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After vanquishing his rival Conor McGregor for good, Dustin Poirier is setting his sights on becoming a UFC champion. However, 'The Diamond' didn't seem content on capturing just one title as he revealed plans to challenge for the welterweight championship down the line.
As the top lightweight contender, Poirier is expected to challenge reigning champion Charles Oliveira later this year. In an interview with ESPN's Laura Sanko, 'The Diamond' was asked if he was keen on pursuing champ-champ status by challenging welterweight titleholder Kamaru Usman should he prevail against Oliveira. Poirier answered by saying:
"Of course, I would. Those are some big guys, man. But we'll see; I definitely think I can fight at 170, you know. Honestly, now at 155, my metabolism has caught up. When I was cutting to 145, between fights I would get a lot heavier than now."
Dustin Poirier also revealed that his natural weight is around 182 pounds, which would make welterweight an easy cut for him. The Lafayette native added:
"I just think my body and my metabolism are getting messed up holding on to a lot of weight. I would shoot up to 190 when I was fighting at 145. Now I don't get even past 182. It was kind of the max I walk around at. But I think I could fight at 170 as well."
Watch Dustin Poirier's interview below:
Dustin Poirier's move to welterweight
This isn't the first time Dustin Poirier's move to the welterweight division has been put forth as a concept. Colby Covington, Poirier's former teammate and bitter rival, has challenged 'The Diamond' to a welterweight bout to settle their personal feud.
In an interview with MMA journalist James Lynch, Covington issued a challenge for Poirier to come up to in weight and face him. 'Chaos' said:
"I just hope (our issues) get settled in the octagon one day. But if they don't, then the fans get to know who daddy is. And they get to know that I'm really Parker's daddy. It's not Dustin who's Parker's daddy. I'm Parker's daddy and I'm Jolie's husband."
Covington is expected to challenge welterweight champ Kamaru Usman in the main event of UFC 268 in November. If he successfully dethrones 'The Nigerian Nightmare,' he may just get his wish of fighting Poirier at welterweight.
