Dustin Poirier reveals early details of short-notice fight versus Nate Diaz

It’s an exciting time to be a UFC fan. Among the fights to look forward to in 2022, we could finally see Dustin Poirier go toe to toe with Nate Diaz.

The No. 2 ranked UFC lightweight fighter is coming off one of the biggest years of his career. On January 24, 2021, he defeated Conor McGregor via technical knockout in the second round. After catching the Irishman with a flurry of punches, Poirier became the only fighter to defeat McGregor by knockout.

McGregor tried to get his revenge in July 2021 but lost again via technical knockout after his tibia suffered a clean break.

Poirier’s big year didn’t end there. In December, he challenged Charles Oliveira for the UFC lightweight championship. Poirier came up short, losing the fight via rear-naked choke.

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Nevertheless, his 2021 was still one for the history books.

Dustin Poirier will likely start 2022 off by fighting Nate Diaz

The Diamond is approaching 2022 with the same ferocious mentality that defined his 2021. Only a few weeks after his lightweight championship contest, Poirier is already thinking about his next fight.

Poirier appeared in three main events in 2021, and he is expected to continue to challenge high-profile rivals. A fourth clash against Conor McGregor shouldn’t be ruled out once the Irishman is fully recovered from his injury.

Before that happens, The Diamond will keep himself busy by fighting Nate Diaz.

Speaking on The Fight with Teddy Atlas, Poirier revealed that a short-notice fight against Diaz is currently in the works. The fighter acted sheepishly at first, refusing to reveal who his rival was:

“Another thing that kind of got that flame going is a couple of days ago I got a phone call. I can’t talk about it yet. It’s a very short-notice thing. I don’t want to give too much because I do not know what I can say. No contract has been signed yet.”

However, his excitement got the best of him, and Poirier admitted that Nate Diaz would be his next opponent.

“I’m not holding my tongue. It is Nate Diaz. I’m not going to say what card, I’m not going to say a date. He said something like, ‘Let’s do it.’ I said yes. Now I’m just waiting on him.”

Dustin Poirier vs Nate Diaz: What we know so far

Diaz’s future has been up in the air for months, but he recently had his contract with the UFC renewed. There aren’t many better ways to celebrate signing a lucrative deal than fighting against The Diamond.

There isn’t a fixed date for the bout yet, as neither fighter has signed a contract. However, Poirier confirmed that the fight will happen in “less than six weeks, for sure.”

UFC fans have their eyes set on February 12, when UFC 271 is due to take place. However, a middleweight championship rematch between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker is expected to be scheduled as the event’s headliner.

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Poirier has previously expressed interest in a welterweight fight. In a 2021 interview with Joe Rogan, The Diamond voiced his wish to move up a weight class to face Diaz.

“I think before I’m done fighting, I’m going to fight 170. “I’ll go up to 170 and fight Nate. I want to fight him) because of the way it fell apart.”

Poirier and Diaz were originally scheduled to fight in 2018, but the bout was cancelled when The Diamond suffered a hip injury a few weeks before taking place.

It looks like one of the most anticipated match-ups in recent UFC history will finally take place.