Dustin Poirier is close to accepting a fight with UFC rival Colby Covington, but he doesn't want him to profit from his name.
Poirier has been struggling to book a fight since losing out on the lightweight belt to Charles Oliveira last December. He has since been piling on muscle ahead of a move to 170lb, which sparked interest in a fight with Covington.
Covington beat Poirier's teammate Jorge Masvidal in his last fight and called for a shot at 'The Diamond' next. Poirier revealed he has been offered the fight, but is reluctant to take it because of his dislike for Covington.
“I don’t hate anyone but if there was a line right before hate, Colby’s standing right there,” Poirier said on The MMA Hour. “I really dislike the guy and I’ve been saying I don’t want him to make a dollar off of fighting me, but they offered me him last week.
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"It was either wait to the end of the year and fight for a No. 1 contender at lightweight or fight in July, and that was the name that they gave me. So I was like, ‘F*** it.’ That’s not a call out of him. I’m not going out of my way. I don’t want to fight the guy.
"I don’t want him profiting anything off of me, but if they’re not giving me a fight until the end of the year and this is what they’re giving me, I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do. I fought in December, I don’t want to sit in a holding pattern for 10-11 months. I’m healthy and I want to fight."
Covington has accused Poirier of "living off" of his two wins against UFC star Conor McGregor last year. A fight with Covington would mark a chance for Poirier to put himself into title contention at 170lb, given 'Chaos' is ranked No.1 at the weight class.
“I’m kind of p***ed off at myself for saying I’d do it,” Poirier said of fighting Covington. “Not that I’m worried about the guy or his skill set or anything like that, it’s that I don’t want the f****ng guy to prosper because I said yes to a fight with him.
"I don’t want him to make a dollar off of anything that I’ve done or off of fighting me. But you get a glass of whiskey in you, they call you a couple days before, s*** happens and then you fight. So f*** it."
