Daniel Cormier thinks Dustin Poirier still has a lot more to give.
Poirier (29-8 MMA, 21-7 UFC) was knocked out by Justin Gaethje (25-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) in this past Saturday’s “BMF” title fight in the UFC 291 headliner at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
It was a tough pill to swallow for “The Diamond,” who was looking to earn another shot at undisputed gold. Cormier admits it was hard for him to watch Poirier go out like that, but says he still has plenty to be proud of.
“Dustin Poirier’s near and dear to my heart – a kid that grew up in (my home city of) Lafayette, La.,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “As I’ve said time and time again, we that grew up in small cities, sometimes we fall victim to what we believe we can achieve.
“Dustin Poirier never fell for that thought. … He thought of the world as something he can conquer, and he did absolutely that. He beat Conor McGregor twice, he fought for the UFC lightweight championship, he was the UFC interim champion, and he is an absolute star.”
Following his defeat, Poirier said he’s not interested in fighting rising contenders. Cormier isn’t sure where that puts him, but hopes he continues fighting.
“I will be very interested to see what Dustin Poirier’s approach is now, because I don’t think that Dustin Poirier is a guy that’s going to stick around just for the sake of fighting,” Cormier said. “I understand he likes money, but he’s already made a ton of it. I think Dustin Poirier wants to be a champion. I don’t know what the future looks like for him. I hope he doesn’t walk away.
“I hope that he keeps fighting, because I believe there are many more Dustin Poirier fights for people to see. Whoever watches and knows Dustin, he’ll be back from this. We have seen this man through his ups and downs and that’s one of the things about seeing a guy from the very start. We’ve seen him at the highest of highs and we’ve seen him at the lowest of lows. There’s much more for Dustin Poirier to accomplish.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 291.
