Poirier is at a level where he’s actually above the champions. As far as Sonnen is concerned, Poirier is at the point in his career where the actual outcome of his fights doesn’t matter. He’s at the point where the crowd will be sold out to watch him fight either way.
“There’s one more category above champion – one category, and that is when the outcome of your fight doesn’t matter. When you get to a level of popularity where the outcome of your match no longer matters. The next time you come out, the crowd will be sold out, and you will be in the main event. Even if you’re coming off of a loss, your next fight will be the main event. I’m talking about a Conor McGregor status,” Sonnen said (via MMAjunkie.com).
“He wants to do superfights. He wants to do massive fights and the title be damned. He’s already got one. He’s got one sitting in his mantle at home. He will go down in the record books if he never fights again as a champion of the world, which he was. He wants to go into this different realm.”
After beating Chandler in another “Fight of the Night,” it will be interesting to see who the UFC matches up Poirier with for his next fight.
Do you agree with Chael Sonnen that Dustin Poirier is going after superfights now and not UFC gold?
