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Dustin Poirier is coming off a defeat to UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. In the eyes of many, he came far closer to dethroning the Russian than Conor McGregor did, but fell short one round earlier as he was submitted via the rear-naked choke.
He's taken a break since then and deservedly so, fixing pre-existing injuries before getting back in the Octagon. When Brett Okamoto of ESPN revealed that Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson is targeted for April 18th, 2020, Poirier responded to his Tweet stating his interest to get on the card.
The former Interim Lightweight Champion was recently interviewed by MMA Fighting, where he revealed his targeted return and why he wants a fight with Conor McGregor:
“I’ll be training hard in January and I think that late March, early April is realistic,” Poirier told MMA Fighting in a recent interview. “My doctor thinks that’s a realistic return. I’m going to start training hard in January and I’m actually going to be getting in shape all through December."
He said that he's been having a plant-based diet to heal up and he'll be ready to beat someone up in March or April, just as long as the fight makes sense to him. Conor McGregor was brought up and Poirier openly stated his interest in that fight:
“I think it would make more sense if he’s [Conor McGregor] trying to get back to the top.
“I was the former interim world champion. Conor’s the former undisputed world champion. We fought years ago, we both had our separate paths and we’ve both done great things. I think this makes a lot of sense. I’m No. 2, I think he’s No. 3. It makes a lot of sense."
Poirier even rejected Dan Hooker's callout for a New Zealand main event, stating that he would be fighting "The Irishman".
However, McGregor is expected to return on January 18th, and while no deal is finalized, the direction seems to be heading towards him facing Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone. If that is the case and McGregor finishes him fast without sustaining much damage, Poirier would make a lot of sense as his next opponent.
As of now, Poirier is in a bit of a tricky situation. Tony Ferguson is [deservedly] challenging for the title this April while Justin Gaethje, the man who Poirier knocked out, is next in line for a title shot, stating that he plans to sit it out until he gets the shot.
