Dustin Poirier confirms fan’s weight prediction as UFC star bulks up for return

Poirier has been considering making the move from lightweight to welterweight, but looked closer to the size of heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko in a photo recently

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“In the octagon or on the sidewalk” Poirier on McGregor

Dustin Poirier is walking around almost two-stone heavier than the UFC’s lightweight limit as he ponders his next move.

Poirier, a former interim champion at 155lb and two-time title challenger, has yet to confirm whether he is sticking around at the weight where he has had most success, or moving to welterweight in a final effort to win gold.

He appeared to be willing to fight Nate Diaz on just a few weeks’ notice earlier this year, but when that fight was shelved his future went back to being unclear.

And after appearing to be a similar size to heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko in a photo over the weekend at a Bellator show, Poirier took to social media to confirm he is currently tipping the scales at 182lb.

It’s one pound away from two-stone over his weigh-in weight for his title bout with Charles Oliveira at UFC 269 last month, although if he returned to lightweight for a non-title fight he would be given an extra pound allowance.

Generally, fighters would utilise a large portion of camp to cut weight, and are known to make even bigger losses in short spaces of time than Poirier would need to get back to lightweight.

But having lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov and now Charles Oliveira in his last five fights, it seems much more plausible that he could work his way to a title shot at 170lb given the confusion in that division.

Leon Edwards appears to be the front-runner for a shot at Kamaru Usman’s belt, but has already shipped a loss to the dominant champion during their early UFC careers.

And it wouldn’t be far-fetched to imagine that if Poirier fought the winner of Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal’s UFC 272 headliner, he could earn a title shot with just one win.

Covington and Masvidal have both had two chances to beat Usman for the belt, being stopped and losing a decision each in their efforts.

But it is widely considered that they are both top contenders in the division, with consensus being that Covington in particular is the second best welterweight in the world.

Who do you want Dustin Poirier to fight next? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

Poirier still seems keen on a bout with Diaz, but contractual issues on the California native’s end are likely holding up the deal after they both verbally agreed to terms.

Diaz has just one fight left on his UFC contract, and having attended Jake Paul’s last boxing match could be set to make the switch to the ring once his deal is up.

And the promotion won’t want him to leave and fight Paul on the back of a win over one of their biggest stars like Poirier or Conor McGregor.

They have offered Diaz fights with Vicente Luque and Khamzat Chimaev, but neither of those have materialised with Diaz preferring to opt for names closer to his level of fame.

Meanwhile, Poirier has a long-standing feud with former teammate Covington, and could face the former interim champion should he come out on top against Masvidal in Las Vegas.

He could also end up taking an unprecedented fourth fight with McGregor.

However, given their standings in the promotion as more legacy fighters than top title contenders, weight class wouldn’t be all that important.

With the score currently at 2-1 in Poirier’s favour, a change in weight class could be the perfect selling point given that McGregor won their bout at featherweight and lost their two lightweight ones.