Dustin Poirier is weighing a return from retirement for a long-discussed grudge match with Nate Diaz, but says Diaz’s latest outing has changed how that potential fight looks.
Diaz lost to Mike Perry when his corner stopped the fight after Round 2 at the Rousey vs Carano event on Netflix, a bout promoted by MVP MMA. Afterward, Poirier reacted to Diaz mentioning him and revisited their failed booking from November 2018.
"We could've fought. He knows that. I wish he would be honest with the fans and say that he pulled out or didn't come to terms with the UFC or whatever it was for the couple times we were supposed to fight that it never happened," Poirier said.
Poirier retired in July and has said a grudge match with Diaz is the only fight that could bring him back, but he was blunt about Diaz’s performance against Perry. "But, dude, after the way he looked on Saturday night, he can't talk right now man. You need to take a break. He needs to go get some sleep and some rest, not me. He looked like dog sh*t. He looked horrible. He looked like he didn't want to be in there, looked like a punching bag. He looked off balance. His timing was horrible. When somebody loses, I don't like to sh*t on them too hard, but he knows."
Still, Poirier made his stance clear: "My invitation is still out there. At 170, I'll go back in the drug test protocol or whatever. I will knock Nate Diaz completely out." Diaz, now a free agent again, has rejected calls for retirement and expressed interest in an immediate rematch with Perry.
