UFC News: Dustin Poirier reveals interest in return for major upcoming PPV card

Dustin Poirier last fought this past September at UAE where he challenged Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC Lightweight Championship. He fell short after nearly submitting Nurmagomedov and was finished via a rear-naked choke in the third round.

He didn't sustain too much damage in the fight but he was visibly heartbroken over his defeat, though he had Nurmagomedov's complete respect. Poirier is still in the mix, however, and could just be a couple of wins away from another title shot.

He's back to the drawing board and has no opponent as of yet. Dan "The Hangman" Hooker called him out for a fight at New Zealand in early 2020 but it appears as though Poirier turned him down.

His interest appears to be fighting this coming April 18th, the date of the expected bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson. After Brett Okamoto of ESPN reported it on Twitter, Poirier responded saying that he's interested in getting on the card:

Might try to get on this card! https://t.co/oPLWd3iCKY

— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) November 26, 2019

Poirier would be a great addition to the card, but it's up to UFC whether they want him to fight on that date. UFC would likely want a star such as Poirier to headline a Fight Night or stack up a card with a name that's not as big.

With Khabib Nurmagomedov now reaching top star status, they may do the Conor McGregor approach where they have a decent card at best and not a stacked one.

The logic behind that is that the PPV itself sells on the main event so they don't need a great card to sell it. As a result, we could understand Poirier being declined the spot. A fight against Dan "The Hangman" Hooker is interesting but it's unlikely that Poirier will return so early. He stated before that his expected return time is March-April.