Just like Coke vs. Pepsi, or a Harvey vs. a Corvette, if you are a UFC fan, you are either pro Conor McGregor or very anti Conor McGregor.
You can put his next opponent in the latter category.
Dustin Poirier has been begging for a Top 5 opponent in the featherweight division and almost seems resigned to knowing he has to get past the UFC’s newest poster boy to get there. That doesn’t mean he is happy about it.
Two days after McGregor’s successful homecoming in Ireland, a Poirier appeared on the Monday edition of The MMA Hour to explain why he wants to derail the hype train so bad.
“Right off the bat I’ve been fired up about this guy,” he said. “I’ve been in this division since the WEC merged. I’ve paid my dues, and I’ve stayed quiet and busted my ass, day in, day out, won the fights I needed to win, and I’ve had some tough fights. I feel I need to be up there. I need to be up there where people are talking about me. [McGregor’s] name and the featherweight title should never come out of anybody’s mouth. I can’t believe the hype he’s getting.”
The feud between the pair has hit a fever pitch with McGregor accusing Poirier of knowing about Cole Miller’s injured hand before Diego Brandao was selected as the replacement and refusing to take the open spot.
“I was not even approached. I called my manager and I said, what’s up man, do I need to start cutting weight right now? He said let me find out. Boom, Diego was already picked, and it was already done.”
Poirier said he would have taken the fight, if it had been offered.
When asked whether he feels that Conor McGregor is deserving of his new spot in the Featherweight Division’s Top 10, Poirier scoffed.
“No, no,” he said. “Not even top ten. I will be the first real fight he’s ever been in.”
The two will meet at UFC 178.
Credit: MMAFighting.com
